We have the same setup and haven't found it to be a problem. However, my husband says he doesn't move around much with his chair. He does spend quite a bit of time there since it has our biggest laptop with the greatest capabilities (yes, he's a computer geek). When he vacuums he moves the chair slightly so that it's not always sitting in the same carpet grooves. After two years the carpet looks fine.

The type of casters will make a difference on wood or plastic mat vs. carpet. The attached might be of help. As you will see, the carpet generally calls for a harder caster; wood or plastic mats generally call for a softer caster.

I myself didn't know anything about this until very recently when faced with a similar situation. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Caster wheel vs. floor type

Thank you, Ingrid and Mike! I feel better knowing that other people have used casters on a rug without damage. And Mike, the chair does have hard plastic casters so I'm glad it is no longer on the bare wood floor. We'll keep a close eye on the rug for a few months, but it sounds like we will be okay.

Thanks again,
Nin

Anyway, as someone who works from home and spends many hours every day rolling around on a plastic mat, those also have their drawbacks. To stay in place they have little plastic spikes on the underside and those leave marks even though your casters don't.

I had a rental apartment once where a previous tenant had had a chair mat in the bedroom and no amount of cleaning in the three years I lived there ever got the little dimples out of the rug (although I think they probably just bought the cheapest mat, not the one recommended for use on that kind of carpet).