I have a Herman Miller Aeron chair at work.
I absolutely hate it.
When you're 5' tall, the bloody thing is just too big. My legs aren't long enough for me to sit so my back is against the seat back. I spend my 14+ hour days sitting on the black plastic chair frame at the front edge of the seat, leaning forward on my elbows to keep balanced. I've developed a pleasant case of tennis elbow in both elbows, all without playing tennis.
I finally had to cave and call in the ergonomic specialist for a workstation analysis. Yes, I work for a company that employs an ergonomic specialist. Go ahead. Laugh.
The specialist said my elbow issues were because I had chair issues. Duh.
After some adjustments to my chair height, adding a lumbar support cushion and a foot rest, my elbows were getting some much needed relief and my legs weren't going numb from sitting at the edge of a black plastic frame. The only issue was that the arms to my chair don't adjust, so at the properly adjusted chair height, I couldn't slide my chair under my desk because the arms were in the way.
Well, you know what having short legs means?
Yeah, you guessed it. Short arms.
If I lowered the chair so I could slide the seat under the desk, the desk would be too high for me, and I'd have to lean on my elbows to type again, but at present, I'm pretty far away from my desk.
I called the maintenance group and asked to either have the arms on my chair lowered, or if that was impossible as they seem immobile, to have them removed altogether. In typical bureaucratic fashion, they told me I had to submit a work order to the vendor where such requests are now outsourced.
I'd been on and off the desk all day in meetings, on calls, going over the results of my annual review with my manager, etc. I missed it when the vendor stopped by my desk to "fix" my chair.
He asked my coworkers what I needed done. They said, "She needs to have the arms lowered. She wants to be able to slide the chair under her desk.
Perhaps they should have been more specific, as his solution was to lower my chair and slide it under my desk.
Have you considered shin extensions? It involves an incredibly painful leg-lengthening procedure where they break your legs at the shin area and then implant some kind of durable material at the break to make your legs several inches longer. You have to stay immobile for several months afterwards and there's a fairly significant chance of infection, but if it works, it might help you with your ergonomic issues.
ReplyDeleteJust an idea.
My legs are the problem -- it's my elbows! Maybe I'll look into bicep reductions to reduce the range of motion in my elbows...
ReplyDeleteI meant to say my legs aren't the problem, but it came out as my legs are the problem. See, brain ramage. It's an Aries thing.
ReplyDeleteI just watched this documentary about leg extensions in China and how it is becoming a common procedure. According to the film, your height is directly related to the respect people give you. Thus one guy, who was very poor and very short, paid for leg extensions so he would get more respect and a better paying job. i think your job is trying to keep you down all carbon. They want you to be short and that's why they give you big chairs and big tables so you look incompetent compared to all the truly incompetent ginormous a-holes you work with. Wait, I’m getting you confused with someone else...do you work with a-holes? Are they ginormous?
ReplyDeleteDid you know Aeron chairs come in 3 sizes and you just might have the wrong size? You can tell what size yours is by feeling under the edge at the top of the back of the chair. Count the small bumps in the plastic - 1 bump is a size A, 2 a b and 3 for a C.
ReplyDeleteYou need a size A suitable for people up tp 5' 4" or so.
I am fully aware. But, given the way my workplace operates, there is a very strenous process one has to undergo in order to get a new chair. Part of it involves proving that my chair is broken or getting the ergo specialist to sign off on a new chair. In both instances, my chair fails the test.
ReplyDelete