Well-being in the office should be a main priority in any workplace. Whether it’s physical or mental, necessary steps should be taken to make your staff feel comfortable, safe and motivated while at work. To varying degrees, both can be addressed with the incorporation of certain types of furniture.
Any environment where an individual will sit and work at a computer or desk for a prolonged period of time should have ergonomic furniture. Without it, neck and back pain will take its toll on your staff by decreasing their productivity and increasing the chance of sick days.
Providing sit/stand desks is a great place to start. Alternating between the two positions is the perfect way to reduce back pain while encouraging movement – which can subsequently help to burn more calories and increase blood flow. The use of sit/stand desks may also improve concentration and therefore productivity and it gives the user the chance to break up the monotony of what would normally be a sedentary day.
Pairing your sit/stand desk with an ergonomic chair that can be adjusted to suit each person’s body frame makes for a winning combination; the back and neck are supported while the correct posture is encouraged. We spend up to 8 hours a day seated in an office so therefore it is essential to look for a chair that can support the body whilst offering flexibility.
The design of your furniture will also have a profound effect on the well-being of your staff and it is something that should be considered carefully as certain colours and/or designs may elicit different responses. For example, cool/calm colours such as light blue or green may aid concentration as they help to minimise anxiety.
In today’s market, you needn’t compromise on style for price either. Companies like Century Office provide sit/stand desks and chairs that can be specified in a range of colours and finishes to suit your brand image or room colour scheme; they are also affordable. Their Autonomy Pro desk also comes with 2 memory settings so your sitting and standing preferences are saved, as well as height-adjustability between 640mm and 1300mm.
Even plants can give staff a boost. The trend of Biophilia may have become old news but that doesn’t mean it’s not still relevant. It simply means to incorporate natural features into the design/layout of your space, e.g. furniture with wood textures or plants.
Steve Bays, Managing Director and Head of Product Design at Century Office comments, “Nowadays offices are much more than just a desk and a chair so making small changes like swapping desk legs to a sit/stand frame and picking ergonomic seating in a bright colour would make a big difference to the wellbeing, productivity and overall ambience of an office. This subsequently has a number of significant benefits as a healthy workforce will likely have increased productivity and business performance and staff morale. We see also that customers that are heavily focused on to improve their corporate wellness programmes have less accidents and work-related ill health, sick pay costs and pressure on employees covering for those who are absent.”
Century Office have even gone on to launch their own C.A.P.S campaign, otherwise known as Circulation, Activity, Posture and Support. They believe that these are the four main aspects of good seats but also the cause of a large proportion of office based illness resulting from bad posture. In a survey they conducted, they found that around 75% of participants didn’t know what adjustability functions their chairs had or how to use this to achieve their correct posture. This shows the lack of understanding our current society has about the importance of posture and subsequent illness.
Century Office are a leading UK office and contract furniture supplier, with over 40 years’ experience in the industry. They provide workplace solutions and offer a tailored approach for public and private health sectors.
Please visit the Century Office website at www.century-office.co.uk or telephone 08000 929301 for more information. Century Office offers a complete service from survey and design through to supply and installation.
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