If you want to get the most out of your staff, it’s important to invest in furniture that enables them to work with a high level of comfort as a poorly kitted out office can lead to poor performance on many levels.
Creating the ideal working atmosphere, whether in a small home office or a larger industrial complex, has as much to do with the choice of furniture as it does to do with the overall decor. The tones, colours and shades of chairs, bookcases and desks can have a significant effect on the way workers feel throughout the course of the day.
Chairs are particularly important. The human body wasn’t designed to sit down all day but if your job of that of your staff involves a lot of time at a desk, the more supportive and comfortable they can be, the better they will be able to work, leading to increased levels of efficiency.
Posture
If you install the wrong type of furniture at work complaints about everything from fatigue to tension headaches can be the result. The very best chairs are fully adjustable. The one-size-fits-all model is long outdated. An item of furniture that is the ideal height for one person may be the cause of stiffness and discomfort in another. Being able to adjust items of furniture so that they ideally suit individual members of staff is the best way to ensure they are able to maintain a strong, healthy posture.
Another option when it comes to staff seating is the kneeling chair. These can reduce the amount of strain on the lower back by adjusting the body into a position where some of the weight that would normally fall onto the tail bone is shared with the knees and shins. Although they can take a little getting used to, many workers find such chairs extremely comfortable.
Increasing the level of comfort doesn’t just reduce the number of aches and pains that staff are likely to suffer; it also helps with concentration as they will be better able to focus their attention. However, no matter how comfortable they are, it is still important for them to take regular breaks. This can help maintain circulation and also reduce eye strain by giving them time away from their computer screens.
Morale
In many cases, your staff may have pre-existing health conditions to deal with. Poor quality furniture can sometimes lead to such conditions becoming considerably worse in a short space of time. According to figures released by the National Health Service, around 7.6 million working days are lost each year due to workers suffering back pain.
Good quality furniture isn’t just better for your health, it’s also better for staff morale. Thanks to the broad selection of health-conscious products available at Furniture At Work any concerns you might have about the quality of the desks, chairs and other items in your office will soon be a thing of the past.
AUTHOR BIO
Idania writes regularly on the topic of office furniture for a series of ergonomics-related websites and blogs. A chronic back pain suffer, she knows first-hand that without the right selection of furniture at work complaints such as her can be made significantly worse.