Are modern office chairs just getting too difficult to set up and adjust? In a private survey some years ago conducted by Herman Miller they discovered that a large percentage of office chair users frequently only ever adjusted the height of their and were unaware of how to use the other adjustments.

We're going to take a look at the trend for complicating office seat design, the essential features that you need, a few extras that would be nice to have and finally some products that have simplified the adjustment process.

By the end of this article you should have a good understanding of what adjustments you really need on an office chair.

So, why is it that office seating seems to be getting ever more complicated and difficult to adjust? A lot of this probably goes back to the launch of the Aeron ergonomic chair in the mid nineties. Here was a chair that could literally be adjusted to the user's exact body shape and weight.

This probably wrong-footed a lot of office chair manufacturers who responded by adding all sorts of bolt on goodies that really weren't necessary or useful.

To keep it simple what are the essential features that your office chair must have?

Well obviously any office swivel chair needs to be height adjustable by means of a pneumatic gas lift, this is one thing that isn't complicated to adjust on most chairs.

Next, the back height should be adjustable so that you can position it to give your back, particularly your lower back, good healthy support.

The ability to adjust the chairs tilt tension is something you should insist on as this allows you to set the chair for your own weight requirements.

And these are really the only essential features you need, however there are a couple of additional features you may consider, particularly if you are very tall.

The first of these is seat depth adjustment and is quite an important consideration for anyone who isn't of average height. The reason is very simple, it allows you to set the chair's seat depth to match your leg length and make sure you are properly supported and comfortable in your chair.

The other area is height adjustable arms, not that everyone likes to have arms on their chair and is this includes you then that is fine.

However, for those who do prefer arms, go for height adjustable arms as they allow you to adjust your arm positioning to minimize the risk of RSI.

Finally, let's consider some models that have made their adjustment as simple as possible.

One manufacturer that has gone a long way to do this is HÅG of Norway. All the adjustments on their chairs are by color coded levers and their products come with a little guide book to explain how they work.

Humanscale have also produced an excellent product in their Freedom ergonomic chair, this too is simple to set up and things like the user's weight are automatically compensated for by the chair's mechanism.

If you are prepared to think out of the square you could always try something like the Kneelsit ergonomic computer chair. It's completely different to a conventional office seat but is nonetheless an excellent alternative to a conventional office chair.

So, to summarize keep things as simple as possible, go for the essential features we discussed above and avoid silly gizmos like mountainous sculpting to the chair back, air bags etc.

Hopefully, you now know exactly what to look for in an office chair and won't be blinded and confused with irrelevant features that serve no real purpose.Take sometime to look at the alternative products I mentioned by visiting my website via the link below, as there's loads of additional information to be found there.

Duncan MacIntyre has over 25 year's experience of the Office Chair market. During his involvement in the Office Seating business he has supplied thousands of quality chairs to clients and end users and can help you make the right choice of chair. See Duncan's website for information on Setting Up & Adjusting Ergonomic Office Seating as well as many other tips, product reviews and advice on Office Chair selection and how to avoid costly mistakes.