My goal in life is to have a nice leather
office chair. I don’t really care
what kind of office I work in, who I
work for, or what I do, so long as there
is a nice leather office chair waiting
for me everyday I show up. A good view
from my office would be nice too, but
I’m not going to push my luck.
It doesn’t take much to keep me
happy, and a comfy leather office chair
is about all I could ever ask from an
employer.
While I’m sort of joking, I’m
sort of serious as well. We spend
a lot of time in our chairs doing
office work, or hunched over computers,
and I think it’s pretty crucial
to have a comfortable chair. More
and more workers compensation claims
are being filed every year by people
who have developed injuries due to
a poor seating arrangement at their
job.
While it may seem hard to imagine
who you can injure yourself just by
not sitting correctly, it is not only
possible but very likely to occur
if you spend large amounts of time
seated every day. Since most of us
today work in offices, or in some
other position that requires you to
be seated all day, this is a risk
many of us face. A leather office
chair is not only a nice little luxury,
but may actually help prevent injuries.
You certainly can still develop injuries
even if you have a leather office
chair, as it has more to do with poor
posture and position than the chair
you are using, however a comfortable
and supportive chair is the first
thing to focus on if you are trying
to improve your ergonomics. Since
most major employers are getting swamped
by compensation claims due to poor
ergonmics, many employers will provide
nicer and more supportive chairs if
requested. Trust me, they’d
rather spend a few extra bucks now
rather than deal with another compensation
case. When you think about it, they
really should anyway, so its not like
you’re asking for some kind
of bonus.
If your boss is being reluctant,
mention that you’re having back
or neck pain, and next thing you know
you’ll have a nice leather office
chair. Well, maybe not leather, but
it will at least be better than the
one you have! Having said that, I
just went ahead and bought my own
leather office chair during my last
office job as I knew it would’ve
been ages to convince anyone to provide
one for me free.
