Short Depth Task Chairs
Short Depth Task Chairs for LP Adults
How to find an ergonomic office chair that actually fits a short-stature adult — what to look for, what to avoid, and the chairs that work.
I recently started a new job at a large profitable company with established ergonomic procedures and budgets. At my last job, I had never been offered any sort of special accommodation to get a chair that fit me besides offering a foot rest. It was plainly obvious upon starting my job that the standard office chairs, while nice, would not suit my needs — the seat was way too deep.
Finding the Right Task Chair
After the obligatory ergonomic eval for new hires, the ergonomist said she would order me a petite task chair that would most likely fit me well. I waited a few weeks and the new chair showed up. Not surprisingly, it fit better, but I was still unable to sit back and have my legs bend at the knee.
Many little people order the Adaptive Living ErgoChair online to solve this problem, but it’s very expensive fully decked out and is not the most attractive chair out there. Dwarf Mom had one of these chairs at her last job — unfortunately they didn’t let her take it home after she no longer worked there.
After some internet searching and measuring the petite chair, I found that several large office furniture companies make 15-inch depth task chairs — generally called petite task chairs. They look great as they are part of the standard designer ergonomic office chair lines, and are not too expensive.
Our Recommended Chairs
AllSteel Relate
One chair is the Allsteel Relate. It looks really nice and comes in a variety of fabric options and colors. The seat pan is extremely easy to slide forwards and backwards, sliding all the way back to give you a 15-inch depth. This is the chair my work ended up purchasing — I paired it with a foot rest and it works great. We are thinking about buying a couple for our home office. You need to go through a specialized distributor to purchase this chair, but it’s worth it. My company’s price on the standard black Relate was under $400.
Neutral Posture XSM — Designed for 3 to 5 Feet Tall
The Neutral Posture XSM comes in both a mid-back (XSM5300) and high-back (XSM8300) model and is specifically designed for people from 3 to 5 feet tall. With the short cylinder option, it adjusts down to a 15-inch seat depth. Features adjustable arm height, width, optional 360-degree armpad rotation, and an inflatable lumbar. One of the few chairs on the market built from the ground up with LP proportions in mind.
SitRite Ergonomic Office Kids Chair
We purchased the SitRite for our dwarf son and it fits him well. A good option for LP children in a home office or school setting where a full adult-sized ergonomic chair would be oversized.
Premium Options Worth Knowing About
For LP adults who want the most ergonomically optimized chair available and are willing to invest more, two specialist options stand out:
The most customizable and luxurious LP-specific chair available. If you can find a Sitmatic rep at an ergonomic store, you can customize everything from the foam density to the fabric. The gold standard for LP office seating.
Dwarf Mom used this chair in an office setting and it fits well overall. Two caveats: the seat pan width and material comfort are not as refined as the Sitmatic. But it works well and is more widely available than custom options.
Have you found a short depth task chair that works well for you as an LP adult or for your LP child at school? Share the brand and model in the comments — this is one of the most searched topics for LP adults in the workplace and every recommendation helps.
Looking for a short depth task chair. I am a dwarf under 4″ and I need a office chair. Where can I order one from
We have used one of these two chairs in an office setting. Our favorite is most customizable between the two. The Sitmatic Little Person chair is the most luxurious. If you find a Sitmatic Rep at an ergonomic store, you can have them customize anything from the foam to the fabric.
The ErcoChair for Little People is the one we’ve used in an office. It fits well overall. Two concerns are the width of the seat pan and the comfort of the material. Otherwise, it works well.