How to Adjust Your Office Chair Properly

Most people set their chair height once when they unbox it and never touch the other adjustments again — which means an expensive, fully adjustable chair often performs no better than a basic one. The order below matters: each setting depends on the one before it.

1. Seat height

Start here. Adjust until your feet sit flat on the floor (or a footrest) with your knees at roughly a 90-degree angle, level with or slightly below your hips.

2. Seat depth

With your back against the backrest, there should be a gap of about two to three fingers between the edge of the seat and the back of your knees. Too deep a seat is one of the most common reasons people slouch forward instead of using the backrest at all.

3. Lumbar support

Adjust the height first so the support sits in the curve of your lower back, not your mid-back. Then adjust depth so it actually makes contact — a lumbar support that doesn't touch your back isn't doing anything.

4. Armrests

Set height so your shoulders stay relaxed, not hunched up, with elbows near a 90-degree angle. Set width so your arms rest naturally without reaching in or out.

5. Recline tension

Set tension so the chair holds you upright without fighting you, but still lets you recline without feeling like you'll fall backward. A slight recline (100–110 degrees) is generally easier on the spine than sitting perfectly upright all day.

Once your chair is dialed in, monitor height is usually the next biggest posture fix — see the full setup guide for the rest of the checklist.