Are Gaming Chairs Good for Office Work?
Your office chair has finally gone kaput. While you’ve been researching new office chairs as a replacement, you’ve done a bit of cursory research into gaming chairs as well. Gaming chairs certainly have come a long way, but you wonder if they’re suitable for office work?
Gaming chairs are excellent for office work, as they’re designed for long hours of use just like an office chair. A gaming chair offers ergonomic support, flexible arms, minute adjustments, supportive seats, and breathable fabric.
In today’s guide, I’ll discuss in more detail the features of gaming chairs that make them an excellent stand-in for office chairs. I’ll also share my top picks for the best gaming chairs that transition naturally into office use.
The Features of Gaming Chairs That Are Suited for Office Work
I can’t uniformly say that gaming chairs are always great for office work because to do that would mean taking the thousands of gaming chairs out there and putting them under the same umbrella.
When you consider that some gaming chairs cost $75 and are little more than PU leather and a steel skeleton, of course, that type of chair is not ideal for an office environment.
For just as many gaming chairs that are inappropriate for your purposes, many more fit the bill. Here are the features of today’s gaming chairs that make them a viable contender for office work.
Ergonomic Support
When most people think of gaming chair ergonomics, their minds automatically jump to the head and lumbar support pillows that are attached via big elastic straps to the chair.
I can hardly fault anyone for that. After all, for the longest time, that was the pinnacle of ergonomics for gaming chairs.
Fortunately, times change, innovations continue, and today’s gaming chairs are so ergonomically balanced that, depending on which chairs you compared, a gaming chair could win in a head-to-head comparison of ergonomic features with an office chair.
I must say that the innovation in gaming chair ergonomics likely branched off Herman Miller’s Embody, a task chair with a built-in spine that changed what spinal support looks like in a chair.
Of course, there’s no way to prove that was the catalyst, but what’s clear is that built-in spinal support that mimics the micromovements of your own spine is what’s becoming standard in higher-end gaming chairs.
Secretlab, which is one of the top chair brands out there, let alone in gaming chairs, created the L-ADAPT four-way lumbar support system, which features a latticework of “living hinges” that can move four different ways as you sit and move in your chair.
If not a system like that, then you’re likely to see lower-back lumbar support pads in a high-end gaming chair.
By the way, gaming chair manufacturers have not completely ditched the lumbar support pillows. They’ve just updated them for the 2020s with a look and feel that’s more acceptable.
Rather than use big, bulky elastic straps, most lumbar pillows in today’s gaming chair stay in place via built-in magnets.
The pillow may even feature cooling gel, as it’s all about combatting perspiration in a gaming chair. That’s something that office workers can appreciate as well.
Flexible Arms
One of the areas where gaming chairs have had a clear advantage over office chairs for a while is in the armrest department.
For at least a few years now, 4D armrests have been the standard for just about every gaming chair. Some cheaper gaming chairs still offer 3D arms, but the ones that are worth their salt have 4D arms.
The reason that 4D arms came to the forefront of gaming chair technology was that gamers need the flexibility and convenience of 4D armrests.
Gamers don’t always sit stick-straight in their chairs, and in various sitting positions, armrests could be very constricting.
4D arms offer the same standard level of support as any set of armrests, but with the freedom to pivot the arms nearly entirely out of the way.
Office chairs, in the meantime, made the slow crawl from 2D to 3D arms. You do sometimes come across an office chair with 4D arms, but they’re admittedly fewer and farther between.
Now, does the average person who’s sitting at a desk and staring at a computer necessarily crave the same degree of armrest flexibility as a gamer? Maybe not, but why shouldn’t they have the option?
The sedentary lifestyle has been proven to be unhealthy for humans and sitting for hours in one spot is just as detrimental to your health.
If a chair can support various sitting positions with armrests that move and stay out of the way no matter how you sit, that’s a good thing, I’d say!
Hyper-Specific Adjustments
The comfort and thus usability of any chair depend on how you can adjust it.
Gaming chairs, much like office chairs, usually include a Class 4 hydraulics lift system for raising and lowering the height of your chair smoothly and quietly. In the case of Secretlab, they took it a step further and offer their Class 4 hydraulic lifts in two sizes.
Another great adjustment feature you’ll find in many gaming chairs is a multi-tilt mechanism and a tilt tension knob. You can use these features to set your degree of recline and then lock your seat into a position of your choosing.
The degree of recline in some gaming chairs may be even greater than what you see in office chairs due to the aforementioned fact that gamers might sit in different positions and postures throughout a stream or play session.
When doing office work, you have to take a break, and sometimes it’s nice to lean back and recline for a few. That’s easy to do in a gaming chair.
Supportive Seat
The next step in chair ergonomics is supporting the lower half of the body. That’s why gaming chairs are reimagining what a seat looks and feels like and what the sitting experience is like.
You’ll see it in the latest Secretlab chair, the Titan Evo 2022 Series. That seat has a redefined pebble base that is wider and shapelier for ergonomic support. Other gaming chairs that have come out since the Titan Evo 2022 feature a similar seat shape.
This is only to the seat user’s benefit, as the latest gaming chair seat ergonomics are for comfort, blood flow, and posture.
What’s in a gaming chair has also gotten better over the years, especially for expensive gaming chairs.
The cold-cure foam that’s become the new benchmark has just the right density that it doesn’t feel thin and flimsy but is thick enough that your bottom half is gently cradled.
Remember, gaming chair innovation is meant to support today’s streamer, who might go on camera for 10, 12 hours at a time if not longer. They can’t afford to have a pins and needles sensation in their legs, feet, or butts.
Breathable Fabric
What happens when you spend hours in one spot and expend tremendous effort for that long? That’s right, it becomes very easy to work up a sweat.
That’s not to say that office workers don’t ever sweat, but it’s a little less common. Most office environments have climate control systems so that even in warmer weather, air conditioning keeps the office comfortable.
Of course, it all depends on the nature of the job and one’s climate, so I can never say never.
That’s why chair breathability is so important. Materials such as mesh can pull cool air through and lift sweat so your chair is less likely to become stinky after a few days of use.
As I always say on the blog though, mesh is not the ideal chair fabric for every situation. In cooler climates, you don’t want quite as much airflow. All the air movement will make you colder so it’s difficult to focus on work.
That’s why today’s top-end gaming chairs don’t only come with mesh upholstery. Secretlab’s new and improved SoftWeave Plus fabric is designed to be more breathable than most fabric chairs.
Fabric is suitable for cooler climes, especially when compared to mesh, but it usually doesn’t breathe well. Now even that is changing.
Multiple Sizes
One size does not fit all when it comes to chairs and manufacturers are beginning to catch onto that.
That’s why gaming chairs and office chairs alike offer at least three sizes but possibly more.
If you’re on the petite side, then you know the uncomfortable feeling of being eclipsed by your chair. It’s probably something you’ve dealt with all your life.
That makes it hard to get any meaningful work done because you feel like the chair is sitting on you rather than you sitting on the chair.
For those who are taller or wider than average, you have the opposite problem. Every chair feels like a thimble. The headrest is midway down your back and you’re pushing against the armrests because the chair just feels too constricting.
Larger and wider gaming chairs solve your issue, giving you more room to sit comfortably and focus on the tasks at hand.
Muted Colors
Another characteristic of game chairs that people can automatically call to mind (for better or for worse) is bright, even garish colors.
Gaming chairs certainly did have a very similar look, and some still do. It’s the PU leather exterior in black with a colorful racing stripe in hues like white, red, or neon green, maybe blue.
That’s not exactly an office-friendly design.
Higher-quality gaming chairs today are designed to the point where you could barely even tell that they aren’t office chairs. They have simple designs and are more about how the chair works than how it looks.
In many offices, whether yours is more about biz cas style or buttoned-up professionalism, this kind of gaming chair is suitable for office work.
The Top 3 Gaming Chairs for Office Work
Now that you’ve seen how exemplary gaming chairs are for office work, I want to share with you three gaming chairs that fit the criteria above.
These chairs might outshine the experiences you’ve had in an office chair and make you buy only gaming chairs for work in the future!
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 Series
At the top of the list is the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 Series, the latest in a long line of beloved Secretlab chairs and the brand’s most ambitious product to date.
The Titan is available in three sizes, small, regular, and XL. The small chair is for users under 200 pounds who are 5’,6” or shorter. The regular chair fits users who weigh less than 220 pounds and are between 5’7” and 6’2”.
The XL is designed for users up to 395 pounds who are between 5’11” and 6’9”.
The new and improved pebble seat base is proprietarily sculpted for fantastic ergonomics. The curvature of the seat helps your posture by keeping you in the center of your chair.
Inside the chair is Secretlab’s brand of cold-cure foam with a medium-firm density. Secretlab designed the foam for better pressure relief and weight distribution.
You can select between two new upholstery materials for the Titan, the Secretlab NEO Hybrid leatherette with 12x the durability of PU leather and the ultra-breathable and comfy SoftWeave Plus fabric.
Of course, I must discuss the L-ADAPT lumber support system with four means of adjustments, including in and out and up and down. The latticework of hinges is like a real spine built into the chair that will keep your own spine stabilized.
As for adjustments, the Titan has them in spades. You can choose between a small or regular-sized Class 4 hydraulics system, recline your chair 165 degrees thanks to the tilt tension knob and lockable multi-tilt mechanism, and use the 4D arms.
The magnetic head pillow is full of memory foam and boasts cooling gel so you’re as cool as a cucumber all day at work.
Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair
That’s right, Herman Miller–the premier name in office chairs–does produce a gaming chair version of a few of its chairs. The Embody is one of them.
The team that built the original game-changing Embody included more than 30 experts in areas such as ergonomics, physical therapy, vision, and biomechanics.
The Herman Miller and Logitech collab version of the Embody can support you when playing, working, or relaxing. That’s like music to your ears, I’m sure!
The seat of the Embody is enhanced and improved with more foam. The additional foam supports your posture better than the OG chair and increases your comfort so that sitting for hours at a clip is no big deal.
Within the chair is cooling foam that’s infused with copper. The inclusion of the copper-core foam is to limit the accumulation of heat so you can feel cool and comfy as you play.
The famed BackFit adjustment system with the built-in spine, the same one that started it all, is back in the gaming version of the Embody. From micro-movements to more overt ones, you’ll get an optimal degree of spinal support in this chair.
You can customize both the arm width and height, and the pressure distribution of the chair is better to encourage good blood flow and balance.
AndaSeat 2022 Kaiser 3 Series Premium Gaming Chair
A popular pick for one of the best gaming chairs is the AndaSeat 2022 Kaiser 3 Series.
This smooth, streamlined gaming chair is available in two fabrics, linen or premium PVC leather. You can also select from classy, office-friendly hues like Bentley Brown, Cloudy White, Classic Maroon, Ash Gray, Carbon Black, and Elegant Black.
The Kaiser 3 comes in two sizes, large and XL. The large is for users who weigh less than 260 pounds and are between 4’11” and 6’2”. The XL can hold 395 pounds max and is built for users who are up to 6’9”.
The EverSoft linen fabric upholstery, which is available for the Carbon Black and Ash Gray Kaiser 3 chairs, is plush and breathable.
The other fabric line from AndaSeat is the DuraXtra linen, which is stain and scratch-resistant as well as incredibly smooth.
The DuraXtra leatherette may be PVC, but it’s soft, lush, and stain and scratch-resistant.
The Kaiser 3 is packed with Re-Dense molded foam, which has the best of resilience and strength for your comfort.
As you saw with the Titan, the Kaiser 3 has a similarly-shaped seat base with wide wings to expand the seating area.
The built-in lumbar support system is more adaptive than ever. You can use two knobs on the side of the AndaChair Kaiser 3 to set the pressure and firmness of the lower-back support.
Although this ergonomics feature doesn’t quite touch Secretlab’s L-ADAPT system, it’s a viable contender.
How about 4D arms? You bet! You can also recline the Kaiser 3 between 90 and 160 degrees and rock the chair.
Magnets are a starring feature of the Kaiser 3. The chair features a magnetic head pillow with memory foam, magnetic swappable armrest tops, and a magnetic snap-together assembly known as MagClap.
Conclusion
Gaming chairs are indeed good for office work and can sometimes even eclipse office chairs in comfort, functionality, looks, and ergonomics. I hope this guide makes you consider buying a gaming chair for work!
