Some things are worth splurging on - your desk chair is one of them.

“Don’t skimp on the things that separate your body from the ground.”

I saw this advice on a Reddit post back in 2019, but brushed it off. I was only 6 months into my first job out of college so my mental response was “In a few years I’ll get a promotion and then I’ll reconsider buying nicer things.”

• We spend 1/3 of our life sleeping, but most of us just grab whatever mattress is most convenient.

• As desk workers, we spend 60-70% of our waking days sitting, but most of us buy the cheapest chair we can find on Amazon or the one that most ‘fits the vibe’ of the room, rather than focusing on what will minimize pain in the long run.

One year after seeing that Reddit post, COVID hit and my company went fully remote. I immediately lost access to my office’s boujee sit-stand desks and desk chairs. Not realizing the importance of a high quality desk setup, I replaced the fancy office chair with a $50 chair from Amazon and the sit-stand with a free, stationary desk off of Craiglist.

It only took a few weeks for me to notice the difference.

One evening, as I was shutting down my computer, I felt some numbness on the back of my right thigh. The numbness didn’t go away when I got up to walk around. It came & went for several months, and only disappeared after I left my job for grad school. I had a few weeks off between the two, so my body likely just healed up once I stopped sitting all day.

But then grad school happened.

My new apartment came with a cheap metal desk chair and, again not wanting to spend any extra money, I used it as my primary chair. My grad school program was 100% online which meant a ton of sitting. That old numbness returned just a few days into school. Even my lower back started to feel like shit.

My physical therapist at the time recommended
A) taking more breaks from my desk, and
B) investing in a higher-quality office chair that was more suitable for my body.

She guessed that the seat of my current chair could be too high off the ground and that the lack of cushioning/sharply-edged seat could be compressing nerves in my leg.

Coincidentally, at that time, offices were closing left and right. Companies and office supply stores were holding firesales, so I found someone on Facebook Marketplace selling 50 Herman Miller chairs for $200 each.

Even though this particular chair retailed for well over $1000, I felt ridiculous for even considering paying $200. $200 for a chair! Not a damn chance!

I thought about it for another day.

The numbness in my leg was bothering me enough that I decided to take the leap. And I’m thankful that I did. A few weeks of sitting in a supportive chair more tailored to my body - along with taking regular breaks from my desk- helped eliminate the numbness for good.

Ever since then, I’ve been a huge advocate for spending extra on the things that separate our bodies from the ground - high-quality desk chairs, good mattresses that don’t leave your body aching in the morning, and new pairs of walking shoes.

So, if you’re currently in pain from your desk job, or just interested in preventing problems in the future, here’s where I’d start:

Step 1: Minimize the amount of time you spend in the chair in the first place.
I’ve talked about this already in a separate post but I will continue to beat this drum. Alternate between sitting & standing. Take walking meetings over the phone. Don’t eat at your desk; actually go outside during your lunch hours. You may not be able to control the quality of your chair when you’re traveling for work, or even going into the office, but you can always control building more breaks into your day.

Step 2: Invest in a chair that doesn’t leave you feeling broken by 5pm.
A chair won’t solve all your problems, but it sure can help. We all inevitably have days with hours of back-to-back meetings or 2-3 hour blocks where we need to lock in on a project. Sitting in a chair that’s gentle on your body for those longer periods of time will make a world of difference.

Our bodies are all different, so a ‘good' chair can mean different things. Here are some general things to look out for:

• Your feet should fall flat on the floor, or you should be able to adjust the chair to achieve this, preventing strain on your legs and lower back.

• You should have some lumbar support which reduces lower-back strain.

• You shouldn’t feel the edge of the seat digging into your hamstrings (personally, seats with a ‘waterfall’ edge are way more comfortable for me).

• You shouldn’t feel pain and stiffness after sitting in the chair just for a few hours (unless you already had these problems beforehand).

You’ll ultimately have to experiment to determine which chair feels most comfortable for your body. I’d recommend going into a brick & mortar store to try some chairs first (use Google Maps and search ‘office chair store’).

When you find one you like, you can probably find a lightly-used version of that same chair on Facebook Marketplace or an office furniture re-sale site at ¼ of the price (this is what I’ve done for the two desk chairs I’ve owned). If you’re looking for a place to start, Herman Miller and Steelcase are both highly regarded brands in the desk chair world.

Looking back on my first years of desk work, I spent WAY more on doctor visits, physical therapy, and medicine than it would’ve cost me to just invest in a quality desk setup from the jump.

Start with a good chair. The rest of your desk setup is important too, but we’ll talk more about that next time.

Talk soon!
Nico