[Natasha1534]

The other day we had a staff meeting at work and were told that we had 6 new chairs put in the radio room. 4 of the chairs are "normal" chairs that support a weight of up to 300 pounds. 2 of the chairs are what he have dubbed "fluffy" chairs that support a weight of up to 500 pounds. It is policy that if you weigh more than 300 pounds you MUST sit in the "fluffy" chairs. I wanted to get up and dance when I realized I didn't have to sit in the fluffy chair!!! LOL

[Lexxiss]

lol No fluffy chair for you!

[zeffryn]

why wouldn't they just fill the room with fluffy chairs...seems like that could cause some uncomfortable situations.

nonetheless, congrats for not having to use the fluffy chair.

[CyndiM]

Not silly at all, exciting - congratulations! I love not worrying about theaters and airplanes and other small spaces

Zeff - I bet they cost more and take up more space. I know our conference room isn't very big so chair size is a big deal.

[srr728]

that isnt silly! that's exciting! Good for you girl

[BillBlueEyes]

Does this ever raise questions.

Are fluffy chairs like handicapped spaces, i.e. the unfluffy aren't allowed even if they have to stand?

If the unfluffy do sit in a fluffy chair, do they arise when a fluffy walks into the room?

Is it insulting to offer your fluffy chair to a 299 pound person?

If no chairs are available and a 120 pound female walks into the room, should a fluffy male sitting in a fluffy chair offer his seat?

Does HR offer guidelines on how to ask a person if they are fluffy?

[Natasha1534]

Originally Posted by BillBlueEyes

Does this ever raise questions.

Are fluffy chairs like handicapped spaces, i.e. the unfluffy aren't allowed even if they have to stand?

If the unfluffy do sit in a fluffy chair, do they arise when a fluffy walks into the room?

Is it insulting to offer your fluffy chair to a 299 pound person?

If no chairs are available and a 120 pound female walks into the room, should a fluffy male sitting in a fluffy chair offer his seat?

Does HR offer guidelines on how to ask a person if they are fluffy?

LMFAO...thanks for the laugh. I like that one.

[femmecreole]

Wonderful news! Thanks for sharing!!

I just love all the fluffy polical correctness above.

[LindsaysMommy]

its discrimination to even ask people to sit in a certain chair cause of their weight. It's like putting them in the spot light just because they are different from the person next to them. BTW - Natahsa I am glad you didn't have to worry about it, yeah for you!!!!

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by LindsaysMommy

its discrimination to even ask people to sit in a certain chair cause of their weight. It's like putting them in the spot light just because they are different from the person next to them. BTW - Natahsa I am glad you didn't have to worry about it, yeah for you!!!!

I disagree on this one. Discrimination shouldn't be confused with accomodating a special need. And it shouldn't mean pretending that the need doesn't exist, either. If a chair will not support my weight, asking me not to sit in it isn't a punishment, it's a courtesy. Encouraging me to risk my safety and the safety of others in order to pretend I'm not different, makes no sense.

Ideally all chairs in the workplace would be sturdy enough to be safe for people of any size, but they're not. If a chair isn't safe for me to sit in, I want to know about it - before my fat *** ends up on the floor. I can't tell you how many times I pretended that "I preferred to stand" because none of the chairs in a meeting room were going to work for me. I finally had enough of that crap, and would be honest and ask for an appropriate chair. It was embarassing the first couple times, until I realized that no one cared except me. No one minded finding a chair that would work for me - and it's not like it was a surprise to anyone that I was fat (that's pretty obvious).

As embarassing as it could be to essentially announce my weight by sitting in a fluffy chair, it's a lot less embarassing than toppling onto the floor amongst the wreckage of a flimsy chair.

And sadly, the chairs that are built strong enough to be safe for people over 300 lbs to sit in, are outrageously expensive (the price has been coming down as Americans get fatter, but theres no truly cheap option, yet). Many small businesses couldn't afford to purchase enough "fluffy" chairs for everyone.

If my options are to embarass myself by admitting to being over 300 lbs (which any moron should be able to tell just by looking at me) or the embarassment of ending up on the floor, possibly injuring myself and/or others with flying chair wreckage - I'll gladly take the former.

[Natasha1534]

Nice post, kaplods. I do get that some people might see it as discrimination, but when it boils down to it, it's a safety issue and no different from a height or weight restriction for rides at the fair. We WERE told that if we try the chairs and decide that we would like for them to order ALL "fluffy" chairs from here on out to let them know, but aside from a larger seat, an extra roller, and arm rests that are further apart there's really no difference.

[kelly315]

Have you talked to equal employment opportunity office? This might be a case of workplace discrimination because it identifies someone based on differences.

I understand that it's a safety issue- it's not the problem that heavier people need better chairs, it's that your office is too cheap to buy better chairs for everyone and thus are highlighting obesity.

[Natasha1534]

Originally Posted by kelly315

Have you talked to equal employment opportunity office? This might be a case of workplace discrimination because it identifies someone based on differences.

I understand that it's a safety issue- it's not the problem that heavier people need better chairs, it's that your office is too cheap to buy better chairs for everyone and thus are highlighting obesity.

I don't think there'd be a valid case considering it's a safety issue. It's an occupational safety hazard to allow people to sit for 12 hour periods in chairs that aren't made to support their weight, IMO. I'm not saying a good lawyer might not be able to rip it to shreds...but a good lawyer could rip to shreds the fact that the sky is blue.

[SarahD140]

Yay for victories!!

[rdw1]

yeay for you! I think some people are missing the point of this post Pretty sure it is just intended to be a "feel good" post not a "is this ok" post.... lol