The humble office chair. When you sit down at work on a Monday morning, do you give much thought to where your various office chairs actually came from? Or, more likely, do you simply park yourself down for the day and get on with whatever comes your way?
Most of us don’t really think about office chairs other than whether they’re comfortable or not, but the story of where they came from is actually surprisingly interesting! To brighten up your day, and to give you an insight into that piece of office furniture you’re currently sat on, let’s talk about how office chairs were born, how they developed, and how they turned into the all singing, all dancing, ergonomically comfortable wonders they are today!
From Humble Beginnings …
When you think about it, chairs have really come a long way. From wooden, rather uncomfortable, and completely unadjustable contraptions that remind us of something from Scrooge’s office in a Christmas Carol, to luxurious office furniture choices that adorn the conference rooms of the biggest companies across the planet, it’s really quite astounding how far we’ve come.
Chairs now all require us to twist, move, swivel, rise, fall, lean back, lean forward, they support our backs, they make us sit properly, they give us a better posture, and they allow us to sit for longer lengths of time without getting that rather numb behind problem we might have had before. Yes ladies and gentleman, a chair is something you should never take for granted!
Did you know that Darwin himself actually had a hand in designing the office chair we know and love today? It’s true! In the 1840s, Charles Darwin designed the very first office chair, before going on to also invest his time in creating the much-loved living room armchair. Despite that, he didn’t manage to create the most comfortable office chair around, not like the many office furniture London choices you’ll see on the web today! Wheels had not yet been attached, padding was still AWOL, and adjustments were a long way in the future.
Speaking of wheels, the first office chair with wheels attached actually came thanks to former US President Jefferson! During his work, Jefferson wanted to be able to move around, without having to get up from his chair - something we can all sympathise with. As a result, he asked his many helpers to fix the problem, and a local carpenter managed to fix casters to the bottom of an adapted chair. And so dawned the beginning of the mobile office chair!
We told you this was an interesting story, you would never have figured out that Darwin and Jefferson had a hand in designing the office chair you’re probably currently sat on now …
Giving it a Modern Twist
Despite the addition of wheels to the office chair, they could still only really move in one set of directions - backwards and forwards. There was still no swivel, which was proving to be an annoyance for certain users. The Centripetal Spring Armchair, designed by Thomas Warren in 1849 began to move towards that aforementioned movement and swivel combination, thanks to springs which were attached to the underside of the chair - not the most stable of constructions, but it did the job! From there, whoever was sat on the chair could then lean backwards, sideways, forwards, and spin if they really wanted to. Sounds great, right? Many didn’t think so. The rather stuffy Victorians didn’t approve of the more ‘chilled out’ feel this type of office chair, deeming it unsafe for good posture, and rather uncouth. Quite.
It wasn’t until the 1970s, over a century later, when development of the office chair continued. A little perturbed by the Victorians’ disapproval, design was halted, until Wilhelm Ritz decided that chairs needed to have the ability to be raised if necessary, to accommodate different heights of this using the chair. Genius. A gas cylinder was used to propel the chair higher, and release it to go lower. This is still a design used in today’s more high tech office chairs.
Yes, it took more than 200 years to design the fully fledged office chair, and we’re still adding and taking away now. In the late ‘70s, ergonomics was the word on the block.
Ergonomics is The Word
The Ergon Chair was the major new kid on the block when it came to office space planning and seating options. Designed in 1976, this chair was focused on improving the health and wellbeing of office workers, who often stayed in their office chairs for a full working day. Obviously the idea of breaks hadn’t quite dawned by that point.
Whilst the ergonomics on this chair were nowhere near the ones we know and love today, really only focusing on the support of the spine and nothing else, it was really the springboard for further development, and encouraged more research into the health and safety aspect of office work and planning.
Of course, these days we know that for a chair to be safe and healthy it needs to be several things:
• Height adjustable
• The ability to adjust the lean/upright position
• Have removable arm rests
• The back section should be able to be raised or dropped, in addition to the overall height
• Adjustable lumbar support
• Padded seat
All of these elements make for a much healthier working environment for an office worker, ensuring that posture is kept as it should be, there is a marked reduction in the risk of lower back and neck problems, chronic pain problems are eradicated or at least drastically reduced, and to help lower the chances of developing RSI. Of course, a chair also needs to be comfortable, otherwise what’s the point in sitting in it for long periods of time? Nobody wants to be uncomfortable, and if you want your staff to be happy and to boost morale, a comfortable chair is the very basic requirement!
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Today’s Office Design
As you can see, office chairs have really come a long way, and would have guessed that the great Darwin himself got the whole ball rolling? Would you have figured out that a US President had a hand in the whole development? That chair you’re sitting on now, it’s a historic thing!
Of course, these days we have a whole host of different types of seating options to choose from when we want to kit out a new office or renovate completely. From the all singing, all dancing ergonomic choices we just talked about, to majorly impressive conference chairs, mesh office chairs, breakout space sofas, reception seating options, and everything else besides, a company who wants to redesign their entire office space has many options to choose from. Whilst comfort has to be the number one go-to, functionality and cost also has to come into consideration.
In reception areas, sofas work really well as a welcoming and comfortable addition to the most important, first impression space. This gives the idea that the business puts their clients’ comfort above everything else, and when you give that first impression the rest completely falls into place. Inside your office, you need to think comfort, of course, but you need to ensure that the chair you’re opting for fits the bill of the task that is going to be done at that workspace.
Is this an area which is going to have a lot of computer work done at it? In that case, you should be looking more towards the ergonomic choices. Is it a breakout area, or an area which is going to be used for collaboration, brainstorming, moving around and team work? In that case, how about those aforementioned mesh chairs? Perhaps regular chairs on wheels, so that staff can jump up to the whiteboard when they find an idea they’re passionate about? Really think about the task that is going to be undertaken at that space, and work around it in terms of your office furniture choices.
What is an Office Chair to You?
Now you know where office chairs came from, thanks to the late, great Darwin, how do you feel about your current chair? You probably never really gave it much thought prior to reading this chat, but perhaps now you look at it all a little differently!
A chair is not just something to sit on, it is a piece of furniture with a functional reason, and one which needs to be designed ‘just so’, in order to meet the needs of the person using it, or perhaps the many people using that space. In the case of hot-desking or activity-based working, there is an even greater need for a chair to be adjustable and to have several different features, besides simply being something to park yourself on for a set amount of time!
What’s your take on office chairs? Do you prefer a certain type of chair? Do you feel comfortable on mesh or harder-type chairs, or do you always go for the super-comfortable ergonomic design? Share your ideas and let’s chat!