Are you sitting in your ergonomic office chair correctly?

Whilst ergonomic office chairs boast a range of adjustable features to maximise ergonomic support,  if you’re not sitting in your chair correctly, you’re likely not reaping those benefits. In fact, you’re likely putting yourself at risk of ergonomic hazards. 

Here’s an ergonomic guide on how you should be sitting in your ergonomic office chair to avoid ergonomic hazards: 

When seated in an ergonomic office chair, keep your feet flat 

When seated, your feet should always be flat on the floor or a footrest. If you’re using a footrest, it’s important to find a tilt that accommodates for your natural posture. 

By keeping your feet flat on the floor, you can spread your body weight evenly across your hips and better allows for blood flow through your body. 

When seated in an ergonomic office chair, keep your knees bent 

To encourage correct back posture, your knees should be bent at 90-degrees, keeping thighs parallel with the floor. 

When seated in an ergonomic office chair, support your forearms  

It’s recommended that you rest 3/4th of your forearms on the desk. This provides the upper body with additional support and helps encourage correct shoulder alignment. 

Additionally, when resting your arms, it’s important to keep your elbows close to your body and bent between 90-120 degrees. This prevents straining your shoulders and neck by alleviating pressure on your upper body muscles. 

When seated in an ergonomic office chair, maintain an upward posture 

Maintaining an upright posture is important in protecting the natural curve of your spine and preventing the inevitable slouch. To help encourage this posture, it’s recommended that you keep your shoulders relaxed and in line with your hips. 

When seated in an ergonomic office chair, adjust the height to keep your monitor at eye level 

Looking down at a screen will inevitably cause some significant neck pain that can result in tension headaches. That’s why it’s important to raise your monitor screen or laptop with a monitor arm to keep the screen at eye level. 

Not only will this prevent neck strain, but will also prevent you from hunching your back and interfering with the natural spine alignment. 

Additionally, prolonged screen use can result in eye strain and other vision-related problems. To prevent overall eye discomfort, you experience from consistent screen usage, it is recommended you look away from your screen for at least 20 seconds every 20 minutes. Research suggests that looking into the distance relaxes the focusing part of your eye to reduce eye fatigue.  

Whilst these guidelines contribute to a healthy seated posture, we're human! Maintaining this position can become difficult, so it’s only natural that you change your position throughout the day to relax the activated muscle group. We recommended standing up from your desk and stretching every 30 minutes.  

Ergonomic furniture is important – but personal seating posture is too. For maximum comfort for long days in the office, make sure you’re combining both a genuine ergonomic office chair and good seated posture.  

Sylex Ergonomics can supply you with the ergonomic office furniture you need to help you get back to work with maximum comfort and ergonomic support. Contact our team of ergonomic specialists today!