If your company is successful, at some point you are going to hire people who are much smaller or much bigger than average. (I miss 2m by a few fingers; one of my coworkers is almost a half meter shorter.)<p>At that point, it is vital that you remember two things:<p>First, chairs are cheap compared to salaries.<p>Second, an inflexible policy is an impediment to working at your company.<p>Don't set a policy like "We buy Aeron for everybody." If you have an esthetic issue (don't laugh, some companies do, I've worked at one) make the policy "All chairs are black". Pretty much every chair can be ordered in black, and nobody outside your company will ever notice a chair that they someone is using at their desk.
A lot of office chairs enforce a sit-up-straight posture which I really don't like. When sitting at a computer for long hours I like to lean the chair far back and put my feet up or out in front of me. I've found that I never get back or wrist pain this way and have run across some articles that say this is better for your back.<p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/57654.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/57654.php</a>
<a href="http://rsna2006.rsna.org/rsna2006/V2006/conference/event_display.cfm?em_id=4435870" rel="nofollow">http://rsna2006.rsna.org/rsna2006/V2006/conference/event_dis...</a><p>The only downside is that many people will associate leaning back in your chair with your feet up as being lazy. For this reason I printed out that article and pinned it to my cubicle wall.
If your finances can't stretch to $700-$1000 for a chair I can thoroughly recommend the Ikea Volmar [1].<p>I had the previous version and just replaced it with a new one. The old one gave me 10 years of great service but the seat padding needs replaced and re-upholstered, and there's something gone a bit shonky with the backrest adjustment.<p>I work from home and after using it for 8-12 hours a day (with usual sensible breaks) my back and backside feel just fine. It's a pretty comfy chair, even for a big lad who's enjoyed too many pies, like me.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S59896332/?query=VOLMAR+Swivel+chair+w+headrest%2Farmrests#/S79896331" rel="nofollow">http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S59896332/?query=...</a>
I'm a very, very big dude (6'2" and around 375lbs). That combination means that chairs are generally too small and too brittle; my last chair ($300 or so) lasted less than 6 months. Then I discovered this: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PWGZKW/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=iha0a-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B000PWGZKW&adid=0QY2QE18GE777ZPAMZCH&" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PWGZKW/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=ih...</a>; (Warning: referral link)<p>It's large enough to accomodate me very comfortably, it's built like a tank, it's adjustable to hell and back, and it's less than $400. The casters that come with it seem to be solid as well, though I replaced them with a set of nice rubber ones that would glide a bit better under the weight.<p>It's held me well for around 6 months now with no sign of letting up, and I have very few complaints (namely, that the headrest adjustment is done via discrete notches rather than a continuous adjustment). Can't say enough good things about it.
I spent a few months evaluating a few of these chairs after I started feeling pressure points in my legs. My pain is gone, but no chair will ever replace stretching every hour or so. Here are my short reviews:<p>Herman Miller Embody: The chair I like the best and bought for around ~$850 here <a href="http://www.businessinteriors.ca/" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessinteriors.ca/</a>. More details about the deal here: <a href="http://forums.redflagdeals.com/herman-miller-embody-841-a-1145523/" rel="nofollow">http://forums.redflagdeals.com/herman-miller-embody-841-a-11...</a>. Everything about the chair is adjustable, which I think is very important for many reasons. People tend to shift sitting positions after a while, one size never fits all and the chair must adjust to fit the table. The full mesh construction and deep recline are also important if you are sitting for long periods of time.<p>Herman Miller Aeron: Only tried this in the store for a few hours. Very comfortable. Same pros as the Embody except for the full back support and a few adjustable features like seat length, which was important for me because of my leg pain.<p>IKEA Markus: I've heard good things about this, but I had to return it after sitting on it for 2 weeks. My leg pains got worse and I suspect that is because the seat was too hard and long for me. The price was right, but the lack of adjustable features meant it was no good for me. Also, why make the back out of mesh, but not the seat? Our butts are where we feel most of the pressure.<p>Humanscale Freedom Chair: Only sat on it for a few minutes. I felt they might have compromised on comfort to build an easy to use chair. The lack of mesh also makes me sceptical that I could use it for long periods of time.<p>tl;dr: The most comfortable chairs that fixed my pressure points were fully adjustable, were completely constructed out of mesh and had a deep recline.
I wish there were office chairs with electronic/memory adjustments. I hate it when someone sits in my aeron, changes settings (especialy unlocking the lean back!) and I sit in it unaware. My car has power seats with multiple memory; doing that for a desk with NFC to identify the user and switch to preferred settings would be nice.
Missing from the list: Knoll Life Chair<p><a href="http://www.knoll.com/products/product.jsp?prod_id=188" rel="nofollow">http://www.knoll.com/products/product.jsp?prod_id=188</a><p>I tested most of the other ones in this post, and liked this one better.
Over 10 years ago the company I was working at bought everyone the chair of their choice. I spent a lot of time testing and trialing a number of different high-end models and ended up with the Steelcase Leap. It doesn't look as "techno" as the Aeron but I feel it's superior in every way.<p>The company I worked for is long gone but chair's moved on with me and is still serving me well. A good chair is probably an even better productivity investment than a fast computer - especially in the long run.<p>[Edit for clarity.]
A month or so back I mentioned that I'd recently switched to doing most of my computing while sitting in one of these:<p><a href="http://www.dwr.com/product/lc4-chaise-lounge-cowhide.do?sortby=ourPicks" rel="nofollow">http://www.dwr.com/product/lc4-chaise-lounge-cowhide.do?sort...</a><p>and I can now offer as an update that it's really working out well from a comfort perspective. Obviously, this isn't necessarily feasible in most offices; but if you work from home, I highly recommend it.
I now have a standing desk and I find that much better than any of the desk chairs I've ever had, including the very expensive Freedom Chair by Humanscale.
As a smaller guy, I find the Mirra to be the best fit for me.<p>The Aeron small is too narrow, and the medium seems to fit, but doesn't (major pain within an hour or so).
My favorite is the Neutral Posture 9700 (the 8000 series back with the headrest and deep contour seat). Though it's more conventional-looking than an Aeron, I think it's much more comfortable. It's very adjustable (including an inflatable lumbar pillow) and leans back far enough to nap in.
not mentioned in the article, but I like the swopper. it's a wobbly stool that uses a car spring. think medicine ball without the ball crushing. costs about 400ish.<p>beyond that i just work standing up on a kitchen counter.