I have a Haworth Zody chair at home (Craigslist in Grand Rapids, MI, office furniture central) and another Haworth chair at work, and I assure you, it makes a difference. I felt it'd be out of place to drop name brands in the "how much does comfort in the office affect productivity" thread a couple days ago (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=234445), but oh man. (NB: I am tall.)
The Steelcase Leap chairs are really nice too, and I have no doubt that the Herman Miller chairs are great. Absolutely try any of the above and see how they fit first, though -- there's another Steelcase one that just doesn't work for me, at all. They're all expensive, too (craigslist nonwithstanding...), though one that fits you perfectly is well worth it in the long run, and they all seem to be built to last. As expensive workspace stuff goes, they'll certainly depreciate more slowly than a huge, expensive LCD monitor.
Just like keyboards -- some people love the split keyboards (including me), some people can't stand them but love the clacky ones, but the important thing is to have one that actually fits you if you're going to be using it several hours every day.
That said, I bet Jeff Atwood gets an awesome Amazon commission if anybody buys one of those through his blog. Yikes. :)
I think breaks are more important than a nice chair. I set a timer to go off every hour. I get up, refill my water and/or coffee mug, and take a walk around the office to check in on the junior staff.
Many of my best ideas came just after stretching and human interaction.
Absolutely. Fancy chairs are the solution to the wrong problem. The problem is that sitting is just plain bad for you, and the solution is to stand up and walk around.
You tell me. I got varicose veins for spending to much time sitting in front of my computer. It's mostly linked with heredity, but the lack of activity in your legs is one of the main responsibles. So be careful guys, if you're gonna spend all day in your chair, make sure you stand up and exercise your legs periodically. Your back and your legs are gonna thank you.
absolutely, wandering around randomly every hour or two is also key for doing good problem solving or research. I honestly don't think I'd be able to function sitting in one location for a few hours unless its something of the magnitude of a finishing touches on a thesis project or the like. Kinda rules out a whole bunch of jobs I don't want anyways!
alternatives:
- sit on exercise ball for some time every day, or
- on the floor cross-legged, or in yoga poses called virasana (sitting between your shins) or double pigeon (with shins stacked in front of you). All very good for hips and back if done correctly, bad for knees if done incorrectly.
I agree with you here; I have a $75 IKEA chair that I've used for years. I have never sit "correctly" in a chair in my life, so I just don't see why I would bother with an "ergonomic" chair. Their definition of ergonomic is not the same as my body's.
The good thing is that I can't sit still for more than an hour, so I'm always getting up to go to the bathroom, get more caffeine, eat food, etc. That is probably why my "improper chair use" hasn't caused me any trouble.
"If you're investing $500+ in a chair, you'd understandably want to be sure it's "the one"."
Really?. Go to ted.com and watch Barry Schwartz's video on the paradox of choice... you will probably be happier with your chair if you have no choice of chair, or choose it quickly and are stuck with it, with no opportunity to change your mind than if you try dozens of them with 30 day no quibble return policies to find 'the one'.
I'd stop in the "if you're investing $500+ in a chair" part. Why? Where does it come from?
That said, I'm very surprised to know that my chair is indeed one of these Miller's Mirra. You don't see this kind of luxury over here very often. At home I have a €60 that's as comfortable as this one.
The Aeron is an amazing chair. There's a reason offices that were buying new equipment (i.e. dotcoms) bought the Aeron. I love mine, and I love that it's comfortable.
Also, the same thoughts that justify a great chair (time spent using, durability, etc.) justify finding a -good pen-. I recently got a rotring rapidograph .25mm pen, and it's the pen I've been looking for my whole life. For those of you that think the .5mm is too think and 'gunky', I highly suggest this pen (http://www.rotring.com/en/produkte/tuschefueller/rapidograph...).
I actually broke my Aeron's recline pin once and had to replace it myself. So I've retrained myself not to recline, which is awkward, as I'm a natural recliner.
$700 for that?
I bought my chair for $25 at a thrift store 10 years ago. It reclines all I want.
If you're that uncomfortable, maybe it's not the chair, but the butt in the chair. Get off of it and move around a little bit.
I've seen plenty of solutions looking for a problem in software, but never thought it would also come to office equipment.
For anyone shopping for a great chair, I am totally in love with my Steelcase Think chair. It adjusts to anyone who sits in it, so it can be used by multiple people and the settings are extremely easy to set, unlike the Aeron.
For the eco-conscious, it's also 99% recyclable and is easy to assemble/disassemble. Then there are the looks, which I find much more appealing than most chairs.
The Steelcase Leap chairs are really nice too, and I have no doubt that the Herman Miller chairs are great. Absolutely try any of the above and see how they fit first, though -- there's another Steelcase one that just doesn't work for me, at all. They're all expensive, too (craigslist nonwithstanding...), though one that fits you perfectly is well worth it in the long run, and they all seem to be built to last. As expensive workspace stuff goes, they'll certainly depreciate more slowly than a huge, expensive LCD monitor.
Just like keyboards -- some people love the split keyboards (including me), some people can't stand them but love the clacky ones, but the important thing is to have one that actually fits you if you're going to be using it several hours every day.
That said, I bet Jeff Atwood gets an awesome Amazon commission if anybody buys one of those through his blog. Yikes. :)