Office chairs fall out of favor, exercise balls take off
For decades, people have been searching for the perfect office chair: comfortable, adjustable, and easy on the back. Right now, some people are ditching their office chairs altogether and moving their ass onto a giant rubber ball.
Bodybuilders and physical therapy patients have long used what's commonly known as an "exercise ball," and now the big guy is rolling into more and more workplaces as a "horse ride." Google has always been proud of its unconventional office culture, the company's recruitment video shows a few balls placed in Google's stronghold. Some of the more rigid companies, such as BMW and Bain & Company, also allow employees to bring the balls to the office. Manufacturers and distributors reported a sharp spike in sales of the exercise ball. They're even featured on the TV show "The Office," in which a character punctures a co-worker's medicine ball because he can't stand his colleagues shaking it around.
Exercise ball enthusiasts say the ball, which measures between 18 and 30 inches in diameter, can help improve posture and focus. Sitting upright on it works your abs and lower back.
However, some ergonomics people are against people using exercise balls in the office. "From what I've heard, it's difficult to use the ball for long periods of time," said Peter Badnick, president and chief executive of Ergoweb Inc., a Utah-based ergonomics consulting firm.
Sitting on an exercise ball for hours on end can cause people's muscles to relax and lean forward, Badnick said. Plus, the Ball isn't adjustable like a regular office chair -- it doesn't adjust in height to match the height of your desk and keyboard, and it doesn't have a backrest or armrests.
There are other potential troubles, too. It can also be difficult to adjust your sitting position on the medicine ball, especially for women who wear short skirts, trying to relax a little and risk falling.
The balls can also pose a hazard in the office environment, notes Andrew Conkers, a physical therapist and certified ergonomist with CPT Consulting in San Diego. Conkers has had several patients who were injured when the ball suddenly broke while sitting on the ball while doing exercises at home. In addition, the ball tends to roll, which could trip up other colleagues.
Still, some office workers say the polo chair makes them feel younger. "It reminds me of my childhood," says Patricia Harder, director of training and development for Healthtrax Inc. Healthtrax is a Glastonburg, Connecticut-based company that operates fitness centers. Harder bought herself a ball chair a few years ago, and it’s been with her ever since she started working from home. Sitting back in a normal chair now feels terrible, she said.
Many employees buy their own ball chairs for use in the office. And some companies are starting to offer them to their employees because they have a different shape, can make the office environment appear creative, and improve sitting posture at the same time. Last summer, Sprint Nextel Corp. bought more than a dozen ball chairs for its two offices in Overland Park, Kan., and Reston, Va., to foster a creative atmosphere among product-development employees. The U.S. division of Naked Communications, a London-based marketing strategy consultancy, bought ball chairs for eight or nine employees at their request. A company executive said that in addition to being good for the body, the chair would also make work more enjoyable. "We always put music on in the office, so people can rock to it," says co-founder Paul Woolmington, bouncing up and down on a gray ball chair. He added: "A lot of people like the ball chair because it really keeps you in position."
BlueSky Strategies Inc., a Toronto-based media strategy consulting firm, likes to hold bocce-ball games when employees take breaks. Ingrid Rubin, the company's president, said that sometimes everyone also played the game of rolling the ball backwards.
Some medical professionals warn that short-term use of ball chairs may have health benefits, but long-term use may cause fatigue. "I think there are benefits for young people who can afford a ball chair, but it's going to take a bit of adaptation to get to the point where you can sit in it for an eight-hour workday," said David Shepherd, medical director emeritus at the Shepherd Center. ? said Apple. Shepherd Center is an Atlanta hospital that specializes in spinal cord injuries and diseases. Ball chairs may be helpful for young people in good health, but he doesn't recommend them for people over 50, "you need to keep your balance, and you can fall if you turn around to answer the phone." .”
The fitness ball is also called "stability ball", "Swiss ball" and "balance ball". It was introduced to the United States in the 1960s and has been used for decades. Not long ago, some technology companies moved this kind of ball into the office. In some classrooms in Europe, the ball is often used in place of ordinary chairs.
A typical ball chair costs about $25, a far cry from the $900 to $1,600 Aeron chairs. Right now, they are not only rolling into American campuses, but also marching into large enterprises. Last year, Perkins Academy, a public school in Des Moines, Iowa, provided ball chairs to fourth and fifth graders with parental consent. This year, three ball chairs leaked air in a fifth grade classroom, luckily no students were sitting on them at the time. Teacher Shelly Johnson believes a thumbtack or other sharp object may have been to blame. Occasionally a child would roll off the ball, she said, but there had never been a serious injury.
Ball Dynamics International LLC of Longmont, Colo., which makes and sells FitBall ball chairs in North America, has seen sales grow 10 percent a year since 2004. Sales of office-oriented ball chairs made by Gaiam Inc. of Broomfield, Calif., have tripled in the past three years.
The popularity of the Pilates training method also contributed in part to the popularity of the ball chair. This ball is used during Pilates training. Between 2004 and 2006, sales of ball chairs at Stott Pilates, a subsidiary of Merrithew Corp., which sells Pilates videos and equipment, rose 82%. The company, which began supplying the balls in 2004, sold 11,000 last year.
People in the medicine ball industry believe that medicine balls do more good than harm, allowing people to be active while sitting. "When you're shopping, you're looking for the right ball chair for your height, shape and build," says Lisa Witt, founder of ball chair maker WittFitt LLC. WittFitt sells balance balls to schools and offices. She recommends that users start by using 30 minutes more each time than the last time.
Many people prefer a "ball chair" because it has a frame, so it's more stable and doesn't look as weird. Lisa Scheer and Brian Zucker are the "guinea pigs" for this "ball chair experiment," as Lisa Scheer and Brian Zucker call themselves, in the offices of Food Fight Inc., a restaurant group in Madison, Wisconsin. These quirky chairs have always drawn comments from employees and postmen alike.
"I think everybody wants to have a chair like this, they just don't have the courage," Schell said.
In some offices, employees who still use traditional chairs start to envy colleagues who use ball chairs. At PJ Inc., a New York-based public relations firm, a new employee drew attention when he brought a ball chair on his third day on the job. "It seemed like everyone was asking, 'Who's that girl with the ball chair?'" says colleague Charles Sheeran. "It wasn't until we all sat on that ball."
Employees are now mesmerized by the space-age chair, and it's a conversation starter for visiting customers. "We'll sit on it while she's away," Sheeran said. "Everyone kind of envies her."
