What's the static electricity story here? I personally avoid any and all metal fixtures around my work desk, because I invariably end up being painfully shocked by them every time I shift on the chair[0]. At this point I habituated having small metal objects around me (e.g. key bundles), that I can use to discharge static before/during getting up, sitting down, etc.<p>Where 'ianthehenry mentioned here[1] they've made a desk surface out of <i>steel</i>, I pretty much fainted reading it.<p>(Worst related working experience in my life was, a few jobs back, customers' brand new headquarters built in the "modern" style of carpets + glass + aluminum. There, every single surface would shock me when I touched it with my bare hands - even <i>glass window panes</i> were out to get me.)<p>----<p>[0] - Any of the several chairs I tried. So it's not just about the chair, I think.<p>[1] - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33528148" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33528148</a>