Home Office Chair Selection: Calculating the Right Budget
In the previous post I discussed why people who work serious hours from a home office need to invest in a good office chair. It’s time to decide on how much to spend on your new chair to get the right answer for your needs.
The price of office chairs varies enormously from as little as $30 up to $3000 and more, realistically it’s unlikely you will get a chair with the right features and functions for less than $400.
How much! Well I did stress it was an investment didn’t I?
You probably need to budget between $400 and $800 to make sure you get a good quality ergonomic office chair which will serve you for many years after you have got over the cost.
This may mean saving some of your hard earned cash so you can afford the right chair. The worst thing you can do is decide you can’t afford the cost and go out and buy another sub $100 chair because the aches, pains and discomfort you experience from it will quickly have you regretting your purchase.
So, unless your existing chair is falling apart, suffer it for a little while longer until you can save the money to buy the right one.
I’ll continue this article in my next post by looking at what you need to insist on for that new office chair.
Tags: back pain, ergonomic office chair, home office chair
I’ve been using a ‘hand-me-down’ for the last couple of years, it’s definitely time for a new model.
My office is set up in the sun-room and I live in florida, so it gets fairly hot by mid-day, even with the a/c running in the rest of the house. Any specific suggestions? Preferably not leather.
I totally agree with this. I’ve worked from an office at home for over 14 years (I’ve worn out a few chairs in that time!) and a good chair is essential. Think about the total time sitting at your desk. Work out the life expectancy of the chair and the hourly cost will be peanuts.
I developed back problems early on as a consequence of having the wrong chair (cheap as I could find!) so this is excellent advice
Mox, I agree leather is not a good idea, you would probably be best with either a mesh chair which helps prevent sweating , like an Aeron or if you prefer a softer sitting posture some of the newer models with breathable fabric like the Futu or the Embody.
Here are links to reviews of them.
http://www.officechairadvice.com/aeron-chair/aeron/aeron-ergonomic-chair.html
http://www.officechairadvice.com/ergonomic/best/reviews/hag-futu-office-chair.html
http://www.officechairadvice.com/aeron-chair/aeron/embody-chair.html
Wizzer, glad you appreciated the post, as you say when you work out the cost per hour it’s not worth worrying about. Unfortunately most people only realize the importance of a good chair after back problems set in.