CategoriesBack pain Design
By

Design of children’s furniture

When discussing work space design, sitting positions and back pain we often think of adults. However, children also spend much of their time sitting down.

Today, we want to share some inspirational points from the article “Children’s behaviour and the design of school furniture” by Knight & Noyes. They explain that furniture is used extensively during childhood, which is a vital period of human physical development. A study even shows that children aged 13-16 were seated for 78.7% of their time in the classroom.

This illustrates the importance of well-designed school furniture. To ensure this we must consider the tasks children carry out at school to be able to identify the functions that are needed from the furniture. 

School furniture should support the children’s tasks

The article explains how the school furniture should support the two major tasks of school children; attending to the teacher and writing/drawing at the working surface. Furthermore the furniture should ensure that the children stay in one place (to not distract each other) as well as facilitate learning through a comfortable and stress-free workstation. 

Knight & Noyes explain how it is generally accepted that school furniture should be designed to accommodate movement while sitting. They present this as a paradox as they have just established that school furniture also should ensure that children stay in the same place.

We find this “paradox” very interesting and believe that this is exactly what we try to solve with the BeneSit chair. We do agree that school furniture should minimize distracting interactions and accommodate movement, but we do not agree that one excludes the other. 

The BeneSit chair creates a workstation which – through small movements – makes the child concentrate for longer and thereby also minimizes the distraction of other children. “Staying in the same place” and “movement” should not be seen as a paradox but rather two coexisting elements which create the basis for great children’s furniture.

Our BeneSit chair in the size Small is primarily developed for children who need higher movement freedom when carrying out seated work. You can read more about the BeneSit chair here.

CategoriesDesign
By

Functionality and aesthetics in product development

The BeneSit chair in size Small

At BeneSit, we often talk about functionality and aesthetics. It is an important priority for us that these two elements are integrated in our product.

According to this article published by Cambridge University Press, functionality refers to the performance of a product, while aesthetics represents the visual and ergonomic appeals of the product.

In our opinion, it is difficult – if not impossible – to create a successful product where only one of these elements is present. They must therefore coexist to meet both the practical and visual needs of the user.

The BeneSit chair has been designed with a starting point in functionality and through its simple construction and the few selected materials, the aesthetic is created. We believe that the two elements support each other, creating a better product overall.

What role do you think functionality and aesthetics play in the development of a product?

You can read more about the BeneSit chair here.

CategoriesBack pain Tips & Tricks
By

Movement that benefits body and creativity

Sedentary work can cause back pain, if movement is not incorporated throughout the working day.

Studies show that just a little movement during the working day has great benefits. This is both in regards to avoiding lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, but also shoulder, back and neck pain.

There can be many reasons for not incorporating movement into the working day. Therefore, we encourage you to think about how movement can be incorporated in a way that does not “work against” your daily tasks. Perhaps it can even improve the quality of work, support creativity and boost energy? 

Here are some ideas for bringing movement into the working day.

  • Plan an internal meeting with a colleague as a “walk and talk”. Often, seeing something else than the four walls of the meeting room while talking can bring new ideas and perspectives.
  • Use the adjustable table to vary your sitting position. Stand up and sit down – preferably on different chairs.
  • Finish your lunch break with a walk around the building. It brings you fresh air and aids digestion.
  • Use the BeneSit chair to activate your back muscles while sitting. The rounded bottom keeps you moving, even though the movements are barely visible. Read more here
  • Get in a few extra steps by using a toilet that’s a little further away.
  • Do a few stretches while waiting at the coffee machine. Even a few neck rolls also makes a difference

How do you incorporate movement into your workday in a way that also benefits your work?

CategoriesWorking from home
By

Visiting a BeneSit customer

The customer’s BeneSit chair in his kitchen

Today we will share a little story from a visit to a BeneSit customer. We find it very inspiring to learn how our customers use the BeneSit chair and how they create an active everyday life despite having a sedentary job.

This customer has a strong focus on staying active during the day. In general, his sedentary work contradicts his desire for a playful and active everyday life, but he has developed four different working positions or “strategies” to maintain a healthy and strong body. The customer works as a teacher and the choice of “strategy” depends on the type of work he has to do.

The client uses his spinning bike when his work primarily consists of listening. The bike is stored under the height-adjustable table in the home office for easy access. 

The regular office chair is used when he has student exams. This helps to create a calm and professional atmosphere.

The BeneSit chair is used when the customer works on the computer and during meetings with his colleagues. In these situations, he also switches it up by standing up once in a while.

The customer explains that he is happy to have the BeneSit chair in his everyday home office and even uses it in the kitchen when the working day is over (as shown in the picture).

We hope you found it interesting to hear about this customer’s everyday life and perhaps even got inspired to create a more active everyday life yourself. 
You can read more about the BeneSit chairs here.

CategoriesDesign
By

Prioritising the fixed height in chair design

BeneSit chairs in heights S, M and L

Several times we have had interesting conversations with customers about our choice to design the BeneSit chair in four fixed heights rather than having one adjustable chair.

Of course, an adjustable chair can have many advantages, as one chair can be adapted to users with a large height difference.

However, there are several reasons why we have chosen the fixed heights of the BeneSit chairs, and we want to share them with you here.

When is the “correct” sitting position achieved?

During the development of the BeneSit chair, we were in close dialogue with talented occupational therapist Mette Boye. It quickly became clear that the correct sitting position is achieved by having more than 90 degrees between the upper body and the thighs. This meant that the correct chair height for one person would be a range rather than one specific height. In addition, we found two chair heights (which we now call M and L) that would be ideal for about 85-90% of the population. Later, we decided to introduce heights S and XL to ensure that we accommodate people of all heights. 

Weight of the chair

A clear advantage of having fixed heights is to avoid heavy mechanical parts in the construction of the chair. This means that we use fewer materials, but also that the weight of the chair is only a few kilos, making it easy to move around and use in different scenarios.

The design aspect

In addition, the absence of height-adjustable mechanical parts was a high-priority design decision. This ensures a simple construction and a minimalistic design, which also distinguishes the BeneSit chair from other more traditional office chairs.

You can read more about the BeneSit chair here.

CategoriesBack pain Working from home
By

Ideal table height adjustment

Illustration of correct table height adjustment

We’ve been getting questions lately about how to find the ideal table height. One of the questions came from a customer who had just purchased a BeneSit chair and therefore wanted to adjust the table correctly when using the BeneSit chair.

The Danish Working Environment Authority advises that the table should be adjusted so that the hands are at about elbow height. We can also refer to this video, where physiotherapist Pernille Andersen shares her recommendations for finding the correct table height. She explains that the table should be adjusted so that there is no space under the forearms when using the keyboard or mouse. The arms should be supported by the table and the shoulders should feel relaxed.

The way you set up your desk can vary from person to person, so we can’t provide specific measurements. Please follow the points below and feel free to contact us if you have any questions. You can read more about the BeneSit chair and back pain here.

Summary:

  • Hands should be around elbow height
  • There must be no space under the forearms
  • The arms must be supported by the table
  • The shoulders should feel relaxed

Were you aware of how to adjust up your table in an ideal way?

CategoriesDesign Interior
By

“Resimercial” design

The BeneSit chair creates a homey and flexible work environment

Following on from last week’s blog post on trends in hybrid working and working from home, this week we’ll be delving into the principles of “resimercial” design. 

The word “resimercial” combines “residencial” and “commercial” and Work Design Magazine predicts that this concept will increasingly influence the way we design office landscapes and workplaces going forward. 

As Work Design Magazine describes here, the concept of “resimercial design” is about incorporating the comforts of the home environment into our work environment. The aim of this is to make the workplace a more comfortable place, which is a key factor in employee well-being and health. People are increasingly becoming the source of companies’ value – so it is important that the workplace supports its employees both mentally and physically.

Specifically, ‘resimercial design’ can be incorporated by using domestic artefacts such as lamps and carpets, adding multi-sensory elements such as plants, music and scents or by incorporating flexible ways of working. Flexibility in the workplace, for example, can be achieved by having flexible meeting spaces and offering employees alternative seating options.

Read more about our customized BeneSit chairs, which are ideal for companies that want to create more flexible working environments and focus more on employee well-being.

What would you implement in your company to create a more homey atmosphere?

CategoriesDesign Tips & Tricks
By

Trends within hybrid work

wgsn

As many of us have experienced first hand, the pandemic changed the way we work. A long period of working exclusively from home forced us to change up our work routines. Suddenly, we had to create a different office set-up, a different way of doing meetings and a different way of structuring our day – some began flexing work around family duties and hobbies. 

WGSN has shared some valuable insights into the current work-related tendencies and the trends that will unfold during the next few years. Here we will share and discuss some highlights from their article. 

 

Working from home increases productivity

The article shares some statistics showing how working from home has increased our productivity. Research shows that hybrid working leads to 15% more productivity while a global study shows that more than 60% of 20,000 respondents said they get more done working from home.

 

Hybrid work is here to stay

During the pandemic most people had to make do with a makeshift home office. WGSN predicts that people, over the next three years, will prioritize long-term set-ups e.g. with proper furniture that creates a healthy sitting position, just like the BeneSit chair.

 

Multifunctional products are key

When the office moves into the home, flexible and multifunctional products will become highly valuable. People will be more dependent on products which enables their existing spaces to be transformed into a working environment.

BeneSit’s customers often explain how they enjoy the flexibility of the chair – it works well both as a home office chair as well as a bar stool after working hours.

 

Design should target the domestic setting

Working from home also creates a need for more things in the home. These things should be designed to fit into the domestic setting rather than office aesthetics as it will create a more soothing and stress-relieving environment.

The BeneSit chair is designed to prevent and minimize back-pain while having a homey Danish design aesthetic. This makes it fit well into many home interior styles and is a great option for the home working environment. 

 

Thank you to WGSN for some very interesting insights. You can read the full article from WGSN here and more about the BeneSit chair here.

How are you planning on improving your home office in 2023?

CategoriesEntrepreneurship
By

Product development based on a personal need

caroline kragh

In 2019 both BeneSit founders – Caroline and her dad, Peter – had issues with back pain. Peter suffered from a herniated disc due to a fall injury and Caroline suffered from lower back pain due to a sedentary life at university. Both found it hard to carry out sedentary work in their daily life without experiencing pain.

Their personal struggles with back pain made up the foundation for developing the BeneSit chair. They wanted a chair with a beautiful design and the functionality which would make it possible to sit in a way that would not cause back pain. They had a hard time finding this on the market and therefore decided to create their own – using themselves as test persons.

Today, BeneSit still values an active sitting position and an aesthetic design. For us, developing a product based on a personal need has – among other things – resulted in very close and engaged customer relationships as well as genuine passion and motivation for the product. 

Click here to read more about how the BeneSit chair prevents back pain.

 

CategoriesBack pain
By

Movement is important for back pain relief

Article about back pain

We have come across an interesting article by FysioDanmark Bagsværd in the local magazine Vores Bagsværd, which we will share here. 

The article explores the issue of back pain and describes it as “…a common condition that many of us have experienced at least once in our lives” – in fact, as many as 85% of us!

As the physiotherapists point out in the article, back pain can be complex and what “treatment” is needed can vary greatly from person to person. Some may need acute relief through treatment (e.g. with a physiotherapist) and others may want to prevent pain and stiffness through exercise.

An interesting point in the article is the following:

“What we know about back pain, both acute and persistent and recurrent, today is that the exercise and movement you can do yourself is probably one of the most important elements in achieving relief.”

The quote from the article illustrates how important movement is in the fight against back pain. We have the feeling that many people believe that back pain can only be alleviated through the help of a therapist. Of course, we always recommend that you seek advice on what type of treatment is needed for the specific situation you are facing. But in fact, you can often go a long way with the movement and exercise you can incorporate into your everyday life. Read more about how the BeneSit chair can help you to be more active in your everyday life.

Thanks to FysioDanmark Bagsværd for an interesting article!