Best 24 Hour Office Chairs for Heavy-Duty Use

In this post, we’ve carefully reviewed and handpicked a selection of the best 24 hour office chairs, also known as dispatch chairs, so you can rest easy knowing you’ve purchased a chair that’s up to the task.

Here are our top picks.

• Overtime 24/7 Task Chair – Best Overall
• Around-the-Clock Task Chair – Budget Pick
• Dauerhaft 24/7 Fabric Chair – Best Fabric Intensive Use Chair
• Vue 24/7 Armless Chair – Best Drafting Chair / Stool
• Genuine Leather Intensive Use Chair – Best Leather Ergonomic Option

Keep reading for a full review of each chair and answers to common questions.

What is 24/7 office chair?

Also known as “intensive use” chairs, just like it sounds, these chairs are built to maintain comfort and support for workers over multiple shifts, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Office chairs in this category are built for use by private sector and government employees in dispatch and call centers, control rooms and security desks, medical settings, and pretty much any other demanding office environment where someone always needs to be on the job.

Unlike general purpose ergonomic office chairs, which are typically rated for around 8+ hours of use, these 24/7 chairs need to go above and beyond standard design specs.

In fact, there’s even a separate federal quality standard for evaluating an intensive use office chair. And, yes, it’s harder to qualify under this standard than the normal ANSI BIFMA X5.1 standard for general office chairs.

A true Intensive use chair is tested against rigorous load capacity, stability, and durability requirements.

It might sound daunting, but don’t worry: if you need a true 24/7 chair for yourself or your staff, we’re going to give you 5 excellent choices.

Each chair is designed with a different style and purpose in mind, and each model featured below is ready to work overtime.

Best 24 Hour Office Chairs

#1 Overtime 24/7 Mesh Back Task Chair – Best Overall

Our first pick is the Overtime 24 Office chair from National Business Furniture’s ‘Signature Series’.

This is a classic and proven 24 hour style office chair that’s a favorite among dispatch workers and office employees.

The Overtime task chair includes a host of adjustable features to accommodate a wide range of users, including adjustable height, tilt, seat depth, seat angle, and armrest height/width.

We especially like the seat angle adjustment option. This gives you more control over your posture and hip angle, and comes in extra handy over longer stretches of sitting.

Plus, when different users are sitting in the chair over a series of shifts, it gives each person more customization than just seat height and depth alone.

The mesh backrest also provides plenty of airflow and features a contoured design to keep contact with the curvature of your spine.

But our favorite part of this chair is the 3.5” of dense foam chair padding.

You’ll find many ergonomic chairs boasting a 2 – 2.5” seat cushion. While this is sufficient for most task chairs, the extra padding on the Overtime is what sets it apart as a true intensive use office chair.

The weight capacity is high, at 300 lbs, and the chair offers plenty of stability with a heavy duty aluminum base.

However, this weight limit might not be high enough for some use scenarios, and it does not qualify as a big and tall chair.

If you need a higher weight capacity model with similar 24/7 features, take a look at this big and tall ergonomic model instead.

While the weight capacity is slightly lower, the dimensions are nice and wide (wider than many of the best big and tall models, in fact).

Specifically, the Overtime has a seat width and depth of 27.2”, several inches more than standard office chairs offer. And the chair height is adjustable by 3.5”, from 18.5” – 22”.

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#2 The Around the Clock Task Chair – Best Budget 24/7 Option

If you’re looking for a dispatch style task chair and want some serious bang for your buck, have a look at the Around the Clock task chair from Eurotech.

The Eurotech brand is well-known for producing some of the best chairs in the biz (i.e the Ergohuman), and this chair is no exception.

However, don’t expect much in the way of modern styling or bells and whistles with this one.

It’s a simple design, but there’s plenty of support and durability here.

The stand-out feature, in our opinion, is the 5” thick seat and 4” thick backrest. It’s noticeably thicker than your average office chair – even thicker than many 24 hour chairs. You’ll definitely notice a lot more support and long-term comfort.

With all this thickness, however, it’s worth questioning how firm the cushioning actually is. Because, even with tick padding, if it’s too soft, you can develop hot spots when sitting for a long time.

Side note: we always recommend a firmer cushion, even if it’s a little uncomfortable at first.

This can be a very personal preference, though. For example, while most users find this task chair to be firm and supportive, there were still a couple of users who complained that the cushioning was just too soft.

Luckily, you do have full adjustability on this chair, which can allow for some repositioning and better comfort overall.

In fact, it’s always a smart idea to change positions frequently and make small adjustments throughout the day, especially over longer stretches.

And adjustability is essential for multi-shift office chairs.

With the Around the Clock chair, you can adjust the height, tilt, tilt tension, seat angle and armrest width.

Overall, this chair is priced reasonably, especially within the rather expensive category of intensive use chairs, and even qualifies for GSA purchasing.

This is always a good sign when it comes to 24 hour style chairs, as it signifies that the chair meets strict federal requirements for ergonomics, durability, and stability.

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#3 Dauerhaft 24/7 – Best Fabric Option

If you’re looking for a heavy-duty fabric 24 hour chair, the Dauerhaft will not disappoint. This chair is solid – I mean really solid.

Built on a 10 gauge steel frame and 7-star swivel base, the Dauerhaft gives you 550 lbs of weight capacity and superior stability.

This level of stability is not something you typically find with a fabric office chair.

The fabric comes in 5 color options, including black, burgundy, navy, red or slate, so you can find something that blends in (or stands out!) in your office or control room.

With this chair, you get a generous seat width of 20.5”, seat depth of 19”, and a seat height adjustment range of 16 – 21.5″.

It’s roomy and comfortable, but not very sleek or modern looking.

However, although it might look like a recliner for your living room, make no mistake: this is still an ergonomic chair, with full adjustability options.

Plus, the fabric is supported by an ergo air suspension system designed to give more consistent cushioning and support as you move and change positions during your shift.

Note: If you’re setting up an office, one thing to keep in mind is that the chair weighs 98 lbs, so it’s quite heavy to handle and lug around.

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#4 Vue Mesh Ergonomic Armless Stool – Best 24/7 Drafting Chair

If you work at a higher desk height or surface, in a 24-hour or multi-shift setting, the Vue from Safco is worth a look.

Safco is a well-known name in commercial office furniture, making a wide range of comfortable, stylish and durable office furniture products, including this armless mesh stool.

And although this one might look smaller (and less suitable for an  intensive use environment), this stool actually has a weight capacity of 350 lbs, which is actually more than many executive style office chairs on the market.

Also, with an adjustable foot ring and the freedom of movement that comes with an armless chair, you can easily adapt this stool for many different office settings and different types of users.

Seat width is a very generous 20.5”, with 20” of depth. The backrest is over 18” wide and 18” tall. And the seat has a height adjustment range of almost 10”, from 23” to 32.5” off the ground.

All of this makes for a customizable chair with plenty of room for larger users.

The Vue also comes with a breathable mesh backrest, and a cushy seat that’s available in either fabric or vinyl.

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#5 Genuine Leather Intensive Use Chair – Best Leather 24/7 Model

As our final pick on the list, this one isn’t your everyday leather office chair. In fact, the intensive use 24/7 chair from Concept Seating is more of a big and tall + leather + ergonomic office chair all wrapped into one.

For example, not only do you get a whopping 550 lbs of weight capacity (well above many of the top-rated big and tall chairs we review), but the suite of adjustment options on this chair even rivals top ergonomic contenders like the Branch, Aeron or Leap.

For example, this chair gives you an adjustable neck pillow, adjustable lumbar cushion, a seat that can be adjusted by depth and height, plus tilt and armrest controls.

Combine that with a unique suspension system for even and consistent support, and this model rises to the cream of the crop among intensive use chairs.

Plus, it’s upholstered in a soft genuine leather that gives it a modern and sophisticated look.

Of course, all of this comes with a hefty price tag. Make sure you check the current price, but don’t be surprised to pay well over $1000 for this model.

If you need multiple chairs for a dispatch or office setup, you’re better off looking at more economical mesh chairs.

But for a single executive style chair in the 24/7 category, Concept Seating delivers on this one.

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Hope this helps:

Load capacity

A chair in this category should have a load capacity of at least 250 lbs. As mentioned, this is what the federal standard uses to check stability and durability.

But to provide adequate stability and allow for higher weight capacity, we look for chairs with heavy-duty steel frames.

For example, you’ll notice the Dauerhaft and Concept Seating models above both have 10-gauge steel frames and 7-star bases.

Adjustability

You should make sure the chair has certain minimal adjustability options, such as seat height adjustment, seat depth adjustment, tilt angle and tilt tension, tilt lock, armrest height and width.

Note: You’ll almost always have the ability to adjust armrest height on a task chair, but width is equally important when purchasing chairs for different users.

Also make sure the chair comes with a reliable gas cylinder to allow for smooth and carefree pneumatic height adjustment.

Materials

Materials should be comfortable and durable. Typical choices include mesh, vinyl, synthetic textiles and fabric upholstery, genuine leather (better for intensive use models compared to cheaper PU leather) and frame materials like steel, aluminum with hard polymer shells and support materials.

Note: The federal intensive use standards actually test for fabric durability to make sure these chairs won’t and degrade too quickly.

Additional Features

Here are a few other smart features to seek out with a 24/7 office chair:

• Padded armrests
• Seat angle control (aka knee tilt adjustment)
• Foot ring adjustment (for high desk applications or drafting style chairs)
• Sloping front seat edges (also known as a waterfall seat) for reduced pressure on your legs and better circulation
• Hard-shell backrest for added support
• High backrest with neck support
• Adjustable lumbar support

Take a look at our guides to setting up an ergonomic office and the general office chair buyers guide to learn more about these basic ergonomic concepts – you can also download our tips right here.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up our guide to the best 24/7 dispatch chairs. Hopefully, this list will help get you started on the right foot if you are buying a new heavy-duty office chair or tasked with outfitting a whole dispatch center or office space with appropriate seating for your workers.

Let us know if you have any questions and check back as we do our best to keep these lists up to date with new tips and product recommendations.