How Does The Office Chair Back Rest Contribute to Comfort and Productivity?

An ergonomic office chair has many parts. While all of them are important, some are more important than others. One of the more important parts is the office chair backrest. The truth is that it is the ergonomic backrest that makes a chair truly ergonomic.

No matter how expensive a chair is, if the backrest is not any good, then the whole purpose of buying the chair is defeated. If there is something that you should get right in an office chair, it is the chair backrest.

Take care of your back so it doesn’t let you down in future. As you bend down towards your computer, you take the spine out of its natural alignment, and you make things a tad worse for yourself.

With more than 30 millions suffering from back pain at any given time, you can be sure that you do not want to be a part of these nasty, but true statistics. If you take care of your back, you will never have to contend with back pain.

You could be setting yourself up for back pain in future

The longer that you sit in a bad position for your spine, the worse it will become in future. Someone would think that the “new” alignment of the spine forced by sitting long on a bad chair would make your back get used to it. But there is no getting used to something that is bad for your health. That is why you need a good office chair backrest.

If you are a manager, you need to buy the best workplace chairs for your employees. This is not only the humane thing to do, but it is also a way to save money. Today, most of the workplace injuries that get the biggest compensation every year include back pain.

If you do not want to get sued by your employees seeking personal injury compensation, make the working environment very convenient for them. Make it as ergonomic as possible. Making the workplace ergonomic means taking care of everything. From making sure that the floors meet all the requirements, to investing in the best stand up desks, there is a lot you can do to improve the workplace environment.

But among all the items that you will have in the office, the  one and the most important of them all is the chair. It is on the chair where most people spend many working hours. If the chair is not ergonomic, the ergonomic factor of the rest of the workplace is lost.

Avoid lost work days on account of back pain

Not using ergonomic office chairs like ErgoChair 2 in the office can cause a lot of backlog too. For example, many of your team will miss work a few days a year on account of back pain. They will go to see a doctor for their neck, shoulder or back pain. Even if they do not miss work, they will not be able to deliver to the best of their capacity.

With so many types of ergonomic office chairs, there is no reason why you should not buy some for your office. If you have healthy employees, they will be more productive and happier.

But even as you look for an ergonomic office chair with the best backrest, you also have to remember that this is only one part. For the office chairs to be holistically ergonomic, every part must be designed to offer comfort from all aspects, including the height.

What we mean to say here is that a good backrest for chairs is a must-have feature, but so is the seat area, the armrests, the adjustability as well as the headrest. When you sit down, it should “hug” you such that you feel that the chair has conformed to the alignment of your back. If you ever feel as if you have to sit back, or lean sideways to fit snugly in the chair, then it is not truly ergonomic.

The shape of the seat too contributes to chair ergonomics

The seat should be pulled back slightly in the back. That way, when you sit on it, your butt sinks down and pulls back a bit. That aspect is very good for enhancing your posture. By sinking down in the seat, it pulls you back such that your spine is straightened.

At the front edge of the seat, the design is usually slightly curved in a waterfall design. This is important so that it does not push back against the back of your knees causing you strain and pain. Actually, you should not feel the edge of the seat pressing against you. A good seat works hand in hand with the office chair backrest to ensure that you get the best posture possible.

The armrests are also very important for enhancing the comfort of the user of the seat. In fact, they too play a very important role in enhancing the adoption of the best posture. Thus, even a chair with the best backrest but missing armrests may not be good for sitting down long hours.

At best, armrests should be adjustable such that people of different heights can use the chair comfortably. To set the armrests at just the right height, make sure that when your arms are resting on the armrests, they form a 90-degree angle. That is the best posture is you spend long hours working at your computer.

What makes a good backrest?

There are many things, but the most important of them include the tilt, and breathability. Today, many ergonomic office chairs come with adjustable backrests. This means that the office chair backrest cam be tilted forward or backward to suit your needs.

Some office chairs come with fixed backrests. Even if you buy such, it should be designed in such a way that it allows your spine to rest in the most natural alignment. However, before buying make sure the chair is described as ergonomic. You can ascertain that from reviews left by other users since it  is not possible to test the chair when you are buying one online.

How Good Backrest Contributes to Productivity

It improves your comfort at work

One of the factors that increase productivity in the office is comfort. A comfortable worker is a productive worker. A tiltable backrest is very comfortable. When you feel too tired after sitting in one posture, you will want to change and adopt another posture. A chair that has a backrest that you can tilt forward or backward can help you relax in the best way possible.

If you buy an ergonomic chair that is customizable, you will not have to force your body to adjust to the rigid posture of the seat. When you have a one-size-for-all chair, it means that you cannot adjust it to suit the needs of your body. Rather, you will be forced to force your body to suit the structure of the chair.

When you sit down, there is a way that your spine aligns itself in its natural posture. A good office chair’s backrest should support this alignment, rather than force your back to adopt another alignment. This would cause you serious lower back pain and it would also affect your comfort at work.

If you could even get a chair with a tiltable backrest that would allow you to nap comfortably when you need to, go for it.

A good backrest reduces the risks of back pain

As we said at the start of this post, more than 30 million Americans suffer from back pain at any given time. A good chair has a high backrest reaching to the shoulders. This supports the entire back and enhances the spine’s natural curve. 

Some of the chairs look like they have a backrest that stands at 90 degrees. This can be adjusted to bigger angles to allow your back to rest.

By working in the office for at least 40 hours a week, you are already doing your body a lot of harm by leading such a sedentary lifestyle. If you do not use a good chair, you will be making things much worse for yourself. You need to have a chair that can help your back as much as possible.

Sitting down for long hours can give you back pain on its own. Using a bad chair makes the risk many times more serious.

An ergonomic backrest promotes good posture

If you look at people sitting down, you will notice that many of them have a poor posture. When you sit on bad chair for a long time, you can damage the posture of your back. However, when you use the right chair, it supports and promotes the natural curve of the spine. If the sitting posture is good, the standing posture will be good too.

The essence of adopting the best sitting posture is that in future, you can avoid back pain. Most people suffer from back pain in their senior years because in their younger years, they used bad chairs. If you are going to work for 45 years before retirement, that is 4 decades of destroying your back a little at a time by using a bad chair.

Some of the best ergonomic office chairs come with adjustable lumbar support. This is added to further enhance the support that your lower back gets from the office chair. During a day at the office, you can move this support (usually in the form of a pillow) up or down depending on where you feel your back needs the support most.

When you are seated down in the best posture, your thighs should be parallel to the floor, with the knees forming a 90-degree angle. However, you do not want to sit at that one posture for too long. Thus, when you tilt the chair’s back, it will help you stretch your legs out.

A backrest with a headrest supports your neck and head

If the office chair backrest also has a head rest, it can support the whole of your back. This means the shoulders, the neck and the head too. Knowing that your back is fully supported right from the base of the spine to the back of the head is indeed relaxing.

Most people are only worried about the spine support and alignment. However, for more comfort at work, even the neck and the head need to be supported.

If you sit for too long without some form of neck support, you will experience serious stiffness around the shoulder and the neck area. Considering that you will be most likely be using this chair for 5 days a week, it is better to get one with head rest.

You can adjust the chair for different activities

Sometimes in the office, you need to do different things. It could be working at your computer, or it could be listening to a presentation. Sometimes, you just want to write in a book. You also want to lean back comfortably when talking to a person. Your ergonomic office chair should support all of these activities, allowing you to adopt different postures.

Sometimes, you just want to lean back, relax and take a nap. This is only possible if you have a chair that is designed for that.

A breathable backrest prevents sweat build up

On the hot summer days, you will need a chair that has a breathable backrest. Most chairs come with a meshed backrest, which allows the circulation of enough air. You will need this in the summer, and even when it is cold, your will sweat after staying glued to a non-breathable back for so long.

Thankfully, even the fully covered backrests are made with breathable material. Thus, you should not skimp on buying a chair that has a leather or cloth fabric because it will still be breathable. The seat of the chair too should be breathable. You do not want to roast your rear for sitting too long on a non-breathable seat for many hours.

Finally when you have a chair with a truly ergonomic backrest, you are able to work longer. At the back of your mind, you know that the chair you are using is promoting your health. If you know that there is no risk of back pain, you can work harder, giving your all at the job. This is a subconscious thing.

Employees who get the best equipment feel motivated to work harder because they feel that their boss cares about them.

Conclusion

You have seen how important a good, ergonomic office chair backrest is for your comfort and back health. No matter how good a chair is, if it has a nasty backrest, then it fails in its purpose completely. Today, office furniture specialists build chairs that are holistically ergonomic.

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