An important, but often overlooked topic in Chapter 10 (Human Resources), is ergonomics. An interesting article in The Wall Street Journal (Sept.21, 2011) points out that improving the ergonomics of office chairs increases worker productivity by an 
average of 17%. “Bad office chairs are to chiropractors what candy is to dentists”, says one doctor. Staples Inc.’s research says that 86% of office workers say their furniture causes discomfort, with more than 1/2 saying the one change they would make would be a better chair.
No other piece of workplace furniture evokes stronger physical and emotional attachments than the office chair. When Mike Williams, an exec in Grand Rapids, bought his $500 chair (called “Think” by Steelcase, Inc.), his productivity and energy immediately skyrocketed. When Williams is out-of-town, coworkers borrow the chair. When he presents at a meeting standing up, “it’s a fight over who gets to sit in the chair”, he says.
In a perfectly fitting chair, your back is supported and your feet are planted on the floor with your thighs parallel to the floor, and your knees at a 90 degree angle.
After putting in long hours as chief engineer for a Charlotte, N.C., company, Jason Ashbrook felt his back and neck get so stiff that he had to got to chiropractors and massage therapists. When his firm brought in the $900 “Generation” chair, by Knoll, Inc. (who knew that chairs all had names?) to try out, he sat in it and then wouldn’t let them take it back! He reasons that “if you can sit in the chair an extra 15 minutes a day, the savings are double or triple” the cost of the chair. I never had a dean who offered me a $900 chair, but if I did, I would probably agree with Ashbrook.
Discussion questions:
1. Why isn’t office ergonomics taken more seriously?
2. Ask students to identify some non-office jobs in which ergonomics plays an important role.