If you're simply thinking about your office furniture for the way it impacts your aesthetics, you're frankly doing it wrong. While style and visual themes are certainly important, office furniture impacts so much more than just this area, including another theme that's often much broader for modern offices: Productivity.
At Urban 9-5, we're proud to offer a huge range of unique office furniture products, from office storage to seating, desks and numerous other items. We've assisted clients with making their offices exponentially more productive through the proper selection and placement of various furniture pieces and related accents, and we'll do the same for you. Here are some of the simplest ways choosing the right office furniture and layout will help improve productivity throughout the space.
Storage and Organization
If your entire office is well-organized, a theme that begins with storage components like cabinets, shelving and racks, it will be much easier for employees to find what they need when they need it. This can minimize time wasted looking for misplaced items and utensils, as well as reducing clutter and the number of distractions in the office.
Document organization is a particularly important factor in this regard, as misplaced or disorganized papers can lead to a loss of time and focus. A great way to combat this is through the use of vertical storage systems like wall-mounted cabinets, overhead racks and mobile pedestals that employees can easily access no matter where their desk is situated.
Ergonomics and Comfort
Another element that plays a huge role in workplace productivity is employee comfort, and this is where furniture selection becomes vitally important. A comfortable desk, chair and other items will help employees feel more relaxed and positive in the office, leading to less stress and fatigue. In turn, this can result in fewer sick days and more productive hours spent at work.
It's also important to pay attention to the overall ergonomic design of your office furniture. It should be designed to accommodate employees of all shapes and sizes, so it's important to consider the size ratio between different items in the space. This can help ensure that everyone can reach their desktop accessories effectively without taking up too much room or having to strain themselves.
Without proper ergonomics, you'd be surprised how often employees will have to miss work due to back or neck pain. Instead, let Urban 9-5 help you choose furniture that will keep your employees healthy, comfortable and productive.
Employee Communication
The proper selection and alignment of office furniture also fosters communication between employees, which is another huge aspect of productivity. Employees should be able to easily pass information back and forth with each other without too much effort or disruption.
Employee communication becomes particularly important in open office layouts, as this design style will force employees to work together more often than not. This can lead to awkward disruptions if you fail to plan out the layout properly, but proper furniture layout can help minimize this and maximize productivity instead.
Feeling Like Part of the Team
With the right office design, you can involve each and every employee in the overall effort to improve communication and productivity. This can help lighten the mood in the office and make employees feel like they're part of a team rather than separate components of a greater whole.
For instance, proper furniture setup ensures there won't be any employees who are siphoned off to a corner or isolated from the rest of the team. This is especially important in a smaller office, as it can make employees feel left out and discouraged.
A well-designed office should also include collaborative work spaces like meeting tables and group desks, which will encourage employees to work together on projects. By breaking down the barriers between employees, you can help improve workplace communication and productivity.
Office Segmenting
Most office spaces involve varying teams or job types, and furniture can play a huge role in helping you segment and organize each division of your workforce. You can use different types of desks or seating arrangements to give some teams more privacy than others.
For instance, maybe your company operates both its products and accounting sectors within the same building. In this case, you would want to use furniture to help delineate these two areas and keep the flow of communication between them to a minimum.
Furniture can also be used to define different areas of the office for different purposes. You might want to section off part of the office for a quiet work area, or create an open space for team collaboration. By using furniture to your advantage, you can create an office layout that's perfect for your specific needs and help improve productivity at the same time.
Showing Employees You Care
Finally, one broad theme that absolutely makes an impact on employee productivity is the way employees will appreciate major efforts to improve the workspace. It's been shown that when employers make an effort to improve the office environment, employees feel appreciated and are more likely to work harder.
This can manifest itself in many different ways, but often includes a feeling of satisfaction that comes with working in a well-designed and comfortable office. When you show your employees you care about their comfort and productivity, they're likely to return the favor with increased effort and dedication to their work.
Employees are the backbone of any company, and ensuring that your office furniture is ergonomic and conducive to productivity should be a top priority. Urban 9-5 can help you select furniture that will keep your employees healthy and comfortable, fostering an environment that is productive at all times. Contact us today to learn more about any of our unique furniture items.