In an effort to make myself more comfortable I switched the chair that I sat in at my desk. I traded in my adjustable, wheeled computer chair for a lower stationary chair that had arm rests. I love chairs with armrests, they seem more cozy and relaxing. So I switched my chair and at first it was awesome. But yesterday I spent a lot longer working at my desk in my new chair than I had in the past. After a few hours of lifting my arm from my armrest and reaching for my computer keyboard my shoulder was killing me. I thought it was the fact that I hit it extra hard in the gym the night before so I stretched. Still in pain. Then I thought about the presentation on ergonomics we had done a few days ago. I looked at my arms and noticed they were not properly positioned. I decided to switch back to the regular computer chair. I got in the chair and adjusted the height so that my arms met the desk top at a perfect ninety degree angle and voilà my shoulder pain was gone. Imagine if an interior designer had selected the low armchairs for a situation where people would be sitting at computer desks all day. Everyone would be walking around with their arm in a sling. Different types of work require different working conditions. A job where one is walking or standing should work at a higher work surface, such as a bar height desk, minimizing the up down activity they do to go from sitting at their desk to standing to walk around. When selecting furniture, interior designers must consider more than aesthetics, ergonomics should always be at the forefront of a designers mind.
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