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Over 1.5 million of us now work from home in the UK, but how many have a properly adjusted ergonomic office chair to work from? Nowhere near enough, it seems, if the widely-reported rise in back health issues is anything to go by. So, next time you curl up on the sofa with your laptop for a five-hour stint or perch yourself on your breakfast bar to work all evening, remember: research shows those who sit in poorly designed chairs are less productive, as well as being more likely to suffer from musculoskeletal disorders.
So, whether you turn your kitchen or dining table into a makeshift desk or you’re fortunate enough to have a spare room with a desk all of your own, take note – a good office chair is a worthwhile investment. And before you recoil at the prices, remember how expensive chiropractors, osteopaths and physiotherapy visits can be. After all, most of us think nothing of splashing out on a nice sofa, so why not invest in something which will keep you comfy – and healthy – for years to come.
How to buy the right office chair for you
We spoke to Paul Simons, director of office chair specialists Wellworking, to get the low-down on the key features you want from a good office chair.
Does a good office chair have to cost a lot?
The world of office chairs is one in which you should buy the best you can afford. Pricier chairs generally give you superior ergonomics, more adjustability and longer warranties, while cheaper chairs tend to be a false economy. That said, there are occasional bargains to be had for surprisingly decent office chairs, while a few of the chairs costing several thousand pounds aren’t actually any better for sitting for long periods than those costing several hundred.
What are the key features to look out for?
- Adjustable height, back position and tilt– Adjust all three so that when your bottom is pressed against the back of the chair, your lower back is slightly arched and feels well supported and cushioned and your knees sit just below your hips while your feet are either flat on the floor or on a footrest.
- Adjustable seat depth - Make sure that when you recline in the chair, the backrest doesn’t drop away. You want the angle of the seat and the back to stay the same whether you are sitting upright or leaning back, not unlike a rocking chair.
- Armrest adjustability– Avoid chairs with arms unless they’re adjustable as they can prevent you getting close to your desk and affect your posture. Your wrists and forearms should go straight out in front of you and your keyboard should have approximately four to six inches in front where you can rest your wrists when taking a break from typing.
- Lumbar support– Make sure the backrest provides lumbar support that fits naturally into the curve of your spine. Some chairs provide ‘additional’ lumbar support, but others provide a flexible backrest that will mould around your spine.
- Free float tilt mechanism– Make sure your chair moves with you and doesn’t get stuck in a static position. We may be have been told to sit up straight at school, but the best for your back is to keep moving whilst seated.
- Different size options– We are not all the same size and build so ensure the chair is the right size for you. Better quality chairs will offer a range of adjustability so that they can be tailored to your exact specifications.
Is there anything else you need to consider?
- What kind of floor do you have?– Get the right type of castors for your floor – hard floors, stone, carpet and so on – to prevent you sliding around when you don’t want to, or potentially damaging your floor.
- How tall is your desk?– Standard desks are around 740mm high, and this broadly suits most of us, but if you are a shorter or taller person make sure the desk is comfortable for your use. Ideally, set up your chair to optimise your posture and get a desk to accommodate your chair (not the other way round). For the ultimate setup, try a ‘sit-stand’ desk that allows you to both sit and stand throughout the day. Try 20 minutes standing for every 40 minutes sitting.
- Screens and monitor - Your screen should be an arm’s length away, with the centre of the screen at eye level. Don’t change your chair setup - change the height of the monitor with an adjustable arm or stand.
- Try it out first - Every individual has a unique anatomy and what feels fabulous to a friend or colleague may feel surprisingly uncomfortable to you, but give it time as new chairs will always feel slightly strange to start with. Remember if you buy online or over the phone you can always return it within 14 days under distance selling regulations.
- Use a good supplier– They should be able to show you how to use your chair on delivery. Even the most ergonomic chair will feel uncomfortable if you’re using it incorrectly.
- Check the warranty– Your chair needs to last, so ideally the warranty should last five years or more.
The best office chairs to buy
1. Elite Loreto: The best office chair under £300
Price:£275
Elite is a UK manufacturer which offers great quality products at affordable prices. The Loreto chair is particularly good value for money, providing excellent adjustability, with the added bonus of a breathable mesh backrest to help keep you cool during the working day. You can buy it with or without adjustable arms and choose from a huge array of different colours for the mesh, as well as different base finishes. The design is bang up-to-date, so it won’t look out of place in your office or home and it comes with a reassuring five-year warranty.
Buy the Elite Loreto from Wellworking
Key specs – Width: 680mm; Seat height: 470-600mm; Total height: 980-110cm; Warranty: 5 years
2. Humanscale Diffrient World Office Chair: The best eco-friendly choice
Price:£425
Niels Diffrient was an American industrial designer who was totally committed to ergonomic seating. And while his most famous designs are the Freedom and Liberty chairs, we’ve decided to feature this – his first mesh chair – because it’s unbelievably lightweight, at just 11kg, making it a doddle to move from room to room. Plus, it’s completely made from recycled materials, which will please the eco-warriors, and it's available in a wide range of colour schemes too. It’s also highly practical thanks to the self-adjusting recline – great for when you’re stuck on a conference call, and this makes it extremely comfortable despite the minimal amount of manual adjustment available. Heavier users may find that the mesh has a bit too much give despite the 136kg weight limit, and the lack of seat depth adjustment may also count it out for users at the shorter and taller end of the scale. If you need more height adjustment, adjustable arms, or a far taller draughtman-style chair, you can upgrade the standard model seen here.
Buy the Humanscale Diffrient World from John Lewis
Key specs – Width: 66cm; Seat height: 41-53cm; Total height: 93-105.5cm; Warranty: 15 years
3. Herman Miller Sayl: The best office chair under £500 – at least for shorter people
Price:£439
Yves Behar is one of the coolest designers that’s ever lived and many argue this lightweight, ergonomically designed and highly customisable chair is his greatest achievement yet. Inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the state-of-the-art chair has an extremely long list of practical features including webbing to avoid a sweaty back and to conform to the contours of your body, full adjustability, lumbar support and hinge points to flex and support the pelvis. Plus, it is available in plenty of bright colours. No wonder it’s the chair of choice in the British School of Osteopathy training centre. All this and it comes in at under £500. Probably not the best full-time chair for anyone over six foot, though, as the backrest is only a medium height.
Key specs – Width: 623mm; Seat height: 410-520mm; Total height: 860 – 1040mm; Warranty: 12 years
4. HAG SoFi: A supremely innovative chair that’s built to last
Price:£475
SoFi is one of the newer chairs on the market, and has a unique function that sets it apart. There’s an option to have ‘swing-back’ arms that can be pushed back behind the chair, ideal for hot desk use or musicians who want to use the chair for playing in as well as an office chair, as well as those who just sometimes want the luxury of resting their arms and sometimes don’t. It also comes with or without a headrest, in two different sizes, and with different fabric options, types of caster and base finishes. Built in Norway, the SoFi is a weighty product, but is exceptionally robust and feels as if it is built to last.
Buy the HAG SoFi from Wellworking
Key specs – Width: 600-715mm; Seat height: 165mm Gaslift - 396 - 543mm / 200mm Gaslift - 450 - 640 mm mm; Total height: 1030 – 1170mm (excluding headrest); Warranty: 10 years
5. Herman Miller Aeron: The most iconic office chair
Price:£939
Read our full review of the Herman Miller Aeron
The Aeron is an icon amongst office chairs. So much so, that it has made regular appearances on TV shows, including House and even the Simpsons (in which God himself was sat in it), as well as featuring prominently in many of the most plush offices in the world. It has been recently upgraded to have a whopping eight zones of different tensions, each designed to support different parts of the back and provide just enough support in each region. Other plus points include the Aeron’s hard-wearing durability, and getting it positioned just so is effortless – the tilting mechanism is a work of genius. Available in three different sizes and with or without arms, it’s supremely comfortable, yet you never find yourself slouching. It’s truly in a league of its own, although some users – and particularly taller ones – may not like the fact that it lacks a headrest.
Buy the Herman Miller Aeron from John Lewis
Key specs – Width: 514mm; Seat height: 375-483mm / 406-518mm / 406-541 mm; Total height: 920 – 1067mm; Warranty: 12 years
6. IKEA Torkel: The best office chair under £50
Price:£39
We’re not going to pretend that this is on par with any of the other far more sophisticated office chairs in this roundup. However, if you’re really strapped for cash, the Ikea Torkel is still approximately a zillion times better than a hard dining chair or your sofa in terms of ergonomics. It’s adjustable in height, and you can also tweak the tilt tension to suit how much you weigh and how much you move around when sitting. The safety castors mean you can keep the chair in place when you stand up and it swivels right around too. It’s a shame the armrests are fixed, but that’s to be expected for the money – there’s no question that you get a lot more bang for your buck than with other office chairs in this price range.
Key specs – Width: 59mm; Seat height: 52cm; Total height: 108cm; Warranty: none