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Comfort is key when sitting for long periods of time, and these top-rated chairs offer the support you need
As more and more of us work from home, it’s important to have the best ergonomic office chair that will enhance and support good posture. Of course, you want the chair to be comfortable but you also want it to be adaptable to your body type and the many positions you get yourself into while working at your desk.
That’s why good adjustability must be built into the chair itself, so you can dial in the healthiest position possible while you work – encouraging you to have an active posture in your chair and discourage slouching and slumping. That means having a backrest that follows the natural curvature of the spine, while enabling other parts of the chair, from the headrest to the seat pad, to be tweaked accordingly.
Before we took our seats, we assessed how easy each chair was to assemble and set up, while keeping a close eye on build quality and finish. We chose the best ergonomic office chairs based on how they performed and how they looked, as it’s likely they will be on permanent display somewhere in your home.
The best ergonomic office chairs don’t have to cost the earth, either – there are plenty of affordable options out there, so, you should have no problem finding a chair to fit your home office setup.
As a freelance journalist (with confirmed and long-running back issues), our tester spends far too long, every day, sitting at a desk in front of a laptop, trying to minimise the negative effects (on their back and overall health) of prolonged sitting. To do this, they usually work at a sit-stand desk but, to test the best ergonomic office chairs, they parked their usual “active working” schedule and remained seated while working, to see how each chair mitigated those static postures that are so bad for the body, while still promoting productivity throughout the working day.
Working from home has meant that people have ended up working in less desirable conditions. Ergonomic chairs aim to create more desired conditions, and are designed with the human body in mind, considering posture, support, comfort and health.
There is quite a specific set of requirements that make a chair ergonomic. The common ones are present in most office chairs – ie, a swivel base, seat height adjustment, five-spoke wheelbase and arm support adjustment. There are a few more to look out for that mean a chair is truly ergonomic, such as a back tilt tension adjustment that lets you rock back in your chair, lumbar support, and back angle adjustment that allows you to fine-tune the back into the most comfortable position for you. You should also look for backrest adjustment, which allows you to arrange the contours of the back cushion for optimal support and more.
There are some really innovative and oh-so-comfortable ergonomic chairs on the market but finding your perfect chair is a bit of a Goldilocks situation. You should narrow down a few factors, such as your budget, how much swivel room you have under your desk and whether you need a headrest. Ultimately, the whole idea of an ergonomic chair is you can alter the settings so it perfectly fits and supports your own body.
Especially if you are working from home, it is a worthwhile investment to purchase a good ergonomic office chair. A decent one can range anywhere from £200 all the way to £2,000.
Let’s start by saying there’s pros and cons to having armrests: if you use them properly they can support your limbs and relieve your back when seated. However, they can also encourage shoulder shrugging if set too high and can have the effect of a leaning posture if one of them is set slightly higher than the other.
Your elbows should be in line with the desk, so for those of us where that’s not the case, adjustable armrests can come in handy in helping you find the correct setup. To really make your working from home space a place of comfort, make sure your armrests are positioned correctly. It’s the last thing you should be adjusting and ideally, they should sit just below your elbow when your hands are resting in your lap (a lot lower than most would think).
For the best and most comfy setup, you would switch between using the armrest to, well, rest your arms on and going without during your day.
High-quality office chairs can be quite heavy, and therefore leave unwanted marks and imprints on our lovely carpets. A great way to get around this is by using an office chair mat, creating a level of protection between your chair and the floor, helping to reduce friction and damage to the carpet fibres. For chairs without wheels, chair coasters offer similar protection by protecting the space under each stationary chair leg.
First off, it’s pretty crucial the height of the chair harmonises with the rest of your setup. In terms of the tilt on the back of the chair, it’s best to be relatively upright when you can, but feel free to recline the backrest every now and again. As a rule of thumb, you should be as close to your desk as possible, so if you can, push the seat forward so the armrests fit underneath your desk.
Then, if it isn’t already, ensure your computer screen is on a level with your eye-line. Preferably, you should be looking 2-3in below the casing on the top of the screen – you don’t want to be tilting your head up or down for long periods.
Finally, remember to get up and move around at least once every half hour. Long periods of sitting are a stressor for the muscles and discs in your back, so it’s good to switch up your posture up every now and again. By leaving the desk you’re less likely to forget about maintaining your posture throughout the day – anything to avoid the dreaded slouch.
Most ergonomic office chairs are constructed from a range of materials – from chrome and nylon to faux leather – that all require a different approach when it comes to keeping them spick and span.
For chrome and plastic components, such as arm rests, you can simply wipe them clean – dampen a cloth with a mix of water and mild dish soap to tackle any stubborn marks, and be sure to dry the areas thoroughly afterwards.
When it comes to fabric components, it’s best to avoid liquid cleaning solutions, if possible. Use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner to get rid of any dust or crumbs that have accumulated on the seat and backrest of your chair. If you happen to spill your coffee (or any other fluid) on the fabric of your ergonomic chair, soak up as much of the liquid as possible and use a suitable fabric cleaner to spot clean any remaining stains – it’s a good idea to test cleaning solutions on a small, inconspicuous area, to make sure the product won’t discolour the fabric of your chair.
With its no-sweat assembly and solid build quality, the Boulies nubi lite is a great choice for dedicated home workers who will be able to feel the support in all the right areas. One of the most comfortable chairs on test, it has all the adjustability you will need to see you through your working day, without any stiffness.
However, if you have a larger budget available, the Humanscale path and the Herman miller mirra 2 butterfly really offer tangible ergonomics that get to work as soon as you sit down.
For more ways to make working from home more comfortable, read our round-up of the best laptop stands