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The tyranny of chairs: why we need better design

theguardian.com

31–40 of 167 posts

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

#31
post #12

At age 35, otherwise healthy and having spent 10 years in Herman Miller Aeron chairs, I had hip problems and a small but growing waistline. Then I transitioned to working from home and built my own standing desk (sadly before the very affordable mechanical Ikea standing desk was first released... But which I have now happily used for years). The first few weeks were challenging, but within three months I could stand…

Could you please link to the standing desk you are using?

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

#32

The worst chair in the world is the American high school/college desk+chair combo like this one https://www.schooloutlet.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/Screen... The people making and buying these place are committing crimes against humanity.

On the other hand, the people in those seats rarely do so for more than an hour. Other factors kick in because of that, such as cost and space utilization (which is effectively cost in a different form).

Then again, I rarely had issues with sitting in them. Working space though, that was an issue. (Work on an in-class problem while referring to the text book? Ha!)

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

#33
I got a gaming chair at the beginning of lockdown, and I propped up my desk to get everything to the right height. The things I looked for : adjustable arm rests, adjustable height, adjustable tilt and headrest & lumbar support.

Also buy a 28" 4k monitor, proper keyboard and mouse device of choice (I got an apple magic pad).

All for ~ £500. It's worth the investment.

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

#34

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 haven't even turned 30 yet, so I imagine my body might well slowly be building up resentment towards me which will materialise in 20 years and I'll regret saying all of this, but...

So far, my body has been happy spending extended amounts of time in any chair I set under it. Including the staple dining chair, or uncushioned outdoor wooden chair.

However, I rarely sit still for long periods of time. I'm constantly shifting my position and doing all sorts of seated acrobatics to relieve tension and get variation. (I do this also in fancy ergonomic chairs.) Maybe this is what makes it work? I have no idea.

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

#35
Gee, I was just thinking I needed to make some new chairs for the kitchen table (which seems to be a somewhat challenging woodworking project, as curves as usually called for and the way to craft them isn't obvious). I wish the article offered more advice about what makes a good chair, or chair alternative.

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

#36

The worst chair in the world is the American high school/college desk+chair combo like this one https://www.schooloutlet.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/Screen... The people making and buying these place are committing crimes against humanity.

Mrs. Krabappel: Well, children, our new ultra-hard PostCherfect chairs have arrived. They’ve been designed by eminent posturologists to eliminate slouching by the year 3000.

Martin: Mrs. Krabappel, I’m having back spasms!

Mrs. Krabappel: I know they seem a little uncomfortable right now, but eventually your bones will change shape.

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

#38
Chairs need a failsafe mode. This is what I call better design.

Recently my father sat on a chair that collapsed underneath him. It was a seemingly okay teak garden chair that had been recently in service and offered up to important guests. So in that way it was good that it was him rather than his brother in law or elderly neighbour that received a bruised elbow.

This got me thinking about the safety of chairs. This chair - a folding chair - really should have included a wire around the seat so that it had a failsafe mode in order to prevent complete failure once the wood of the seat eventually gave up.

There should be proper testing of seats to see if they are fit for purpose. Car seats for babies can't be passed on because there could be some crack in the polystyrene, yet regular chairs have no standards for safety. It is not a big deal until such time as you see a valued relative come a cropper.

Design is how it works and chairs are not designed to have a failsafe aspect to the design.

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

#39

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…

At the beginning of the lockdown, as I didn't have a dedicated computer desk and chair, I was working at my dinner table, sitting on a regular dinning chair. It lasted for about 1 month or so until I broke both the chair and my back (I could not move one morning and had to spend a few days in bed).

It could be you have better sitting discipline (I tend to slouch when I sit), might be that you are more active (I didn't notice any issues last summer, when I was sailing every weekend, but then, I was not sitting at my dinner table for that long either), might be your regular chair is not that regular :)

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

#40

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…

The uber-expensive office chairs are really comfortable--if you pick one that works for you and properly adjust it. If you have an office and can afford it, it's IMO worth it to equip it with a good chair.

That said, I probably only work in my office half the day and work in other spots around the house (including the dining room table) the rest of the time. (And get up and walk around quite frequently.)

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