Sitting and working comfortably is one of the most basic expectations of the modern workplace. It stands to reason that we require a modicum of comfort in our workspace. After all, we each spend around eight hours per day there. This can amount to up to half of our waking hours each day, apart from weekends.
Sitting in the same position for eight hours and upwards every day can physically affect our health. We may not notice it at first, as the effects are not quick to show themselves, but the cumulative effect of sitting in the wrong chairs over a period of years can cause extreme back pain and various other health complaints.
There has been an increasing awareness in recent years of the importance of good ergonomic furniture in the office to help workers' health and productivity. This is the perfect storm of positive factors that takes the purchase of better swivel chairs and height-adjustable desks for the office to the top of the priority list. There are very few other factors that can help a business on so many fronts at the same time.
Being able to help your employees live more healthily as well as more productively and also getting kudos for providing an excellent environment to work in? It doesn't get much better than that, and the benefits are worth the investment you must make to bring it to fruition.
What Does an Ergonomic Workspace Look Like?
There are many different aspects to the rise of more ergonomic workplaces, and these tend to be characterised by the use of standing desks, which have been widely proven to have health benefits. According to a study from Australia, some of these benefits even extend to increasing life expectancy. Standing desks can help employees concentrate better in the workplace and be more productive than in a wholly seated environment, so they are essential to any truly ergonomic workspace.
Employers are increasingly paying attention to the needs of their workers, and height-adjustable swivel chairs are also an essential part of providing an ergonomic and comfortable office experience for employees. The proliferation of these office chairs is integral to creating the type of workplace we would all like to work in. These chairs are an investment that will be repaid many times over and that workers will be grateful to have the use of.
The option to change the chair's height, pitch, and swivel allows for an extraordinary range of movement and adjustment for maximum comfort. Many of these ergonomic office chairs also have headrests as this stops the neck from being unsupported and can really help when it comes to the kind of neck pain that a great many workers suffer. Eliminating this can be an absolute game-changer. It may allow some employees to stop taking pain-killing medication that may have affected their attention span or focus at work.
Employee Attraction and Retention
When there are national skills shortages, it becomes more important than ever to retain your current staff rather than lose them to competitors, so keeping your employees happy has never been more essential. The UK is suffering from the effects of the exit from the European Union, which saw many EU citizens move back to their countries of origin and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen many workers rethink their career strategies and move on to different jobs.
Being able to offer a working environment that takes account of their health and well-being is a desirable factor in choosing where to work. A workplace that can provide a comfortable ergonomic chair will often win out against other companies where this isn't offered, all other factors being equal. Some employers even offer their employees an ergonomic chair for their home working, which is incredibly popular with those working a hybrid model or entirely from home.
With a large percentage of the workforce still saying they want their next job to either be hybrid or work from home, there has never been a better time to take this on board. Many employees had a taste of what it was like to work from home during the pandemic and have been trying to make this their permanent reality ever since then. If you can offer hybrid and work-from-home workers an ergonomic chair in their home office, this will attract some of the more talented people in your sector who still want to work from home.
Alternatively, offering a comfortable and adjustable ergonomic chair but only in the actual office environment may tempt some workers who have been holding out for hybrid jobs back to the office permanently. There are many businesses that see value in having all of their workers in the same place, as they believe that it improves the flow of ideas and team cohesion.
