More than 65% of workers are not satisfied with their office chairs

Published on November 21, 2014 - By Sue Saldibar

Below is an article written by guest contributor,Tom Chapman, concerning a recent study conducted by Online Realty, which queried office workers about their satisfaction (or lack thereof) with their office chairs. It’s a well conducted study and we have reprinted the article below. Note to business center owners and operators: Make sure that something as easy to remedy as ‘bad chairs’ are not losing business for you!

More than 65% of workers are not satisfied with their office chairs

By Tom Chapman

A recent Survey, conducted by Online Reality, discovered that 65% of workers in the UK are not satisfied with their office chairs. After polling more than 500 respondents from locations around the country ranging from staff members to CEOs the researchers unearthed:

• Almost 40% of respondents either suffered – or knew someone who had – a back injury as a result of sitting in an inappropriate office chair
• More than a third of individuals stated their office chairs weren’t comfortable
• More than 20% revealed their chairs were not in good condition

Conducting this research to help employers improve the health of their workforce, Online Reality asked several questions to better evaluate how individuals were using office chairs within the UK. Their key findings include:

• More than half of respondents said their office chair did not provide their back with proper support.
• Almost 60% said the armrests of their office chair could not be adjusted
• More than 10% stated the height of their office chair could not be adjusted
• More than 30% of respondents had been using the same office chair for more than five years.

Furthermore, one concern was how long staff members were sitting in their office chairs each day, with more than 15% roughly spending at least nine hours sitting down. This figure was even more worrying amongst interns and junior staff members – with more than 10% of these individuals usually sitting in their office chairs for more than ten hours every day.

Despite this data, the overwhelming majority of respondents either described office chairs as being “very important” or “important” to improving productivity in the workplace, with around 53% and approximately 38% respectively.

Following the survey, a representative from Online Reality commented: Back pain is the leading cause of long-term sickness in the UK, responsible for more than 15 million lost work days in 2013. Although we can’t be sure of the number of days lost because of inadequate seating there are a few basic standards that an operators chair should meet. A five star base the seat height must be adjustable and the back rest must be adjustable in height and tilt. Ideally, the back rest should move independently of the seat to allow a comfortable seated position.

About this survey – This survey polled a total of 631 individuals throughout the month of October, out of this group:

• 11% were assistant managers
• 9% were CEOs
• 16% were general managers
• 4% were interns or junior staff members
• 58% were staff members
• 2% did not detail their position

About Online Reality – Online Reality is the internet wing of Office and Café Reality providing Commercial Interior Design, Fit-out, Office and Contract furniture. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.onlinereality.co.uk/ www.officereality www.cafereality.co.uk

About the author: Tom Chapman is a content specialist working on behalf of Vertical Leap, a digital marketing agency based in Portsmouth. This company works on behalf of Online Reality who commissioned the research. He can be reached on 02392287202 or [email protected]