Filed under: Uncategorized
The sunshine after a dreary winter seems to invigorate us. We start to clean our houses, throw open the windows and enjoy the fresh air. Spring cleaning is also important for businesses. We need to organize, discard, rearrange, redecorate and document. We need a fresh look!
James Kuster, of Kuester Design in Indianapolis, suggests that when considering changing your office colors, think hard about how you feel while at work. Are you anxious, irritable, have difficulty concentrating? Or, are you excited, energized, and focused? If the former better describes your workspace than the latter, take a look at the office décor. One’s environment has a direct bearing on one’s mood and energy level.
Look at the color choices for the walls. Are they institutional, boring, drab? How do they make you feel? You and everyone else in the office will be more productive if the colors stimulate and make you feel “up beat” and positive.
Does your office have areas where small groups can comfortably gather to exchange ideas, stretch their legs, and get away from the desk for a few minutes? Are there comfortable office chairs, sofas, and ottomans available is the office furniture in place? How about chalkboards and white boards for doodling ideas on? Carve out a space where this can happen. Bring in dividers that can separate a small area and serve as an idea and relaxation lounge. None of this has to cost a lot, either.
If painting the walls is not in the budget, buying bright framed posters and hanging them on the wall can make a huge impact. Colorful rugs can change the look and feel of a room and hallway. And fresh flowers always bring a bright feeling to any office environment.
Last, but not least, Look at your entry area. This is the first impression visitors make about your company. Keeping it clean, fresh and welcoming is very important. These small changes create a better work environment; everyone will enjoy coming to work more. Thus, more gets done while they are there. (more…)
Filed under: Uncategorized
Today’s global economic market is creating increased demand and expectations, and competition is at an all time high. For one to succeed in business, it is imperative not only to keep up with your opposition, but to strive to always be one step ahead. This type of economic climate is placing a huge burden on the worker, and has resulted in increased levels of stress and fatigue. It has become necessary to design office equipment for maximum comfort, safety and ease of use. Such equipment is classified under the general term, “ergonomics“, which is basically the applied science of equipment design, intended to maximize productivity by reducing the workers’ fatigue and discomfort.
Ergonomic office chairs are designed to increase back and neck support. This in turn helps to improve one’s posture and prevent slouching. Workers who sit for long periods of time with incorrect back and neck support, often experience severe back pain. This ultimately increases the stress in the neck, spine, shoulders, arms and legs.
Ergonomic office chairs can be adjusted to the proportions of the individual’s body, to improve comfort and reduce aggravation to the lower back and neck. It is important to set the height of the chair according to the height of the work surface, taking into account the height of the individual. This height can vary depending on what type of work the individual does. (more…)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: computer desks, office desks, office furniture
In order to complete our activities with maximum efficiency we ordinarily employ a variety of means. We make use of furniture, for instance, both at home and at office. In fact, we are so familiar with tables and chairs, desks and shelves and whatnot that we cannot even imagine how our lives might be without them. These pieces of furniture are natural parts of our lives and work and deprived of them we would have to face tremendous difficulties.
Computer desks, for instance, become more and more popular due to the fact that our activities increasingly revolve around computers.
Computer desks are designed to cover a variety of needs that users may have both at work and at home. This is why they come in different shapes and with different features, which means they are meant to fit a large range of requirements. First of all, manufacturers take into consideration the need to preserve the space. Consequently, we are offered the possibility to choose between corner desks, L-shaped or U-shaped desks, smaller or bigger, and so on.
Secondly, computer desks have to match the style and the more subjective preferences clients may have. This is why manufacturers employ a series of materials in producing such pieces of furniture, beginning with wood and ending with metal and glass. In addition, desks are available in a variety of colours. (more…)
In most offices, when a office chair is in the wrong position then immediate action is taken. Somebody moves it.
But not at the Health and Safety Executive.
There, employees have been banned from shifting furniture on the remote chance that they might do themselves a mischief.
They are told to book a porter to complete the task - and allow two days for it to happen.
The new rule could prove particularly problematic for staff planning a last-minute meeting.
If a porter cannot be summoned urgently staff would be left with the awkward choice of disobeying a direct order from the management or asking some of their guests to stand.
To hammer home the point, signs which read: ?Do not lift tables or chairs without giving 48 hours notice to HSE management?, have been plastered across the walls in several meeting rooms.
The ruling was discovered by Labour peer Lord Berkeley. He noticed the signs when he attended a meeting at the London headquarters of the HSE, whose responsibilities include workers at nuclear plants, oil rigs and huge factories.
Incensed by what he considered to be “health and safety gone mad”, Lord Berkeley raised the matter in the House of Lords, demanding in a parliamentary question to know why the HSE had put up the notices. (more…)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: leather office chairs, office chairs, visitor chairs
With over 20 million USA and 3 million UK workers earning a living from the comfort of the home based office, an ever-increasing amount of the world’s daily business is being transacted by professionals in pyjamas and slippers. Nothing could be better for improving humane working conditions, surely, but it’s a circumstance that gives rise to real panic when inevitable face-to-face meetings come up with important colleagues and clients.
Go ahead and admit it: your home-based office has more in common with a bird’s nest than a boardroom suite. Worst of all, your office chairs and visitor chairs hail from the garage - you dragged them into the house once upon a time just to have something to sit on. To say the least, your office chairs lack executive style!
Self-esteem and salary go hand in hand in today’s entrepreneurial home-based business environment. The more seriously you take yourself, the more confident you will be in commanding big figures for your expertise. The more seriously you take your office, the better your clients will feel about signing that big contract on the desk between you. Don’t let working from home become your excuse for letting yourself and your office go to the dogs. Make this the year you toss out the rusty folding chairs and bring in the elegant office chairs and visitor chairs that say, “Take a seat and take me seriously.” (more…)
Think comfort, flexibility, and appearance, and you’re on the right track.
When it comes to office furniture, few items are more important than a comfortable office chair. Studies have shown that the chairs used by office professionals affect both productivity and stress levels. But what makes an office chair ideal? Here’s a look at the features to consider in selecting the perfect chair.
Comfort
“Look for a chair that is appropriate for the individual using the chair and for the tasks that person will be performing,” says Jen Scrivner, general manager of G2 Office Furniture Market in Phoenix. “If the person using the chair will be sitting for long periods of time, the chair should be highly adjustable. Highly adjustable chairs will comfortably accommodate a variety of sitting postures including reclining, leaning forward, and sitting upright.”
Moreover, the worker should be able to adjust his office chair easily. If the user has to adjust two knobs and six levers to get comfortable, chances are he won’t use the adjustments at all or won’t use them properly. In that case, the user won’t be comfortable no matter how “ergonomic” the chair is.
Adjustments and appearance
Types of adjustments vary; but generally, chairs should be height-adjustable as well as having arms that can be adjusted in height, width, and depth. A means of adjusting the back is also desirable, along with the capacity for modifying the seat depth.
Appearance is also a key; but any style selected should be consistent with the chair’s particular function. “It’s important to define the ‘look’ you are trying to achieve with your office chair without ignoring comfort or function,” says Don Bottorff, product business manager, seating for HON. “A chair’s application will be a strong indicator of the aesthetic you choose.”
When selecting a chair for executive or managerial applications, Bottorff recommends materials such as leather or high-quality fabric and high- or mid-back options, since they’re often viewed as being more prestigious. And to complement existing office furniture, consider chairs with a broad selection of seating fabric options and frame colours. (more…)
