(ARA) - Are you sitting down for this news? Most likely the answer to that is a resounding, “yes.” In fact, the average office worker spends 70,000 hours in his or her office chair during their working lifetime. With that much time sitting down, you should be comfortable, right? Unfortunately, most workers aren’t. Many complain of chairs with poor back support . . . that are too small -- or oversized . . . that sink as they sit . . . that have too many knobs and levers to adjust them easily . . . and that simply aren’t comfortable to sit in for seven-plus hours a day.

Thanks to the innovative minds at Allsteel, a leading designer and manufacturer of office furniture, there is a new standard for the typical task chair. The company recently introduced its new Sum task chair
-- a chair for the masses. Its patent-pending, first-of-its-kind AutoFit technology provides the ultimate in comfort without the need for manual control levers to adjust lumbar support.

This is because the Sum chair features an automatic, self-adjusting AutoFit lumbar system to provide even distribution across the user’s back, reducing pressure build-up and providing superior comfort. This hands-free support responds to the sitter’s movements automatically to provide support exactly where it is needed, allowing workers to be more productive.

Anyone who sits in one of the tens of millions of task chairs found in thousands of offices and work settings throughout North America will appreciate Allsteel’s winning formula of performance + comfort + ergonomics + technology + style that all equal into truly Sum kind of chair.

“The Sum chair provides advanced ergonomic performance, intuitive functionality, and superior comfort in a simple, attractive design for mass application task seating,” said Eric Jungbluth, Allsteel president. “Sum is a chair so intuitive, so comfortable, so stylish, you practically want to take it home at the end of day.”

Autofit means you can’t adjust the chair incorrectly as its lumbar technology also automatically adjusts to support multiple users. As a result, Sum is the chair for almost everyone as it’s designed to accommodate from the fifth percentile female to the ninety-fifth percentile male. That means that nearly all chair users: men, women; short, tall; young, old; small or large, can appreciate the features of the Sum chair. That’s particularly important as the changing face of today’s office worker becomes more diverse.

Another benefit is its fully adjustable arms that easily change height, width and depth to allow users to customize the support needed for their body type and work style. This allows the user to get closer to their worksurface without the typical tradeoff of dropping the chair arms below the worksurface where they are inaccessible.

The Sum chair also provides balanced, weight-activated control. Thanks to its Avatar 2 system, it provides unlimited tasking positions without manual adjustments. When sitting in the Sum chair it delivers a smooth, balanced support throughout the recline, upright and forward tasking positions and responds to each user’s sitting style and back support needs.

This subsequently leads to a key Sum chair benefit -- its work-targeting feature. Its unique tilt control maintains the user’s line of sight throughout the chair’s full range of motion. The weight-activated control allows the user to keep his/her eyes on their work without adjusting seat or head positions. It also minimizes eyestrain, reduces neck muscle fatigue and keeps work within arms reach.

For more information about the revolutionary Sum task chair or other contract office furnishings, visit www.allsteeloffice.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content