When we choose furniture for our homes, we don’t pick any old chair to sit on, we pick one that looks comfy and relaxing – one that we want to sit in and chill out. The same can apply in the office. Chairs and desks are not just places to sit and work. They should be places that make us want to sit down and get to work.
An aesthetic work environment has been shown to increase employees’ motivation and job satisfaction, and ergonomic furniture that helps employees with their posture and circulation makes them more focused and less tempted to move around. These are things that can indirectly improve a company’s bottom line.
If you’ve only got a limited furniture budget and are not sure what to spend it on that will make the most impact, this short guide has a few ideas for you.
Ergonomic office chairs
Finding smart office furniture is easy enough, but it’s not enough for it to just be cheap and nice looking. Ideal furniture is also good for employees’ health. Sitting all day is one of the worst things that people can do for their health, and it’s even worse when people are also straining their necks, getting painful backs and battling discomfort because of a poorly designed chair. Pain and discomfort are very distracting and are things that people will try to avoid as much as possible. If your employees have to struggle through these to do their work, you can guarantee that they’ll take as many opportunities as possible to avoid working.
Fortunately, there are ergonomic chairs which minimise the pains and strains that come with being seated for long periods of time. They usually have lumbar support which helps people with their posture and circulation too, which can result in better energy, attention, and brain function.
Big desks
When it comes to desks, it is not size per se that is important. Bigger is not necessarily better, but they need to be big enough to hold all the essentials that an employee needs to work without looking cluttered. The benefits of large desks come from the lack of clutter.
Busy and untidy desks have been shown to bring productivity down, to increase stress, and lower people’s satisfaction with their jobs. In short, the sight of a cluttered desk makes people feel like they have too much work to do. This effect even holds if it’s not their own desk that they are looking at, so it’s important that everyone in the office keeps their desks tidy.
Lounge furniture
Unbroken periods of work can be good when doing creative tasks, but for other types of work research shows that short bursts with regular breaks are more effective.
Investing in a comfy lounge area with a Day Bed where your employees can take a few minutes respite could counterintuitively make them more productive
Conclusion
We shouldn’t look at the function of office furniture in a one-dimensional way. It’s not just there to hold things – it also has an impact on your employees’ productivity and job satisfaction. Optimising your furniture choices for these things typically costs less than other ways of improving them, such as pay rises or bonuses.
