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The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

theguardian.com

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Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#71

Post by supernova87a »

scrooched_moose wrote: post #54

If anyone is looking for a better chair, we found this was a great time to pick up Herman Miller Aerons off of craigslist. There's a steady stream of small-to-medium offices in our area closing, and they're all liquidating office furniture. We picked up 2 for $500. They're a massive improvement over my $80 chair that was fine for a few hours a week pre-WFH, and my back is feeling much better.

This isn't exactly work related, but do people have opinions on the Herman Miller Eames chair? You know, this iconic look? [1]

I ask because the lockdown has me fantasizing about distracting myself with replacement stuff for the home.

But this chair is freakin $5000. Is it that good to be worth it? Or are any of those $1000 knockoffs acceptable quality?

[1] https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating...

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#72

Post by rtkaratekid »

mattlondon wrote: post #16

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that seems to be happy to just sit on a dining chair when at my desk? When the WFH wave hit, people seemed to be going mad buying webcams and office chairs. Loads of people I work with spent a lot of energy researching and discussing chairs etc. I have a sit-stand desk and I stand for perhaps 2 to 3 hours any working day. But the rest of the time I just sit on a normal old woo…

I used a fancy chair for a bit and got neck pain. Switched to a normal wooden chair, sometimes with a pillow to sit on, and I’m doing great now. Weird but works for me I guess. I do stand quite a bit too.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#73

Post by mixmastamyk »

mattlondon wrote: post #16

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that seems to be happy to just sit on a dining chair when at my desk? When the WFH wave hit, people seemed to be going mad buying webcams and office chairs. Loads of people I work with spent a lot of energy researching and discussing chairs etc. I have a sit-stand desk and I stand for perhaps 2 to 3 hours any working day. But the rest of the time I just sit on a normal old woo…

Do you have good posture?

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#74

Post by flanbiscuit »

encom wrote: post #64
colmvp wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found my Aeron chair triggered my lower back pain. Since then I’ve moved to mostly using a standing mat and standing up as well as strengthening my core. I might try sitting on my Aeron chair after a few months of core strengthening

>lower back pain How low? I've had a terrible pain in my tailbone going on a few months now. I finally relented and got one of those donut shaped memory foam pillows. 40€ for a block of foam with a hole in it is criminal, but after using it for a week now, I must admit it does help a lot.

> I've had a terrible pain in my tailbone

This always happened to me on those Aeron chairs and pre-covid I was using those doughnut pillows for a few years, they worked great.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#75

Post by svachalek »

grugagag wrote: post #45
mattlondon wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to rest my wrists/outer corner of hand on the desk, just like I do when sitting. Can't say I've ever noticed a difference between sitting and standing when it comes to typing

The best position for me that I find for typing and this might be my own body and preferences, is to have elbows tucked close to the rib cage and keyboard on my lap or as close to the body as possible and relax arms, not rest on them at all but having them hang from the shoulders. Having a standing desk is very tempting, the only thing is that I'm not sure how I'd replicate the typing position I just mentioned. I'm n…

I can't stand and type for long, as soon as I start to zone into it my legs want to go off and do their own thing and it totally messes me up. But, turns out most of my day is reading text, reading code, meeting, debugging, etc and not nearly as much typing as I would have guessed otherwise. It's easy to find a few hours that I really don't need to be sitting.

With a sit/stand desk you can start by standing up for meetings, phone calls, etc, that don't really require typing at all and then see what else you can do standing.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#76

Post by johnchristopher »

dmvinson wrote: post #66
johnchristopher wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/furniture-free-ahs13/ Interesting reading, thanks. Would you be so kind as to share a picture of your setup ? To have a rough idea of heights, space arrangements, elbow positioning, etc. ?

Yeah, here is what I'm working with as of now. Moved recently (like everyone else) and still getting an office setup, but this is the basics. As far as height, I'd say it's a very ergonomically sound setup when in kneeling position with the cushion in between your feet. Laptop just below eye level, arms level, etc. I think the biggest benefits are it forces you to move and adjust a little bit more than in a chair, an…

Thanks a lot, much appreciated !

I was browsing though the different pillow/cushion and was a bit worried at first by the $150 zafu/zabuton but it looks like there are ~$50 ones so I can give it a try.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#77

Post by prox »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #73
mattlondon wrote: post #16

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that seems to be happy to just sit on a dining chair when at my desk? When the WFH wave hit, people seemed to be going mad buying webcams and office chairs. Loads of people I work with spent a lot of energy researching and discussing chairs etc. I have a sit-stand desk and I stand for perhaps 2 to 3 hours any working day. But the rest of the time I just sit on a normal old woo…

Do you have good posture?

I’d like to chime in here. Posture is terribly important. No chair can help fully if there is dis or misalignment (maybe even from previous chairs that gave you bad posture)

It is mentioned in the article briefly, and I feel it is a missed opportunity to discuss it.

I currently use a series of exercises that I designed specifically for combatting the ails of sitting, and it has been a big improvement. The chair i use matters less now.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#78

Post by powersnail »

scrooched_moose wrote: post #54

If anyone is looking for a better chair, we found this was a great time to pick up Herman Miller Aerons off of craigslist. There's a steady stream of small-to-medium offices in our area closing, and they're all liquidating office furniture. We picked up 2 for $500. They're a massive improvement over my $80 chair that was fine for a few hours a week pre-WFH, and my back is feeling much better.

Totally agree. Bought a second-handed Herman Miller (though from eBay) some time ago, and that's the best purchase of the past few years of my life.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#79

Post by Dumblydorr »

mattlondon wrote: post #16

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one that seems to be happy to just sit on a dining chair when at my desk? When the WFH wave hit, people seemed to be going mad buying webcams and office chairs. Loads of people I work with spent a lot of energy researching and discussing chairs etc. I have a sit-stand desk and I stand for perhaps 2 to 3 hours any working day. But the rest of the time I just sit on a normal old woo…

You're a bit lucky because the back is very likely to have pain in sedentary office workers. I think the standing and running are both key, yes, movement and change are key to keeping our fluidic bodies healthy.

Then again, you are lucky because all manner of injuries, genetic weakness, and former life conditions have not all occurred, thus gotten you to this healthy spot. For instance, car or sporting accidents or falls, these could all lead to chronic weakness in the body, and luck determines their occurence.

Re: The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

#80

Post by scrooched_moose »

supernova87a wrote: post #71
scrooched_moose wrote: post #54

If anyone is looking for a better chair, we found this was a great time to pick up Herman Miller Aerons off of craigslist. There's a steady stream of small-to-medium offices in our area closing, and they're all liquidating office furniture. We picked up 2 for $500. They're a massive improvement over my $80 chair that was fine for a few hours a week pre-WFH, and my back is feeling much better.

This isn't exactly work related, but do people have opinions on the Herman Miller Eames chair? You know, this iconic look? [1] I ask because the lockdown has me fantasizing about distracting myself with replacement stuff for the home. But this chair is freakin $5000. Is it that good to be worth it? Or are any of those $1000 knockoffs acceptable quality? [1] https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating…

We have a 60s hand-me-down Eames.

It is a very good chair. The build quality is fantastic and stylistically it still holds up.

It is truly a "lounge chair" though - almost a semi-recliner. I rarely use it if it's a social situation because it sits back so far. It's amazing for relaxing and watching TV or a movie though.

I'm assuming the quality has held up. I've never tried a knock off.

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