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Australia boasts of having one of the safest office environments in the world. According to the latest data from Safe Work Australia, the work-related injury rate as of 2022 was at 3.5%. By comparison, the global average (as per an International Labour Organisation estimate) is roughly 3.5 times higher. (1)
You may think that work-related injuries involve slip-and-fall and other serious accidents. While these incidents make up a huge portion, the majority of cases involve what’s known as "body stressing." This is an umbrella term for certain health issues caused by repetitive or strenuous work, such as a sprain or back pain.
Body stressing may not necessarily be life-threatening, but it can put key members of your team out of commission for a while. One way to reduce its risk is to replace your old office chairs and furniture with ones made with the human user in mind. Here’s how to choose the right ergonomic office solutions for your workplace.
Get an Ergonomic Office Chair That Reclines
The spine isn’t designed to stay straight, let alone for long work hours. Look up the spine’s anatomy on the Internet (or in a book), and you’ll notice that it’s curved more than straight. The curvatures are made to help the body handle the weight exerted by daily activities.
Some experts swear by the 90-90-90 rule, which involves the ankles, knees, and hips being positioned at 90 degrees. However, not everyone is comfortable with this, instead opting to lean back a bit up to 135 degrees. In other words, there’s no one sitting method.
Allowing your team to find the best sitting position reduces the risk of discomfort over the course of the workday. On that note, it pays to invest in ergonomic office chairs with a back tilt mechanism. Meanwhile, lounge chairs and chairs for visitors can get away without such a feature because they don't usually sit for long hours.
The good news is that such a feature is commonplace in modern ergonomic task chairs. If you visit roseoffice.com.au or any other online office furniture store, you’ll find a variety of models that allow for leaning back beyond 90 degrees. Other features worth considering in office seating include adjustable height, adjustable arms, and lumbar support cushion.
Get Sit-Stand Desks to Encourage Standing More
Even with ergonomic office chairs, sitting for almost the entire day is ill-advised. Comcare explains that sitting for longer than 30 minutes without breaks is associated with common health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. (2)
Unfortunately, prolonged sitting is all too common among Australian office workers, more so in call centre roles. On top of that, when asked how much time they spend sitting during work, most tend to underestimate their answers. (2)
Contrary to popular belief, work can continue even when standing. Consider encouraging your team to get out of their chairs more by having them work on sit-stand desks. This kind of office furniture features a height-adjustable tabletop that can be changed with the push of a button. Some models come with workstation accessories like storage drawers and cable & power management.
This doesn’t mean everyone should start working standing moving forward. One Comcare study found that reducing total sitting hours by 25%—two hours in an eight-hour workday—is enough to lower blood sugar levels while enhancing productivity. (2)
Understand Your Desired Office Layout
Your office’s work can determine the choice of office furniture, down to the ergonomic chairs. Does it need to keep information secure at all times? Is collaboration necessary? More importantly, can your budget afford it?
Office layouts more or less boil down to two kinds: cubicles and open plan. Cubicle-style layouts were largely phased out around the 2000s, as workers found them to be isolating and less flexible. Open-plan layouts succeeded them for their customisability and space-saving quality, allowing for various workplace designs.
However, as time passed, office managers realised that open-plan offices have their share of downsides. In a study by researchers at Bond University, employees in open-plan offices experienced an increase in stress and negative mood. Also, it takes them about 20 minutes to return to whatever they were working on before getting distracted. (3)
There’s no right or wrong answer. It all depends on the office’s work culture and activities, among other things. As for the ideal furniture, individual desks and drawers are suitable for cubicles, whereas workstations are ideal for open-plan ones or offices with a large number of employees. Meanwhile, most ergonomic chairs can work for either layout, preferably ones with lumbar support.
There’s “I” in “Office Furniture” But Not in “Team”
Choosing ergonomic office furniture isn’t about what management wants but rather what’s best for the entire team. Investing in office chairs with ergonomic support and desks that maximise user comfort and fit the layout is a start in building the office of your dreams.
References:
- “Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025,” Source: https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/insights/key-whs-statistics-australia/latest-release
- “STAND UP COMCARE—PROMOTING HEALTH BY TACKLING SITTING AS A RISK FACTOR FOR CHRONIC DISEASE,” Source: https://www.comcare.gov.au/about/forms-pubs/docs/pubs/safety/stand-up-comcare-information-sheet.pdf
- “The death of the office cubicle: Why open-plan offices took over, and how cubicles could be resurrected,” Source: https://www.9news.com.au/national/what-happened-to-office-cubicles-open-plan-distractions/b59cf341-38f1-4cee-8f72-3b777cc15acb