A less-than-ideal work setup might cause pain in your back, arms, hands or wrists. You might also find yourself fidgeting, making more mistakes or taking more breaks, all because you're uncomfortable, says Allread.
Long-term, you might end up with tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. If your chair lacks lumbar support, Allread adds, you can roll up a towel, secure it with tape or rubber bands and place it at your lower back as a lumbar cushion to "keep the back in its natural curve. There are a lot of factors, and a new chair is just one of many things that can make your work environment more comfortable.
How did I pick my favorites? First, I assembled each chair and noted any issues with the process, with the exception of the Herman Miller Aeron Chair and the Steelcase Gesture Chair, since they arrived fully assembled bonus points for that.
Then, I spent one work day, or about eight hours, sitting in each chair, noting the level of comfort, adjustability such as adjustable height, adjustable backrest or adjustable arm features and any issues I had.
I also asked my husband to try out each chair. For reference, I'm 5 foot 7 inches, he's 6 foot 2, and we're both average weight. What might work for me or for him may not work for you, but I kept in mind all of the tips Gary Allread from the Spine Research Institute had mentioned as I sat and asked Kevin to do the same:.
I wasn't alone, either -- a number of customers have written reviews online expressing frustration that this chair which at first appears to be marketed to adults, on Home Depot's website if not Amazon broke while they were using it. If you're an adult under pounds, this chair could potentially work for you, but its limited features, including no armrest, completely ruled it out for me regardless.
So we were down to nine chairs. It also lacks lumbar support. The HON Exposure Mesh Task Computer Chair also lacks lumbar support, and it leans back too far for both of us, making it uncomfortable to sit with our backs against the backrest as Allread suggests.
The Humanscale Freedom Chair arrived mostly assembled; I just had to connect the top half and the wheelbase. If you want to try a kneeling chair, Gehrman recommends this one.
A kneeling chair will also lengthen your hip flexors which get tight while sitting , take some pressure off your glute and hamstring muscles, and promote a more neutral lumbar spine. But he cautions to use kneeling chairs intermittently — ideally, you should alternate between a kneeling chair, a regular chair, and standing throughout the work day, Gehrman says.
Another affordable — but still ergonomic — alternative to a proper office chair is a stool, which Jaffe says can help improve posture while engaging the core as you sit. She recommends this one because it has an adjustable seat to accommodate lots of different heights.
Adam Lamb of Lamb Chiropractic , a New York City—based practice that offers house calls, also likes stools, saying he personally sits on one at his office because it encourages good posture and allows you to build strength and balance as you answer emails. Chiropractor Dr.
Both Huang and chiropractor Dr. Cariann Paul love this memory-foam footrest. For something firmer, Huang recommends this footrest because you can adjust its height and angle. You can put it on a chair back for lumbar support, sit on it to improve your posture, and even use it as a tool while stretching, he adds.
It also makes it easy to switch between sitting on a ball and on a regular chair. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape.
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The Aimee-Jayne Office Conference Chair can swivel, is height-adjustable and has a sturdy iron frame. The foam-stuffed cushion features a waterfall edge for added comfort and the upholstery comes in two colors.
While you may want a more adjustable chair for all day, every day use, this is an attractive option if you only need to sit an hour or two at a time. That means that the chair will keep your spine in its natural position, improving posture. There are other design choices to ensure a comfortable experience too.
With a multifunction mechanism that allows you to adjust the back angle, tilt and the height of the arms, this office chair offers some great adjustment options. And, the chair has a nice contoured seat cushion that will ensure a comfortable experience throughout. Plus, its mesh back gives a super cool, breathable experience, which is perfect for the summer. This ergonomic office chair is a great option for those who want an executive-type chair on a budget. Available in eight colors including several bright hues , this stylish chair is built for heavy usage, so it can definitely withstand a standard 8-hour work day.
Its padded seat, back and armrests also ensure that it remains comfortable all day. Wayfair offers a range of relatively inexpensive office chairs, like this Alori Conference Chair. Its breathable padded seat, ergonomic backrest and other standard features swivel, tilt ensure that it can compete with higher-priced options. The chair is built from premium materials, like the PU casters that work great on hard floors and carpet alike. The chair has a tilting mechanism too, so you can more easily achieve the perfect sitting position.
Some testers had difficulty getting comfortable in the ReGeneration, and they complained about the back of the chair pushing awkwardly on their lower spine.
Others found the recline, which shoves your crotch into the air as you push back, a little awkward. None of our testers liked the Steelcase Series 1 , complaining that it was too short, the arms were too tall, and it was generally uncomfortable for sitting longer than a couple of hours at a time.
However, in previous rounds of testing, it was universally reviled. Our shorter testers found that the high back made them feel like children sitting on a throne, while taller testers found that the non-adjustable arms were far too low for comfort. How long any chair will last depends on how you use it. That said, higher-end chairs like our top pick and runner-up are made with highly durable parts and fabrics that should last for many years.
Thus far, these picks have endured over six years of rigorous use in our long-term testing. Plus, premium chairs come with longer warranties 12 years in the case of the Steelcase Gesture and Herman Miller Aeron that cover any issues outside of normal wear and tear.
If you spend most of your working hours sitting at your desk, the answer is yes. Expensive chairs can also be bought secondhand often in like-new condition at significant discounts, making them more accessible to more people. Office chairs and task chairs are generally synonymous, though in practice it's usually the cheapest, smallest, least ergonomically sound office chairs that are sold as task chairs.
Gaming chairs, meanwhile, resemble office chairs but generally provide fewer ergonomic adjustments. While a good gaming chair will offer lumbar support, for instance, its backrest is designed to cradle you as you play, rather than support an ideal seating position. Ergonomic concerns aside, gaming chairs also tend to make aesthetic choices that will look good on a Twitch stream, but may seem less appropriate in a Zoom meeting with your boss.
While most of those chairs may seem fine at first, you'll soon be feeling and hearing the consequences of choosing a cheap chair: creaking sounds, deflated foam cushions, and cracking armrests and other plastic parts. For instance, our taller testers found the non-adjustable armrests of the budget-friendly IKEA Markus to be too short, and shorter testers felt the lowest seat position of the chair was still too high.
But if you fall into the goldilocks zone of not being too tall or too short, the Markus could be a solid option. Melanie Pinola is a Wirecutter senior staff writer covering all things home office. Our pick. Also great. Budget pick. HON Ignition 2. Everything we recommend. Why you should trust us. Who this is for. How we picked and tested. We evaluated office chairs on seat, backrest, and armrest comfort—and how our bodies felt after we got up from a chair was just as important as how we felt while we were sitting.
We look for chairs with at least adjustable seat height but prefer office chairs that also let you adjust the arm height, tilt, and seat depth. In addition, the best chairs allow you to customize the tilt distance and the amount of force required to lean the chair back.
Durability and materials: A lot of minor things can go wrong with a chair—the arms might come loose, a knob could crack, or a piece may break off entirely. Cheaper chairs notoriously develop weird squeaks and creaking sounds over time.
Seat cushions, in particular, can give out quickly, with cheaper foam leaving you with an office chair that feels saggy on day even if it felt supportive on day one. Caster quality comes into play if you want to smoothly roll your chair around every now and then—if you have a sit-and-stand desk setup, for example, or if you want to win a fire extinguisher roller-chair derby. Warranty: Whereas a typical no-name chair might be covered for one or two years, most high-end chairs come with at least a year warranty.
We look for office chairs with at least a five-year warranty, preferably longer. Appearance: We prioritize comfort over appearance, but we understand that many people with home offices are put off by the bland blacks and grays of most office furniture. We ask our panel of testers what they think about the aesthetics of each chair they try, and we consider fabric choice, color, and other customization options to be a bonus. Based on our conversations with ergonomists, we avoided two types of chairs entirely:.
Our pick: Steelcase Gesture. Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald. Flaws but not dealbreakers. Runner-up: Herman Miller Aeron. You have to reach for the back of the chair to adjust the height of the arms on the Aeron.
Video: Kyle Fitzgerald. For most people, we suggest these options:. Also great: Herman Miller Sayl. Budget pick: HON Ignition 2. How to make a cheap chair suck less.
Some issues are more difficult to hack. Other good office chairs. The competition.
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