With the office chair we differentiate between the movement promoting active office chair and the back friendly standard office chair. The standard office chair therefore belongs to the "healthy basic furnishing" that must not be missing in any office and which should fulfil at least the following criteria.
Our health and performance ability highly depend on the good design and appropriate use of the office chair. For example body postures that are assumed for any reason have effects on our thinking and perceptual processes (cognition), such as for example the decision formation or our attitude, and of course also on the emotionality. The back friendly standard office chair therefore has intuitive operating elements with which the sitting height and depth can be easily adjusted to the individual requirements. Furthermore, manufacturers bring much healthy movement to workplace with their office chairs. Seat and backrest are equipped with a synchronous mechanism and automatically follow the movements of the body. The synchronous mechanism combines a backward movement of the backrest with a lowering of the sitting surface in the back area that is adjusted to it - meaning a change of the opening angle. This finally leads to more comfortable sitting in reclining posture.
In addition all AGR tested standard office chairs have an effective downward suspension that ensures shock absorption when sitting down and thereby prevents spinal column compression. The sitting surface with integrated free-flowing, respectively forward adjustable seat inclination can also be individually adjusted in the depth. Height, width and depth adjustable armrests ensure relief of the shoulder and arm muscles (especially important with intensive work at the monitor). Also an individually or automatically adjustable backrest pressure, a balanced support through a high backrest and much more belongs to the basic equipment with a back friendly standard office chair.
A good office chair requires only a few but thereby functionally advantageous and well accessible operating elements. In combination with back friendly behaviour, e.g. frequent change of the working posture, this is an important prerequisite for health and performance ability at the office. The back friendly design of the entire workplace serves the employer and employee at the same time, which unfortunately is still not taken into account enough.
A back friendly office chair alone is however not sufficient. The totality of the office workplace, meaning the environment, lighting conditions respectively illumination adapted to the work, the size of the office desk, arrangement of the screen etc. must be considered and adapted to each other. Combined standing seat workplaces or an additional high desk represent an ideal supplement.
If you work at an elevated workplace in the counter area, permanently standing is very stressful. Therefore for this area special counter chairs have been developed. They basically fulfil the same criteria as standard office chairs, but have a significantly higher sitting position and a foot ring for comfortable support of the feet. If the workplace cannot be left for a longer period of time, the use of a separate footrest is recommended. This allows you to vary the sitting position additionally. Tip: Even a perfectly adjusted office chair does not protect against back pain. Hence include movement breaks as wells as many posture changes as possible in your everyday office life.
Office chairs that are used at 24-hour workplaces such as control rooms must fulfil especially high requirements. On the one hand they must support an upright sitting position, allow changing sitting positions and optimum visual contact (viewing monitors) and on the other hand promote the necessary specific performance ability. Which is why these chairs must always also have an adjustable nape support. In addition, quality and robustness are important. Because they must also be suitable for individuals with high bodyweight and for the use in three shift operation.
aeris GmbH*
Hans-Stießberger-Straße 2a, 3. OG
85540 Haar b. München
GERMANY
Phone +49 89/90 05 06 0
Fax +49 89/90 39 39 1
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www.aeris.de
Dauphin HumanDesign® Group GmbH & Co. KG**
Espanstraße 36
91238 Offenhausen
GERMANY
Phone +49 9158/17 700
Fax +49 9158/17 701
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www.dauphin-group.com
Haider Bioswing GmbH ***
Dechantseeser Str. 4
95704 Pullenreuth
GERMANY
Phone +49 9234/99 22-0
Fax +49 9234/99 22 166
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www.bioswing.de
Sedus Stoll AG****
Christof-Stoll-Str. 1
79804 Dogern
GERMANY
Phone +49 7751/84 300
Fax +49 7751/84 61 300
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www.sedus.com
Wilkhahn*****
Wilkening+Hahne GmbH +Co.KG
Fritz-Hahne- Straße 8
31848 Bad Münder
GERMANY
Phone +495042/9990
Fax +495042/ 999226
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www.wilkhahn.com
All the technical solutions in the world cannot help if they are not put to good use and the chair is not adjusted to the individual needs of the user. Please therefore make sure you are familiar with the possible settings provided by your office chair. The manufacturer's instructions for use will help you. Good manufacturers and good retailers even offer their customers personal instructions and training. If you sit incorrectly for long periods of time, bending over or in a twisted position, this will hamper your breathing and digestion. Sitting poorly can cause premature fatigue, circulatory disorders or indigestion and backache, resulting even in more serious musculoskeletal diseases.
You should therefore heed the following points when sitting on your office chair
Some office chair concepts permit changing sitting positions right through to a lying position. These office chairs stand out with a very large opening angle that even permits a so-called relaxed position.
A few years ago, it would have been simply inconceivable to be lying down while working in the office. Not just because our office work would not have permitted this position but also because society simply didn't accept lying down as a possible position for working in the office. But today a lot can be down in a lying position with no great effort, using a mouse click, voice input or mobile touchscreens. It is not just the body that benefits from a lying position but also the mind as well. Findings from sleep research confirm for example that power napping while lying down demonstrably improves work performance and well-being. Those who integrate power napping in their life rhythm are verifiably more concentrated with faster responses and better performance levels as well as being more balanced, than those who prefer to manage without a horizontal intermezzo during the day.