Office furniture should be comfortable. Greater comfort leads to less stress, better posture, and a better sense of wellbeing. In the short-term, your comfortable office furniture can make you more productive. And in the long-term, it can make you healthier.
But the sad truth is that most conventional office furniture is uncomfortable (at least to start). Fortunately, with a few simple changes to your office furniture shopping, you can invest in much better, more comfortable pieces of furniture for your office (or home office).
Quick Tips for Buying Better Furniture
First, let’s talk about the changes you can make to the office furniture shopping process that can help you find better pieces of furniture:
· Shop with the right providers. First, make a point to shop with the right office furniture providers. Online office furniture stores should have a robust selection of different pieces to choose from – and ample photos and descriptive text so you know what you’re getting. They should also have plenty of good reviews and testimonials from happy customers, so you have confidence in your purchase. And perhaps most importantly, they should have a complete return policy, so you can get a refund if your furniture turns out to be uncomfortable.
· Understand what makes furniture uncomfortable. Next, understand the main elements that can make a piece of office furniture uncomfortable. We’ll be going over some of these main points in the next section.
· Know your personal needs. Every individual has different preferences and needs. Maybe you prefer a chair that’s firmer, rather than one that’s soft and flexible. Maybe you’re exceptionally tall, so you need more space from your chair and desk. Try out several pieces of furniture to better determine your own preferences.
Why Most Office Furniture Is Uncomfortable
These are some of the biggest factors leading to uncomfortable office furniture:
· Improper sizing. Most of the time, a problem with comfort can be traced back to inappropriate sizing. If your chair is too high, you might be forced to hunch over your desk. If it’s too low, your shoulders may become sore as you reach up to your computer. If your desk is too low, too high, or if it doesn’t offer enough room, you can run into issues as well. Adjustability can help to overcome this problem (as we’ll see), but there are limits to how much it can change your furniture landscape.
· Improper positioning. You may also be uncomfortable if your furniture isn’t positioned properly. If your chair isn’t aligned with your desk, it can lead to unnecessary strain. If you’re on a section of uneven flooring, or if you’re positioned awkwardly, it can also make you feel physically uncomfortable.
· Low-quality materials. Different materials offer different strengths and weaknesses – but some are simply better than others. It’s easy to find cheap office furniture these days, but you often get what you pay for. And if you end up stuck with low-quality materials and low production standards, you’re almost certainly going to end up feeling uncomfortable at the end of the workday.
· Lack of adjustability. Many of the problems in this section can be overcome with the simple addition of adjustability. Raising or lowering your chair, arcing the back of the chair differently, or adjusting the height of your desk can all help you find comfort when you need it. You can also make adjustments throughout the day, so you’re not stuck in the same position for 8 hours.
· No flexibility or maneuverability. Most people prefer their office furniture to have at least some flexibility and maneuverability. They want to roll back and forth easily and rock back and forth in their chair. If you can’t move around easily, you’re going to end up uncomfortable.
· Poor posture. Let’s face it – your lack of comfort isn’t totally the furniture’s fault. Sometimes, the office furniture itself is fine, but it feels uncomfortable because you’re using it incorrectly (with bad posture). That said, some furniture does a better job of supporting good posture than others – so if you chronically suffer from bad posture, seek out pieces that can gently correct you.
· Constant use. If you have a typical white-collar job, you might be glued to your seat for 8 hours (or more) at a time. Even the most comfortable piece of furniture can get uncomfortable if you don’t take the time to get up and stretch every now and then.
Once you better understand the fault points that tend to make office furniture uncomfortable, you can begin fighting against them. With a better understanding of your personal needs, a more comprehensive view on the components of office furniture, and a reliable office furniture store to shop from, you’ll be in a much better position to get the furniture you need to be comfortable.
