How To Make Office Chair More Comfortable? 7 Easy Tips 2022

Reviewed By Chiropractic Specialist

How To Make Office Chairs More Comfortable?

Sitting in an uncomfortable chair for more than five minutes isn’t relaxing. Shifting, moving, and changing positions a gazillion times won’t work. Nothing could be worse! 

There are many different types of office chairs available, but not all of them are the same.

It is important to test whether office chairs are comfortable and will hold up over time, not just whether they look cute in your office. Most likely, it’s not true!

Even if you buy an office chair on impulse that is less than comfortable, you don’t have to suffer from buyer’s remorse.

If you want to make that thing more palatable for your derriere, there are a few things you can do. Here are some tips on how to make your work environment more comfortable, starting with your chair!

Up to 74% of office workers experience regular pain and discomfort while sitting at their desks, according to EHS Today. 

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution that doesn’t require you to buy all new furniture. You can often lighten your load by learning how to make your office chair more comfortable. 


Survey On Office Workers In Pain Due To Office Chairs

If you’re sitting in an office chair right now, you’re likely in pain. According to a recent survey, 80 percent of respondents said their most office chairs caused numbness or tingling in their hands.

A Nielsen study conducted on behalf of Steelcase, a furniture maker based in Grand Rapids, and Staples, an office supply chain, also found that 88 percent of small business owners (2-24 employees) report that non-ergonomic office chairs affect their employees’ productivity.

It is common to experience pain while sitting in an office for 5.4 hours per day. A third of business owners reported feeling pain or discomfort in their lower backs as a result of their office chairs;

19 percent reported feeling pain in their necks; and 17 percent reported feeling pain in their mid-backs. In addition, 13 percent of respondents said their chairs are so uncomfortable that they are unable to work. As the survey indicates, many small business employees are sitting in pain, especially when they use new technologies, which create new postures,” says Steelcase’s Allan Smith, vice president of global marketing

Office chairs should have adjustable heights so that both feet remain flat on the floor, according to the federal agency OSHA. Also, a worker should be able to sit in a variety of postures with even pressure points on their lower and upper backs.


How We Evaluated the Office Chairs We Tested?

comfortable office chair

As much movement as possible should be incorporated into your workday to prevent long periods of sitting. You should, however, be comfortable while sitting. The seat of your chair should be comfortable at the very least. In addition to these criteria, we also considered:

Lumbar support – Maintains spinal alignment and prevents tightness in the back.
Headrest – Provides neck muscles with a rest.
Armrests – Help relieve pressure on your upper back; they are more useful if they are adjustable. It can be adjusted from high to low, from side to side, from front to back, or from 360°.
Footrest – More and more office chairs have this feature.
Adjustability – The three areas of adjustability we consider are the ability to tilt the seat back, raise the chair’s height, and adjust the armrests. It’s important to find the right height for your seat; you don’t want your knees in your chest. Chairs that allow you to lean back help you avoid sitting in one position for a long time. There are now some chairs that allow you to lean back so far that you can take a nap!
How We Evaluated the Office Chairs We Tested

Most comfortable Chairs aren’t necessarily the most attractive. The style of chair you choose for your office will likely be more flexible than if you were shopping for one for your workplace. 

1

Make Sure Your Chair Is Set To The Proper Height

Your Chair Is Set To The Proper Height

Your office chair should be at a height where your two feet are flat on the floor and your knees are bent 90 degrees. In this position, your knees should be level or slightly below your hips.

The negative effects of an improperly positioned office chair should not be underestimated.

Your feet will dangle off the floor if your chair is too high, causing numbness, discomfort, and poor circulation in the thighs.

Your hip joints flex to keep the knees above the hips when your chair is too low, putting more pressure on your back. According to VeryWellHealth, this can lead to back pain.

Based on your height (in feet or cm), use the table below to find the ideal chair seat height. Height is measured from the floor to the top of the seat cushions:

2

Understand And Experiment With The Settings On Your Chair

When it comes to modern office chairs, make sure you actually try everything out to find the most comfortable combination. To find the perfect setting, it may take many days.

You can reduce your spine’s pressure by reclining your chair back by a few degrees from sit upright.

3

Get An External Lumbar Pillow

External Lumbar Pillow With Chair

The lumbar support may be part of the problem if your chair feels uncomfortable but you can’t figure out why.

Low-end office chairs either lack lumbar region support altogether or are fixed, forcing you to maintain a specific position to get the best support. We all feel back pain at the end of the day, so it’s no wonder many of us suffer from it.

What is the solution? Invest in an external lumbar pillow. Portable and inexpensive, they can transform an uncomfortable office chair into a comfortable ergonomic one.

It has been proven that office chairs equipped with external lumbar pillows increase comfort for those suffering from lower back pain. The best ones have a bottom cutout.

The seat of office chairs is another common source of discomfort. A mattress can be too firm, too thin without enough padding, or simply lack the proper sitting posture to distribute your body weight evenly.

It is usually possible to solve this problem by getting an external seat cushion, just as with lumbar support.

Seat cushions from Everlasting or Comfily often have a raised center and a cutout at the back. Sitting with these features can help stabilize your pelvis and relieve pressure on your coccyx.

This kind of seat cushion can beat even the most ergonomic seat in terms of comfort for people with sciatica, hip pain, or herniated discs.

4

Use Chair Armrests Pads

Use Chair Armrests Pads

Give your office chair’s armrests a makeover if they are uncomfortable. Cheaper chairs usually have plastic armrests or armrests that are too short to support your entire forearms. 

The arms (including the hands) make up roughly 10% of the body’s weight. An unsupported weight or one resting on a hard surface can definitely cause discomfort.

There are many types of armrest pads available on the market. Basically, they cover over the existing armrests to either make them more plush or elongate them to support your entire forearms.

You can instantly upgrade your office chair’s armrests to the ones found on more premium executive chairs with a good armrest pad.

5

Raise Your Monitor To Eye Level

Raise Your Monitor To Eye Level

Sitting in a cheap desk chair and staring at a computer screen all day can strain your neck. Raising your laptop or monitor to eye level will reduce the strain on your spine.

This can be accomplished with the help of a laptop stand or monitor stand.

Keep your monitor at eye level about 2 to 3 inches below the top, so you’re not craning your neck.

You have a few options if your monitor causes you to bend your head down, which is common if you work on a laptop: Laptop owners can get a laptop stand or a height-adjustable external monitor, while desktop computer owners can use a monitor arm if their external monitor’s adjustment range isn’t flexible enough for comfortable viewing.
Organize your application windows so that they are more centered in your direct line of sight if your monitor is so high that you have to crane your neck to see it clearly. Here’s a bonus productivity tip: Keep distracting windows (like Slack or Twitter) outside that central area.

You may have the opportunity to upgrade your office chair one day. In the meantime, these tips will help you make the most of what you already have.

6

Adjust Your Office Lighting

Adjust Your Office Lighting

As a result of excessive glare, you may have to wiggle around in your chair to find an angle that allows you to clearly see your screen. You may experience discomfort while working as a result of poor posture.

It’s good news that changing your office lighting can make your screen more comfortable to view. Consider investing in a few lamps with multiple lighting settings so you can control the intensity and where the light lands on your desk and computer. A screen filter can also reduce glare if you can’t alter the office lighting.

7

Sit On Comfortable Chairs For A Better Posture

Sit On Comfortable Chairs For A Better Posture

You don’t want to worry about your comfort while you work with performance targets, tight deadlines, demanding clients, and other job challenges.

Improve the comfort of your office chair today by:

Cushioning for your spine, pelvis, neck, and arms.
Ensure the chair’s height and armrests’ width are right angle for you.

Pair our ergonomically-shaped seat cushion with our lumbar support pillow. A team of ergonomic design them to improve your comfort and maintain a healthy posture and align the spine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my office chair so uncomfortable?

It is most common for office chairs to be uncomfortable for two reasons: either they don’t offer the right lower back support, or they are uncomfortable to sit in. A small cushion placed on the back of the chair may provide some relief if your biggest complaint is a sore back.

How can I make my low back chair more comfortable?

1. Make sure your lower back is supported.
2. You might want to consider adding a seat cushion.
3. Keep your feet from dangling.
4. Wrist rests are useful.
5. Monitors should be raised to eye level.
6. Reference documents should be held at eye level.
7. Your office lighting needs to be adjusted.
8. You can add some greenery.

Why ergonomic chair is uncomfortable?

You’re not alone if you ask this question! There is actually a very simple reason for this. Ergonomic stools are designed for “active sitting” that engages your muscles, whereas ergonomic chairs are designed for comfort and relaxation.

What are the symptoms of sitting too long?

Several health concerns have been linked to sitting for long periods of time. In addition to obesity, metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

What is the proper way to set an office chair?

The seat should be adjusted to be just below the kneecap when in the horizontal position.
Make sure your feet are flat on the ground while you sit on the chair.
The clearance between the front edge of the seat and the lower part of your legs (your calves) should fit a clenched fist (about 5 cm or 2 inches).

Ron Mason
I, Ron Mason, am a retired forestry professional. My previous profession was that of an environmental educator, specifically as a Forester, with the USDA Forest Service. Additionally, I have worked as a contract forester in the private sector. With a strong background in science and engineering, my expertise lies in timber stand management, forest ecology, and wildlife biology. I am a dedicated woodworker and take pleasure in crafting furniture, tables, cabinets and other wooden items as a hobby.