Tip: Throw out the office chair and get one of these!

I'm a computer person, which means I spend a LOT of time sitting in front of a desk. That also meant a whole lot of not-active moving around time. Thankfully someone gave me this great idea, which I thought i'd share.

One of the best things I did was throw out my office chair and get a yoga ball instead. Not only can I not sit on it for hours at a time like a chair, I'm constantly bouncing around and also needing to sit up straight, and balance myself on the thing. Great core work!

The first week was a bit tiresome (to that point, I sleep a LOT better now), but after that it's freaking great. If you're an office monkey like me, give it a try. You can get a $20 big red yoga ball at a place like Sports Authority. Start a trend in your office!

lol... it sounds great, and I also spend a lot of time at my computer, but a big red ball would disappear in NO time in my office. Perhaps at home, I could use it... until my great dane attacks it.

I was told no too. In my office, they are considered unprofessional and no one is allowed to have them.

I had a balance ball chair for awhile, the Gaiam one where the ball is in a chair with wheels. Takes up too much space though.

Risk manager said Hell no. I tried to sneak it into my office on the weekends when I needed to get caught up on paper. I had it deflated in my purse.. I tried to hide from my staff but once they saw I was in they came knocking on my door. Took up too much room for a small office and I got yelled at on Monday. They said even though I was working on my own time it was still an Insurance issue.

some people use them where I work. My company is EXTREMELY risk adverse and conservative and I am really surprised that other companies are not allowing them. I think most people that have them here have a doctor's note with back problems or some other issue.

Tell them that they can either risk a lawsuit from you falling 2' off a ball to the floor or accept a sure thing worker's comp case! They'll probably come around! (get a Dr's note first!)

This is why "OSHA" approved ergonomic chairs are well over $500, more than the cost of my sit/stand setup.
It is the lawyers and insurance companies that are ruining it.
They did the same thing to martial arts schools. We were forced into using pads. But the result was actually more injuries because the students didn't focus on control anymore and the straps across the bottom of the foot were slick.
With no pads the students learned control to avoid accidentally hurting themselves or another student.

In the office, that means companies that sell furniture can charge a lot more. 5 to 10X as much as the same chair sold as a home office chair.
I'm sure if a compliance officer ever came by my cubical my boss would get an earful. But the way I see it, I save the company a bunch of money.

THANK YOU for such a great idea! I sit at a desk 7 of the 8 hours I am at work and have back and tailbone issues that I battle because of it.....not to mention inactivity!
Just went and talked to the office manager and not only was he for it, he wants to know how it works out for me and if it is a good thing he will toss it out as a suggestion to the rest of the staff!

These risk assessors and compliance officers sound like real party poopers. Is their whole job making sure the company doesn't get sued? :huh:

I don't think it would occur to my bosses to worry about a lawsuit, but... what reason are you giving for asking for one? I don't think I'd feel comfortable saying "I need one of these to improve my abs"! :bigsmile:

i have one that i hadnt been using, had meant to do it for a while, this thred has inspired/reminded me to roll it out of the corner and i am sitting on it now.

I find it interesting that so many offices ban these. I used to work for a large natural foods market (in the corporate office). Probably 25% of the people had balls for chairs: they even had a pump that everyone could use. I never heard of an injury caused by the ball. Although one guy rolled onto something sharp (paper clip? push pin) and the ball deflated in an instant!

I never asked my company if I could use one, I just brought it in, though I work for a fairly small company. I started using one years ago - just the ball and rolled over a staple so it wouldnt keep air. I got on a health kick again this year and bought the base with wheels and a new ball, so it rolls just like an office chair and I won't puncture the ball :-) I love it! My co-worker's think it's a neat concept but so far I'm still the only one in the buiding using one...

I read recently about a teacher that incorporated this into her classroom. She was able to get a ball donated for each of her students and they sit on those instead of chairs. I thought that sounded like a great idea. I work for the state so I'm not sure if it would go over so great here either although i'm going to ask.

As much as I'd love to do this, I don't see this going so well where I work. haha. Pretty sure I wouldn't even be able to get in the door with one!

Im so gonna have to do this! i sit on the comp all day! and this sounds like a great idea thanks!

I'm not even going to ask if they would let me do this. I know the answer will be NO! We just recently acquired another company where we shut down their plant and brought everything here. Well, that other company had treadmills and such at their location, but the HR dept here refused to bring them over because of liability issues. So lame! In an age where it is becoming popular to offer your employees these perks, my company flat out refuses to do it even when given the equipment for free!