Standard office chairs are built around an average height range, typically fitting people between about 5'4" and 6'1" comfortably. Outside that range, "adjustable" often stops meaning what it should — the chair's lowest setting is still too high, or its highest setting still isn't enough. The fix depends on which direction the mismatch runs.
This is the most common complaint for people under about 5'4". Most gas-lift chairs bottom out around 16-17 inches of seat height, which puts feet dangling above the floor for many shorter users even at minimum. Two fixes, in order of what to try first:
For people over about 6'2", the opposite problem shows up — knees end up higher than hips even at max height, which strains the lower back over a workday. Look specifically for chairs marketed with an extended-height gas cylinder (sometimes listed as "tall" or "big and tall" models) rather than assuming any chair's stated max height applies to you — many listings show max height without clarifying it's measured to the seat pan, not accounting for a taller person's different sitting posture.
Our ergonomic chair buying guide covers seat depth in general, but it matters even more outside the average height range. A fixed seat pan sized for average height leaves a gap behind the knees for shorter users, or cuts into the back of the knees for taller ones. If the chair doesn't have adjustable seat depth, this generally can't be fully corrected with accessories — it's the reason "big and tall" and petite-specific chair lines exist as separate products rather than just height-adjusted versions of a standard chair.
Fixing chair height only solves half the equation if the desk itself doesn't allow the right elbow angle at that seat height. A footrest that fixes leg position can put elbows too low relative to a fixed-height desk; for taller users, a chair set high enough for proper knee angle sometimes pushes elbows above a standard desk height. If chair adjustments alone don't resolve the discomfort, the desk height (or a height-adjustable desk) is usually the missing piece, not a chair problem.
Feet should rest flat on the floor (or a footrest) with knees at roughly a 90-100 degree angle. Most standard chairs bottom out around 16-17 inches seat height, which is often still too high for shorter users — a footrest is frequently needed even at the chair's lowest setting.
Often just a chair with a higher maximum seat height and a longer seat depth — many "big and tall" chairs are really just standard chairs with an extended gas cylinder and a larger seat pan, not a fundamentally different design.
Only if the chair has a sliding seat pan (adjustable depth). If it doesn't, a seat cushion can shift where your body sits relative to the backrest, partially compensating, but it doesn't truly fix a fixed seat pan that's the wrong length for your legs.
Bottom line: a footrest solves most "too high" complaints cheaply; "too low" for taller users usually requires buying a chair rated for extended height rather than trying to modify a standard one. Either way, check seat depth alongside height — fixing one without the other leaves the mismatch half-solved.
Under 5'2"? See our dedicated guide to the best office chairs for petite users, which covers seat depth in more detail than height alone.
See the full chair decision guide to compare this against every other factor before you buy.
Flag for future review: the height ranges cited (16-17" standard minimum, 5'4"/6'2" thresholds) are general ergonomic guidance, not measurements from a specific tested chair — confirm against the exact chair's listed spec sheet before buying.