Most modern day office employees are aware of the concept and science of ergonomics and most employers and as well as employees only pay token attention to the concept due to the many benefits that come out of ergonomics. This is mainly due to the fact that most articles and publications that are out there focus on the benefits and very few publications that are out there provide information on the consequences of neglecting ergonomics. This article presents gathered information from various valid and reputable sources that focus on the consequences of using non-ergonomic office furniture with specific focus on ergonomic office chairs.
Blood Circulation
What most people are never aware of is the fact that the average ordinary standard office chair or dining table chair has a negative impact on blood flow in our bodies when a chair is utilised for sitting for extended periods of time. When any given chair albeit it is an ergonomic office chair is not adjusted properly to fit the user’s physical configuration it causes poor blood circulation involving the neck, shoulders, legs and back. The risk of this happening could be reduced significantly by adjusting the ergonomic chair optimally; this means the chair should be adjusted to fit the user’s body type and size. Another thing that those who sit for long hours could do to offset poor blood circulation risk is to get up and stretch for about 5 minutes and walk about every hour.
Weight Gain
Weight gain has always been associated with eating too much and drinking too much, but the truth is that even sitting too much on the wrong type of chair for extended periods of time (which means that movement is limited) which causes fat to build up and subsequently gain weight. It is due to this reason that a good quality ergonomic office chair which comes with dynamic sitting capability is crucial towards preventing weight gain mainly around the stomach region.
Decreased Concentration
Using regular chairs for extended periods usually lead to people fidgeting in order to achieve a more comfortable position which disrupts concentration as the discomfort distracts the user from whatever it is that the user is focusing on. The reason behind this is attributed to the fact that when the spine is not aligned properly, all other muscles compensate for the misaligned spine to keep the body upright which simply causes the body to feel tired and allows fatigue to creep in which ultimately cause the brain to become “foggy”.
Other negative factors that eventually come about as a result of sitting on regular office chairs instead of ergonomic office chairs include musculoskeletal dysfunction after years of sitting for long hours on regular office chairs. All of the above negative factors could be easily overcome by simply factoring an ergonomic office chair into the work environment. However, one must take not that ergonomic office furniture is only effective provided the user’s fine tune the chair according to their body’s physical structure; otherwise it is of no use.
