You will spend somewhere between 21-35% of your life in your workplace.
As a business owner or manager, ask yourselves; what kind of office do you want to spend over one-fifth of your life in? What kind of environment do you want for your employees to invest that much time into?
Not only do you want to create an environment where you and your co-workers will functionally be able to perform their work, but one where they can relax and enjoy it.
Having the right office furniture is a great way to build the work environment someone would feel good about spending a big chunk of their life in. Keep reading and begin building the office of your dreams.
The minimalist, open floor plan is all the rage these days, and has changed much of what sort of furniture you may need. However, it can never take away the basics: a desk and a chair.
Understand some companies are moving to less structured workplaces where there are no desks. However, this wouldn’t work for every company.
What does work are the tried and true basics.
When deciding on a chair for you and your to spend most of your time in, you need to keep two things in mind: comfort and ergonomics.
Comfort is obvious. You’re going to be requiring 10+ people to sit in this chair for 40 hours a week. Might as well make it a pleasant experience.
Ergonomics is a bit more complicated, but perhaps more essential. Ergonomic simply means it’s designed for a certain person or persons and the tasks they are required to perform. Everyone is different and will require different settings to have a chair which meets their individual needs.
Find a chair with a backrest, adjustable seat height and headrest, and good seat depth and stability. If you do, you will be on the right track to finding a chair which should accommodate most.
When you read “desk,” what you should take away is “a space for someone to work at.” Everyone doesn’t need their own desk, but everyone needs a space which is ergonomic for them and the job they are expected to perform.
Think through what each job requires and what sort of workspace would be ideal for productivity.
No matter what kind of office you run, you will need at least one meeting space. Whether it’s a space to brainstorm between co-workers, sitting down with clients, or having a staff meeting, you will utilize this space regularly.
All this to say, you’re going to want to purchase some large desks and tables for these meeting spaces.
In fact, some offices are moving away from individual work desks altogether.
You may want to think through how integral collaboration is in the work of your employees, because purchasing a few communal work desks could help productivity (and your pocketbook) instead of buying endless individual desks.
While taking frequent, short breaks don’t necessarily lead to higher productivity, they certainly make your employees happier.
When an employee is happy they have higher job satisfaction (which could translate to less employee turnover) and are more willing to do things outside of their job description.
Having a culture of taking frequent breaks is important to employee longevity, so encourage it by giving them a place to do it.
Create lounge areas with couches, chairs, coffee tables, bookcases, and perhaps even a TV with video games. This safe space can not only help rejuvenate exhausted employees but build stronger interoffice relationships.
Many offices are moving away from endless rows of file cabinets and are transferring to paperless options; keeping their files in the cloud, for example.
How you want to store everything is something you should think through when purchasing office furniture. Less is more these days and the more storage space you can purchase which can be hidden under desks and away from view the better.
Welcome to the 21st century, you have computers. This means you need some way to feed and produce physical documentation to and from the digital world.
Meet your all-in-one printer, scanner, and copy machine (heck, most even include a fax machine).
With this device, you’ll be able to print whatever documentation, invoices, flyers, and packing slips you may require. You can also create digital versions of physical documentation with the scanner function, and create physical copies of other physical documents through the copy function.
Even while we are moving in a paperless direction, we have yet to move beyond needing one of these to do business.
Have you tried to use a dry erase board? If so then you know how dirty they get and how hard they can be to read from a distance.
What if you could have a dry erase board, but it functioned more like a giant iPad? This is basically what a smartboard is. With touchscreen technology, their function is the same as a whiteboard, but without all of the things you hate about markers and erasers.
You don’t have to have space for your workers to eat, but not having one will force your workers to leave the office during lunch or worse encourage them not to take a lunch break.
Having space for your employees to eat is essential in building interoffice relationships and creating a more relaxed and fun work culture.
You don’t need anything too major here; people are going to be sitting here for an hour or day at most. These pieces of office furniture are there for function, not comfort.
There is a lot which goes into creating a great office space for you and your co-workers. Choosing the right layout for your office and great office furniture is a huge part how your office will feel and function.
Are you starting up a business and thinking of expanding into an office space? Is your office in need of a total rehaul?
Start turning your office from a drab place you need to escape into a home away from home today by buying the latest and greatest.
The furniture is considered the centerpiece of any establishment, like a house, office or business space. In a broad sense, furniture refers to movable objects that support various human activities (seating, eating, sleeping, etc.), hold objects at a convenient height and store items (e.g. shelves and cupboards). In a contemporary workplace setting, the furniture plays an important role in the ambiance of the workplace, giving a safe and relaxing atmosphere and a comfortable feeling to all the occupants of the office. The importance of furniture in an office doesn’t just stop with comfort. The role of furniture in the productivity of workers and the efficient operation of a workplace is more extensive than we might think.
Furniture can sometimes take up a lot of space, but it can actually make the office look more spacious if arranged properly. Multi-functional furniture is ideal for small offices and for reducing the clutter of small furniture pieces. A chest that can function as a coffee table, a shelf that can function as a tabletop or desk that can serve as a mini filing cabinet can eliminate the need to add other pieces that can reduce space and freedom of movement.
Placing larger pieces of furniture against the walls also maximizes open space. Again, pathways and spaces for movement are important so if ever you want to scale your furniture to fit the size of your office space, freeing up these spaces are key to feeling a large office space. Also, an unblocked window and an unhindered view of the office give off a feeling of spaciousness. Transparent and open furniture are great for office spaces with transparent glass walls that overlook the cityscape. They give off an airy and open feeling.
The most common setup we see in the workplace setting is walled cubicles and individual workstations. Having a set of furniture that has room for more seats and a bigger table in conference rooms and redesigning the workplace to make it open and comfortable can lead to more interaction between employees and their superiors. It promotes a sense of level ground for everyone, where every employee, staff and company head is visible and more approachable than the individual cubicle or workstation setting. Furniture sets that do not block the field of view and encourage freedom of movement and interaction, lead to a better collaboration of employees. These sets help redefine the concept of teamwork by tearing down the old and traditional workplace concept of individualized cubicles and workstations. When employees have a feeling of freedom and independence, they work more effectively and form better social connections and a tightly knit group of employees.
Employers and company leaders are seeing the value of employee collaboration to make revolutionary business ideas and marketing strategies. The way to achieve it is by promoting an atmosphere of collaboration and unhindered interaction in the workplace. Setting up open work desks can be made more attractive and appealing to employees by incorporating bright and lively colors. An informal and casual type of work setting leads to better employee function.
Another benefit of having multi-function furniture pieces is using for other uses that can help promote employee well-being. You can set up a multi-compartment shelf with different spaces for leisure items throw pillows, neck pillows, plush toys or books. You can also set up drawers that have marble tops to put your coffee maker, healthy beverage dispensers or even a popcorn machine. Make sure the drawers are of sufficient height and the top is comfortable to reach if you want to take a short break and drink a cup of joe or juice for relaxation. Having a sufficient height for a drawer is easy access, without having to bend over to open a compartment. You can store plates, utensils, glasses and other useful items the employees may need in case there are celebrations or office parties. Also, some areas of the drawers can be used for storing oats, energy bars, and other healthy food items. Even better, you can include a large bottle of vitamin C and over-the-counter medicines for a specific spot in your drawer to make it an accessible adjunct to the first aid kit in your workplace. If space allows it, you can place these furniture pieces near the corridor walls or just at the corner of your office space. You can have many options for adding such types of furniture. The key point here is promoting regular periods of rest and relaxation for employees through short breaks and giving them an area where they can access items that can help promote good health and wellness.
We are referring to interactions that are not just limited to employees, but everyone going in and out of the workplace and the office. Again, this can be made possible by using furniture that promotes an open and casual workplace setting such as breakout benches other social furniture items. Interacting more employees other than your seatmates can pave the way to increase your workplace social network and also improving your social health. More and more businesses and companies are recognizing the need for changing and redesigning the workplace environment to improve employee experience and relationships and also breaking down the hierarchical structure.
The furniture setting and structure play an important role in realizing this new direction being considered by business organizations. Desks and chairs are made more open and given a contemporary look to keep up with the relaxed employee workplace. This gives the office space of department heads and other higher-level officers a more relaxed and welcoming look. Furniture also plays an important function when it comes to the pantry or lunch area. A large open table that is elongated with lesser space and more chairs make it more possible for mingling and friendly chats over lunch. It also gives them the impression of being available whenever they need to occupy it. Also, making a uniform set ad arrangement of furniture within the pantry or lunch area gives them employees a feeling of uniformity.
There are no exclusive spaces or tables, so bosses and employees get to share the same table and sit across each other. Having this regular setup promotes a closer and healthier interaction between employees and their leaders and superiors. Other office staff are also made visible and valued with an open setup using social furniture items. Maintenance and utility workers can get to interact with employees more without having to wait for the end of the shift to do their work. With a common and open lunch space, they are also given the impression of a welcoming environment where they can also eat along with employees and bosses. This redesigning may take careful planning and also a consideration of the company budget.
Every workplace is composed of different departments and employees are performing different functions depending on the departments where they are assigned. While it’s good that there is a sense of specialization and division of labor and expertise in the workplace. It should not hinder the healthy and effective interaction of employees and the seamless flow of processes. With a new furniture setting that can allow different employees to approach different departments or the representatives of these departments, employees get to realize the value of the different departments and appreciate the roles played by their co-employees. An open and comfortable work setting also cultivates a culture of respect among employees. By allowing everyone to see and interact with each other on a regular basis will lead each employee to develop an awareness of their individual differences, similarities and appreciating how their diversity has allowed them to work toward achieving the goal of their company.
With all the positive effects of installing revolutionary furniture designs, one of the most desired outcomes of such change is the increased productivity of employees. When employees are provided with ergonomically designed chairs and work tables, employees are more comfortable when working. There would be fewer complaints of muscle pains and body aches. Also, good posture helps improve blood circulation, which provides more oxygen to the brain and body organs. When that happens, it makes you more mentally alert and sharp, more active and you develop more capacity for heavier and increased workload. Employees work better and feel situated and happier in their work environment when the furniture pieces are attractive and comfortable. Like a well-oiled machine, healthy employees generate quality output and also commit to working regularly, reducing absenteeism rate. All this is possible with the installment of employee-friendly and revolutionary furniture that break away from the traditional norm of workplaces. How does this benefit the employers and business owners? Better productivity converts into higher production rate and income. Higher income also means higher revenues. This can help make better expansion prospects and more possibilities for innovation in the business process.
It is still true that first impressions last. The furniture pieces that you put inside your office or workspace can say a lot about the company’s background and identity. Keeping the storage furniture stylish and the usable ones comfortable and ergonomic can make the employees feel welcomed and well taken care of. Chairs that have comfortable back support and allow freedom of movement can make employees perform their tasks better and unconfined. Also, clients that visit your office or workspace will have a lot to observe and having elegant furniture pieces can entice their interest to know more about the company. Mixing classic and contemporary furniture gives an impression of versatility and resilience to the tests of time. The pieces that make up the office space also help define the interior decoration style of your office, which adds to the impression of stylishness.
Giving your office that classy and luxurious atmosphere can create a positive buzz about your company’s brand or store in the market. This is the next step to creating a good impression to clients. When clients, stakeholders, investors or simply guests and visitors get to visit your office space and experience the casual atmosphere of your company’s workplace, they are most definitely going to share their experience with other companies, other clients and other market influencers. Word of mouth is a powerful mode of advertising, and making a positive is going to bring a lot of positive developments and possibilities for your company. Again, this is due to that simple move of acquiring stylish furniture pieces. It can, therefore, be considered a good investment to provide quality, modern and revolutionary furniture types for your office and workplace. Again, the acquisition of furniture is not as easy at it seems. You need to consider what best suits your business needs. You can’t just jump to the choice of acquiring furniture that’s advertised around you. Listen to the voices of your employees, ask for their insights and give consideration to their requests and suggestions.
Expanding on the social aspect of the benefits of furniture in an office, they can give your company a good and favorable image. The mix of exquisitely designed classic furniture and ergonomically designed modern furniture will give your company a sophisticated and versatile image. A spacious office complemented by space-saving multi-function furniture can give your office an accommodating air. Being a welcoming business owner or executive against the backdrop of stylish furniture pieces creates the image of a friendly and hospitable individual, boosting the image of owners and top executives who are considered as figureheads of their respective companies. Those seemingly ordinary visits may actually be key to making your company more known through the positive harmony between furniture pieces and the office occupants and furniture uses. A good image of the company and their representatives will attract more customers, and goodwill and influence of the company also increase.
What are the implications of having a great set of furniture in the office and workplace? There are actually many compelling reasons – the best among them is to improve the productivity of the employees. The benefits of good furniture choices and setting can give holistic benefits for the company. They not only benefit the occupants of the workplace, the workplace and the company as an entire entity can also benefit from the enhanced image brought about by improvements in furniture choices.
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