The Gesture Courtesy of Steelcase

Techeye is a model employee, the kind that’s hunched over a desk all day, fingers (and occasionally nose) dutifully banging away at the keyboard. Our boss loves us, thinks we’re busy putting together articles to win the next Nobel Prize in Business Journalism. Little does he know, we’ve actually outsourced our job to some old ladies in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Oh, the increase in productivity made him suspicious at first, as did our new habit of writing “aboot” instead of “about.” He’s no dummy, that boss of ours. But every time he asks questions, we just remind him about that Nobel Prize and he backs off.

Anyway, instead of slaving away Techeye now spends all day, every day, writing “Scooby-doo meets Fifty Shades of Grey” fan fiction, making giant phallic-shaped objects in Minecraft (a Lego-esque computer game) and giggling at kitten pictures.

This, folks, is the good life … except for all the hunching. It’s the best way to keep our boss from seeing how shockingly unproductive we are, yes, but it’s also wreaking havoc on our posture.

Time to invest in some ergonomic gear, then. Not for the workplace, of course – our colleagues are known scavenge new stuff within minutes of its installation – but rather to have at home.

Having the right chair will be crucial. There are lots of ergonomic chairs on the market, but the Gesture, from white-collar furniture maker Steelcase (Steelcase.com), looks particularly intriguing.

The Gesture is described as “the first chair designed to support our interactions with today’s technologies.” Apparently Steelcase went to great lengths in designing it, conducting research in 11 countries to learn how tablets and smartphones are impacting how we sit at work.

The results of this research are a bit fidgety, in our opinion. “Nine new postures uncovered,” Steelcase boldly proclaims, including two dubbed “the smart lean” and “the strunch.” The thing is, we’ve been smart leaning at work for years – it’s our go-to posture when we want something that’s just out of reach. It’s easy: just lean a little, then whisper, “Hey intern, hand that over, would you?” Voila.

Regardless, the Gesture is designed to accommodate more postures than an interpretive dance troupe, and it has splendidly versatile armrests. It’ll be available this autumn; no word on pricing yet.

The ErgoSensor Courtesy of Philips

The Advantage USB Contoured Keyboard Courtesy of Kinesis

Ever met a Nobel laureate in Business Journalism? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com