ABSTRACT
B. A. Akerblom traced the conception of “sitting up straight” to the Ancient Egyptians. A conception of sitting that was initially only used to denote prestige and power descended through Western society permeating social and working life. H. Staffel recognized the importance of lumbar supports and attempted to design a workspace to accommodate lumbar support and an upright sitting posture. A key feature of the new computer chairs was that they readily supported a wider variety of sitting postures, including the more “open” sitting posture recommended by A. C. Mandal and J. J. Keegan. The need to standardize on one type of chair for the organization sometimes resulted in chairs being purchased with seats that were too deep for short females. Standardizing on chairs for the new computerized offices sometimes resulted in purchase of chairs that were too deep and shorter computer users spent their days “perched” on the front edge of the seat.
