Healthier working habits at home – Humanscale ergonomic desk chair [AD]

This is a paid partnership written in collaboration with Humanscale

As I write this post from my home office, I’m enjoying the comfort and support of a new ergonomic desk chair – a white and grey Diffrient World Chair from Humanscale that’s designed to adapt and automatically adjust to whoever sits in it. I immediately noticed the difference from my usual plastic shell chair or wooden dining chair; I instantly sit a little straighter, my lower back supported by the gentle curve of the mesh backrest, with no need for the extra cushion I usually wedge behind me. My upper back and shoulders lean against the recline of the back and I’m not slouching over my screen. My weight is distributed evenly and my thighs are fully on the seat, I’m not sitting on the edge, cross legged, or twisting my body to one side. The chair feels like it moulds to my body and really I’m thinking why didn’t I invest in a design like this before…

Because to be honest when I think of task chairs, I immediately conjure up a vision of bulky designs with lots of complicated knobs and buttons you don’t really know how to use. You pull a lever one way, turn a key in another direction, and you’re either lurched into a funny angle or stuck in an odd position. For me I’ve always chosen desk chairs based on looks not necessarily on practicality, so when Humanscale approached me I was initially skeptical that a corporate office chair would fit with the pared-back look and feel of my home.

But I’ve been proved wrong – an ergonomic desk chair can have both form and function, and look the part too. With an automatic, weight-sensitive recline, the Diffrient World Chair does away with unnecessary manual controls and traditional mechanisms, so the user can move freely and without restrictions. There’s less parts so the result is inherently lightweight, with a clean, minimal expression – simple, ergonomic lines and beautiful, sinuous shapes.

With the Diffrient World Chair in 2009, American industrial designer Niels Diffrient set out to create the most minimal task chair ever made. Having previously used sculpted cushions for chairs, it was his first foray into using a flexible, form-sensing mesh for both the seat and the back.

With a career spanning over 50 years and more than 50 patents to his name, Diffrient was known for putting the human experience first and creating products that solved functional problems as simply and elegantly as possible. He believed that chairs should adjust to the user, not the other way around, and began partnering with American company Humanscale in 1998.

The Diffrient World Chair has two manual settings, for seat height and depth, and the rest is automatic, adapting as the user changes posture. The tri-panel mesh backrest essentially tilts from two pivots on the chair’s frame, using the sitter’s weight to gently lean back and forth. And you hardly notice it moving such is the seamless motion. The mesh fits to your shape and the armrests are attached to the back of the chair so they move with you too.

The armrests can be slid up and down by pressing a discreet silver button, which is handy so I can get closer to my screen without bumping the desk top. For good posture apparently your arm should be bent at 90 degrees and the desk should be at the height of your forearms. Your legs should also be bent at 90 degrees, you should be facing square to the screen with your feet flat on the floor. In an ideal world… My posture is terrible and I naturally sink into a shape with hunched, rounded shoulders. I was getting lower back ache, one sided back pain and strained shoulders and I’m sure it was because I wasn’t sitting properly. Working from the sofa can’t have helped either.

Instead of a cushioned seat, the mesh design of the base feels more supportive; there’s a bounce in it as you move up and down. The mesh is finished at the front with a gentle lip – Diffrient removed a hard, front edge to relieve pressure on the knees and behind the thighs.

Honestly I didn’t think I’d like an ergonomic desk chair as much as I do. The Diffrient World Chair looks smart and feels super comfortable, a normal chair just doesn’t compare now. Now that I’m freelance and work from home everyday, it’s more important for me than ever to have a good quality, supportive place to sit. I may work late or lose sight of the ideal work/life balance every now and then, but good posture is one healthy working habit I’m going to work hard to stick to.

All images Cate St Hill