This is the provocative title of an article by one of South Africa’s
leading Ergonomists, in NOSA’s Safety Management Magazine,
Febr.1996. International experience in OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH tells
us:
"The ordinary office chair is obsolete and dangerous".
The reason is quite simple, although these chairs are upholstered,
they are as rigid and as stiff as a park bench and thus prevent
natural movement. This leads to the horrifying statistics of 40%
of all sick leave, taken by sedentary workers because of debilitating
back pain. Occupational Health Research has proven that unless
the chair allows – indeed encourages – a wide variety
of movements and at the same time provides comfortable support,
back pain and other health problems are very likely. To be able
to classify a chair as being ergonomic, affirmative answers
must be given to the following questions:
1 ) Does the chair allow ‘strain-free sitting’
and encourage motion?
2 ) Does the seat allow a forward tilt movement?
3 ) Does the chair provide all the adjustments, required
because of anatomical variations between people, regarding lumbar-support,
headrest-height, and seat-depth?
An even spreading of the body’s load and a preservation
of the natural curvatures of the spine are only guaranteed by
the ‘horse-riding position’. This position is
characterised by a wide angle of 120 degrees between trunk and
thighs. Too much emphasis is often given to back- support, i.e.
passively leaning back in a ‘relaxed’ position all the
time. This actually leads to weakened stomach and back muscles.
The imbalance between front and back is then asking for back pain
and fatigue. If chairs are chosen for low price only, then note:
the overall economic equation encompasses far more than the
initial cost of the chair. Although a high price does not
guarantee a good chair, conventional ‘cheap’ office/industrial
chairs provide poor overall value, when it comes to durability,
the operator’s comfort and efficiency. Let’s also keep
in mind that there is not one chair that fits everybody
and caters for all occupations. Ask questions and test your chairs
with the specialists! They will recommend the correct chair for
your specific needs, bearing in mind back care, perfect function
and valid price performance considerations.
The pictures on this site of the chair range from HAG of Norway
illustrate that functionally sound seating design can, at the
same time, be exquisite in style and elegance. It
does not cost more to produce a service friendly and beautiful
chair. HAG chairs offer true value for money.
HAG principles are: enhancing motion and improving blood circulation,
furthering deep breathing and always encouraging a straight position
at work. 
