Technology has
played a crucial role in changing our everyday lives. We have seen its impact
on our professional as well as personal life. Technology is helping us to
create a healthier work environment for our employees. The branch of ergonomics
deals with the science of designing health friendly furniture for office and
home. This science has changed the face of the executive office furniture as well as custom residential furniture
for the good.
The development of ergonomics is closely related with the advancement in medical sciences. During 1990s major medical centers undertook the study of effects of work space on employee’s lifestyle and the outcome was quite shocking. It was discovered that sitting in one posture form long hours can lead to many medical complications like back pain, neck arthritis, spinal cord problems etc. This is how the quest to design ergonomic chairs and height adjustable desk began. As the technology advanced more comprehensive solutions were found to this lifestyle problem.
The truth is on
average, an employee (white collar worker) spends almost 40 to 45 hours a week
sitting in his / her chair. That’s why it is important to design a posture
friendly chair that will provide comfortable sitting options. The sad truth is
not a single conventional chair is suitable for all individuals for obvious
reasons but ergonomic chair does. Ergonomic chairs are designed to adjust with your posture. You can adjust the back
rest, arm rest, angle of the back rest and height of the sitting pad; in short
you can totally adjust the chair to your liking.
Similarly a height adjustable desk can also be
adjusted until it is suitable for your eyesight. Research has shown that the
screen should directly face your eyesight in a straight line. If your desk is
too low or too high you will develop not only eye irritation but also neck
arthritis. The point is ergonomics is not only limited to designing furniture
but it also extends into office space planning. Ergonomic designing is
primarily associated with designing chairs with most of the leading furniture
brands producing their own line of ergonomic
chairs. Some of the brands have produced revolutionary designs wining
critical acclaim all over the globe, Herman Miller Aeron is one such examples.
The health benefits of ergonomic furniture are so great that many companies have saved thousands of dollars in terms of health benefits offered to their employees. This is one of the major forces behind the wave of replacing old regular executive office furniture with brand new ergonomic furniture. Although it offers a wide range of health benefits the prohibitive cost restricts many medium and small enterprises from buying this kind of furniture. However many leading second sales stores have started selling pre owned ergonomic furniture at discount sales. It is available at comparatively cheaper rates however it is still costlier than regular furniture.
This changing
face of executive office furniture has
gained a lot of popularity among employees. Many people are happy with the
notable positive changes in their physical and mental health after they started
using ergonomic furniture. It has not only reduced the complaints of back pain
or neck pain but also increased their productivity, turning the previously dull
working atmosphere into highly productive environment. Here is the thing; the
companies get a twofold benefit of using ergonomic
chairs, first they save a lot of money on health benefits and second they
can earn more profits due to increased productivity. All this can be achieved
with a relatively reasonable one time investment.
The bottom-line
is if you are ready to make some reasonable one time investment you can enjoy
the benefits of indirect yet substantial long term profits. Prohibitive costs
aside, ergonomic chairs are truly a
gift to mankind. In this fast paced world we spend many hours sitting at our
desk in office and at home. This makes it even important to use ergonomic
furniture in both places.



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