You know we love chairs, and you know we love talking about them.

But we felt this was the right time to pump the brakes, ever so slightly.

There’s a lot of “new” in the working world lately and things are moving pretty quickly—so let’s take a collective step back and start from the ground floor. With so many styles, models and features available in seating, the jargon can get confusing.

It may be familiar to us, but that’s not what matters. What’s important is making sure you, the customer, are comfortable and confident when making a buying decision on new chairs. They’re a huge part of the office and getting the right fit is critical, and our goal is to help you reach that point.

In this blog, we’ll talk about what goes into each HON chair, what to consider when shopping for a chair and the true benefits of all those features.

Featured Products: Convergence^®, Volt^®, Solve^®, Ignition^® 2.0, Endorse^® and Nucleus^®

A Great Office Chair Is More Important Than You Might Think

Glossaries are often lengthy and boring, so we’ll do the exact opposite here.

The first word we use often is “ergonomic,” defined by Oxford as “relating to or designed for efficiency and comfort in the working environment.” We implement ergonomic design into every HON chair, because thebenefits of supportive furniture are numerous; moving about during the day (sitting/standing), back support and proper height should be part of any office chair, which helps employees during a long day.

But, what does “function” mean? You’ll hear that a lot from us. For HON seating, “functional” is a reflection of a chair’s versatility and ability to support a variety of tasks throughout the day—for example, a task chair can be used for individual work, in a group setting or conference room or in a communal space. We consider that to be functional.

“We cannot let comfort slide—it’s the primary driver of what makes a chair the right chair,” said Jeremy Tinkler, Manager of Product Marketing for The HON Company. “When you have a chair that’s comfortable and supportive of all-day sitting, you’re going to see it pay off with increased productivity.”

So, those are the basics. It’s about ergonomic support, function and comfort (though the last one is fairly obvious). Next, we’ll talk about some of the features you’ll find in HON chairs and what they mean for you and your employees.

Featured Product: Convergence^®

The Office Chair Features You Need to Know About

We’ve done significant market research when it comes to seating, particularly when evaluating what customers are looking for.

Comfort is No. 1, according to 95% of respondents in a recent HON survey. Following closely behind are functionality (88%), lumbar support (80%) and design (76%). As we often say, the chair is an investment in your health and well-being.

Featured Products: Ignition^® 2.0 with Colorwav^™

Adjustability is another big one—and it’s more than just the height of the seat that we’re talking about. Seats can be fully adjustable (meaning the seat and the back can adjust), and many HON chairs also have adjustable arms so you can find the perfect setting. Ignition^®, our top-selling series, offers an array of adjustable features to meet the needs of most customers.

If you’ve wondered what “synchro-tilt” means, we’ve got you. This simply means that the back and the seat can recline at different ratios, another feature of ultimate customization and functionality that HON chairs have. Task chairs like Ignition^® and Convergence^® are great options here.

Lumbar support, of course, is about your lower back. HON chairs have dynamic, adjustable or basic lumbar support, which is fairly self-explanatory. Our executive, task, guest and lounge chairs have high-quality lumbar support to keep you in a productive posture all day.

Alright, let’s take a deep breath. That was a lot of information, but our hope is you’re now better informed and more confident about the features to look for when finding the perfect office chair. We can’t overstate it: this is a huge part of your space—we don’t call the chair “the focal point of the office” for nothing.

If you’re ready to start your chair-finding adventure, we’re here to help. Visit hon.com/chairs to browse our selection, or use the contact form on our site to get in touch with a member of our team.