Thursday, October 23, 2008

Office Chairs: Casters Galore

By Fabian Toulouse

You might want to sit for this. The evolution of the office chair, from its bare, four-legs-and-a-back origins, had its origins in the rise of the Second Industrial Revolution. The incorporation of steam-driven machines prompted business owners to consider a phrase that has become ubiquitous to our modern ears: productivity. As the objective of business is the generation of capital, and the generation of said capital is dependent upon labor, the question was "How best can we drain the last drops of toil from our employees?" The answer: build a better chair. The logic centered on the notion that employees who sat at their stations longer, could be more productive, therefore earning the company more capital.

Their next study involved trying to figure out how they could keep them in their seats by making them a little more bearable on the bottom. Sitting in these chairs for hours could take it's toll and the productivity would begin to suffer. As the chair began to improve, the shape began to be more in tune with the human body. These improvements were realized in the 1970's when ergonomics were first brought into the picture. The chairs of today are a result of the early attempts to keep the office workers in their chairs so there would be no decline in the work they performed.

The impact of ergonomics throughout the last century, culminating in the body-friendly designs of the mid to late 1970s, has produced a modern office chair that is phenomenally adjustable. Most modern office chairs can be adjusted to fit any employee, ensuring hours and hours of blissful productivity. Unfortunately, these accommodations have not done away with work and repetition-related strains to the shoulders, neck, back, and wrists. Ergonomic specialists recommend standing and stretching once every half hour.

The popular perception of business owners drooling over the possibility of keeping employees planted in their chairs for ten hours day may well be an exaggeration rooted in a kind of class-ism. Nevertheless, the modern office chair has come a long way in the last 150 years and not for magnanimous reasons. The office chair has evolved into a kind of status symbol. The most plush chairs are reserved for those who have more at stake. The owners, managers, and vice-presidents must buttress their great responsibilities with a leather-covered cushion for their posteriors.

It seems to stand to reason that those who must spend the most time in the office should enjoy the best chairs. The emphasis is on working as there are many people who could spend hours a day in these chairs. The only question is are they really as busy as they look. Working 8 and 10 hours a day from these chairs whether it is answering phones, data processing, bookkeeping or whatever job they perform, the comfort level of these workers should be taken into consideration first. The best office chairs should go to those who need them the most. - 15246

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