Office Furniture and Its Effects On The Productivity Produced In The Office

One major factor in the success of a business is the productivity produced by the very people who work for it. This is why business owners must place high importance on the subject, ensuring that their staff are given the tools to produce as high a quality of work as possible in order to meet and exceed the aims of the business.

Productivity – Why It's Important For Office Interiors In Southwark.

Referring to an individual's output, compared to the required output of the business, productivity is the most important aspect of running any business. As such, as a business owner, you should be doing everything you can to provide the best environment and facilities in order to make the rate of it grow. Not only will it help your operation to reach (and often, exceed) its aims but feeling happy, inspired and fulfilled by their (and others') work, talented employees will buy into your brand and feel valued – making for long-term loyalty to your company.

Why Is Furniture (And The Rest of The Office) Important In Increasing Productivity?

Having been improving office interiors in Southwark, throughout London and all over the South East for over 30 years, we have noticed plenty of change in office design trends during that time. In terms of furniture, what was once considered as unattainable, is now a reality – any office can offer the perfect environment for their workforce, right down to each individual and their particular requirements.

As such, here's how furniture can help the office environment to grow more productive:

• The Importance of Ergonomics (Chairs). The comfort of your staff should be of paramount importance; if you sit uncomfortably, you'll be distracted and will constantly stop to re-adjust your position, slowing down the working process. Ergonomic office chairs can solve this – designed to support a wide range of people, with its adjustable height and shape, a staff member can customise their chairs to suit them – rather than them having to suit the chair. Now feeling comfortable, the time spent readjusting will be virtually eliminated – increasing concentration and as a result, the work produced.
  
  Another aspect to ergonomic chairs is that they're able to prevent any long-term back, shoulder and neck injuries caused by other, unadjustable furniture. Not only do these injuries cause staff to slow down but they will lead to them taking time off work to recover. It's also not inconceivable that due to such injuries, some employees may seek employment elsewhere, costing you a talented staff member with much to offer.

• The Importance of Ergonomics (Desks). Another way to increase the comfort of your staff in your office interiors in Southwark – and adding a dash of increased functionality – is to introduce similar, ergonomic desks. Adjustable desks are a great way for staff to find their perfect comfort levels whilst working; sit-to-stand desks are ideal to increase comfort levels, as well as offering access to important tools and equipment required to go and complete certain tasks.

• The Different Shapes of Office Furniture. Once upon a time, the choice of desks was just limited to square or rectangular shapes. Today however, there is a vast range of different shapes and sizes, all designed to suit the aesthetics of the office, as well as offer your employees a better way of conducting their business. For example, if employees are required to work together, collaborating on projects, a desk that is designed to get everyone together to sit alongside each other comfortably, will be ideal to increase communication and encourage everyone to participate. Maybe you're experiencing spatial issues with your current furniture? Better-defined desks can improve the flow of movement within the office, helping people to move around freely. In the end, it should be the size and shape of your office that should dictate the ideal furniture you need to use, rather than the other way round.

• The Colour Scheme. For the uninitiated, it might sound unimportant – but the colour scheme of office decor does have an impact on the mood and productivity of the workplace. Just like the comfort of the chairs and desks we use, the rest of the office should also offer that same comfortable Imagine you're stuck on something, searching for inspiration – the same bland environment isn't going to help. In fact, it's likely to make things worse. By creating decor and having a colour scheme that is unique and/or abides by company branding, you can inspire people, providing them with a bright environment that will get them thinking, rather than just contributing to their frustrations. The decor should also work hand-in-hand with the furniture – do the colours and shapes fit together? This is a design question that will have a big impact on the mood and feeling in the workplace.

• The Lighting. Of course, it isn't just the size, shape and colour of office furniture you need to think about – but where they're positioned is important too. We've covered the effects of unnatural light vs. those offered by natural light before – with the impact of large windows letting in the environment from the outside world coming out on top. This is why offices should think about introducing more natural light into their workplaces; honing their office design, decor, as well as the position of their furniture, in order to take advantage of the many health, concentration and productivity benefits that it brings.

• Keeping The Workspace Tidy. Clutter can be a major problem in an office; not only does it cause a distraction for staff who are trying to focus, it could also cause a possible health and safety hazard. Keeping the office space tidy with a streamlined recycling and waste removal policies is a great start – but where are you going to put that clutter that you need to keep? The answer, of course, is to introduce desks that have inbuilt storage – not only will you be keeping away clutter, you'll be organising important items AND saving additional space needed for filing cabinets etc.

• Office Division. If you need your office space to perform different functions, then the need to divide it up is an obvious decision to make – this of course also means that you need to choose more than one or two types of furniture. You may want to introduce open plan areas for people to work together, coupled with individual cubicles for people to work alone, avoiding distractions and noise. Then there are meeting rooms to host important clients (high-quality executive seating?) and a relaxing breakout room for staff to take breaks and to hold informal meetings in, collaborating on projects. There certainly is much to consider when it comes to furniture for each of these spaces.

Oaktree Interiors: High-Quality Office Fit Out Specialists.

Here at Oaktree Interiors, we have many years of experience in creating new office interiors in Southwark and throughout London for a wide range of businesses. Understanding the effects that new decor and furniture has, they have worked with our office design experts in order to create their own perfect, bespoke environment. With this, many of our clients have gone from strength to strength and have even expanded their operations. With so many benefits to be had with a new office design, why not get in touch with a member of our friendly office fit out team today to learn more about how you specifically, could benefit from new office interiors in Southwark?

You can get in touch with us by calling 0845 474 3556 or alternatively, you can contact us by e-mail at hello@oaktreeoffice.com.