It baffles me too. They're for perching, not for sitting. Compare that with something like an upmarket Korean internet café, where all the chairs are supremely

It baffles me too. They're for perching, not for sitting. Compare that with something like an upmarket Korean internet café, where all the chairs are supremely comfortable and the monitors are a gorgeous 4k 120Hz. It's really a lesson in the designers being the users. Internet Café owners in Korea generally grow up using them too. Tech offices are made by the same people who design hipster cafés, wealthy homes, and restaurants interiors for a living. They don't understand the demands, and go for aesthetics over function.