Chances are good if you manage an office workspace, you already provide ergonomic chairs for your in-office employees (or you should!). A well-designed chair delivers both comfort and health-friendly support. The shift to working from home, however, hasn’t been kind on the backs, arms and legs of workers who divide their time between the office and working from home. Dining chairs, kitchen stools and even inexpensive office chairs found online simply aren’t designed to give remote workers proper ergonomic support for hours at a time.

The result? Sore lower backs, tired arms and stiff necks. And it can be a real problem: according to Corporate Wellness Magazine, workers with back pain are absent an average of four more days each year than those without pain. And presenteeism—the practice of showing up while fighting through pain—can lead to less productivity and more distraction. A report by the Harvard Business Review estimates presenteeism can reduce productivity as much as 30 percent. Employees who experience back pain are also more likely to suffer from depression and chronic fatigue, which also significantly affect productivity.

The trend of working both in-office and from home is here to stay, so encouraging your staff to find ergonomic seating is more important than ever. “If your staff is going to work from home, they deserve a supportive task chair that helps them be as productive as possible,” says Erin Rada, HON Seating Product Manager of HON.

Here’s what to look for in an ergonomic chair built for work. Some of these may be familiar, but they really can be game changers. Ask anyone who’s made the extra investment: they’ll tell you what a difference it made in not just their workday comfort, but the better rest they get at night because they aren’t sore.

1. Look for lumbar support

Adjustable lumbar support, which fills in the space between the chair and the spine, supports the natural inward curve of the back and is an essential feature of any task chair. Properly configured, the chair should firmly fit flush against the lower back. Without lumbar support, the tendency is to slouch, pushing the lower back outward, which causes fatigue and pain. Many of HON’s office task chairs, such as the Convergence® line, provide this feature. Several HON task chairs also provide a 4-way stretch mesh back to further cradle your spine.

2. Make sure the arms are adjustable

A report by Environment Health And Safety Today suggests that arm supports should adjust so that a worker’s forearms rest flat with elbows at a 90-degree angle. Arms and wrists should extend straight out from the forearms at the same height as the computer keyboard and mouse. Height and width adjustable arms should move up-down and inward-outward to provide additional shoulder and upper body support. You’ll find adjustable arm support on HON Solve® chairs, among others.

3. Height and depth control for different body types

Controls such as the familiar pneumatic lever allow the seat to raise or lower to adapt to various body heights. The proper height setting should result in the user’s thighs being parallel to the floor with their feet planted flat. For a more natural posture, the task chair should have adjustable seat depth allowing the seat pan to independently move forward and back. Look for a slanted “waterfall” edge on the front of the seat—a sloping design that reduces stress on your thighs and stimulates blood circulation—all while further reducing stress on the lumbar region. Waterfall seats are a standard feature of Volt task chairs.

4. Tilt controls to make the seat just right

Another feature to look for when selecting the best task chair for home office use is a synchronized seat and back. The backrest and seat pan of a synchronized ergonomic chair normally recline at a fixed ratio—usually 2:1—which delivers proper balance and alignment. But with the synchronized link, both the back and the seat pan can still tilt moderately on their own to tweak the setting to fit an individual’s needs. Advanced ergonomic chairs also provide the ability to lock the degree of tilt and other settings that the user prefers for normal upright or angled back use. Synchronized tilt is a feature of HON’s Ignition® 2.0 line of task chairs.

The future is clear: more workers will be spending a lot of their time working from home. Minimizing sore muscles and lost productivity is clearly important—and something you do have control over. Help your staff choose the right ergonomic home office chair by recommending these essential features.