ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611040094
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Chairs
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
Here's a cheerful thought: You probably spend more time sitting in a swivel chair at work than in your favorite recliner at home.
Fortunately for us - and our posteriors, backs, necks and shoulders - more and more employers are recognizing that fact and are turning to office- furniture dealers to help them make the transition to body-friendly chairs and desks.
Workplace ergonomics - according to Webster, "the study of the problems of people in adjusting to their environment" - has been getting a lot of attention from employers over the last decade. Especially in the last five to seven years, as injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and back problems have been connected to poor working environments, employers have been looking for less expensive options to workers' compensation suits and unhappy, unproductive employees.
The Business Products Industry Association in Alexandria predicts that the nation's offices will spend $9.6 billion on furniture this year. The association doesn't break down that amount into ergonomic vs. non-ergonomic, but a spokesman said companies buying new furniture tend more and more to opt for the newer lines.
The switch has been happening slowly in my office, as we've been replacing some of our old desk chairs with new, ergonomically correct ones. Workplace health and safety is a serious issue, but it's always a rather humorous event in the newsroom when somebody gets a new chair, because, inevitably, he or she won't know how to use it.
The chair I got not long ago - a space-age looking contraption called the "6300 series task chair" - has four levers that regulate the angle and height of the back and seat, plus adjustable arms and a knob in back that I still haven't figured out. I spent that first day with my body leaning forward at a 30-degree angle, because I didn't know how to adjust the tilt of the seat.
But the complexity of a lot of the new office furniture on the market isn't merely the manufacturer's way of showing off, said Jeff Hicks, director of design at Design Business Interiors Inc. in Roanoke.
Chairs have to be adjustable because they're expensive, he said, and few employers can afford to buy a new, custom-designed chair for every new hire who comes through the door. Even the least expensive, no-frills ergonomic chairs run $175 to $200.
The more bells and whistles you want, the more you'll spend. Harris Office Furniture Co. Inc. of Roanoke sells office chairs at prices up to $2,000, said owner George Reimer. One of the dealer's best-selling chairs, the Aeron by Herman Miller Inc., retails for almost $1,200. For that price, the chair you get not only has a plethora of adjustment levers, but also is upholstered in a mesh fabric - called Pellicle - that allows air to circulate and keep the body an estimated 7 degrees cooler than other types of upholstery.
It's also the first office chair to be offered in three sizes: A, B and C. Apparently Herman Miller is too shrewd to try the small, medium and large labels. When the company conducted test seatings, large women invariably tried to squeeze themselves into the "small" chairs, while tiny men headed straight for the big ones.
The chair has been selling like, well, like a comfortable chair. The Michigan company has had to quadruple production since it first introduced the chair two years ago.
The chair is such a revolutionary piece of furniture that it even has been accepted into the Museum of Modern Art's permanent design collection. The Henry Ford Museum also has one on display.
Expense notwithstanding, Reimer said more employers are eager to replace their old furniture that, he said, has been around "since Noah's time" - and that creates uncomfortable and less productive employees. He said Harris is in the middle of several large office jobs, each involving 75 to 100 new chairs.
"They're aware that a chair can pay for itself very quickly," he said. "They know the cost of workers comp claims and fatigue."
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB