| I’m one of the founders of Branch Furniture (venture backed DTC office furniture startup based in nyc). We founded the business to help growing companies (think WeWork graduates) furnish their office space with ergonomic office furniture without an Aeron level budget. Our enterprise business basically disappeared during the pandemic, so we’ve been selling to consumers for the past year and have learned a TON about what makes a great home office. You definitely should check out our seating line if you’d like an option that offers a fair amount of adjustability and (though this is subjective) a home office friendly aesthetic at a sub $300 price point. If you’ve got a higher budget ($400-500) and willing to work the liquidator / Craigslist home office grind I’d honestly endorse the used Aeron approach as well — they’re rock solid chairs, extremely adjustable and buying used is objectively better for the environment (we have a trade in program for our enterprise clients and working on one for consumers). But beyond the chair you pick, three big lessons to keep in mind: 1) For most folks in tech, it’s not the chair that’s the problem. Adjusting it to your body and needs is critical to maximizing its ergonomic benefit for your body. Something like 80% of office workers only adjust the height and tilt of their chair. Would strongly recommend giving the user manual for the chair you buy a read (download it online if used). We offer an ergonomic consultation to every buyer and are working on a few cool tools to guide folks who use our furniture in making the most of it. 2) The rest of your setup is equally as impactful to your comfort. Get a monitor arm or put your monitor on a stack of books. If you’re short or petite, get a footstool so you upper and lower legs are at a 90 degree angle to each other and your backs of your knees don’t press against the chair seat. A standing desk makes a difference, if not for standing than to adjust the height of your work surface to your own height. 3) Take breaks. Seriously. There are no chairs I know of that will support you adequately over 10 or even 8 hours of work, summed over weeks and years. I’m so glad to see this question being discussed! Figuring out the most supportive setup for your needs is like flossing; you don’t always see the benefit immediately, but you’ll be glad to have done the research after a decade of desk work (and perhaps before). Feel free to reach out — email in bio — if you have any questions about ergonomics. We also released a cool guide to basic ergonomics that might be worth a read. [0] [0] ergonomics.branchfurniture.com |