Every business has the ability to grow and develop. Therefore, when choosing office furniture and designing your office layout, you need to consider two things: will the style you choose still be suitable in the years ahead and; will the build of the furniture meet the needs of a potentially expanding workforce and their evolving technological needs?

Style
When designing your office, you must consider what is likely to be stylish in a few years as redecorating your entire office every year can be expensive, time consuming and disruptive. Therefore, it can often be wise to choose a classic design but give it your own firm’s twist; that way your office can look independent and stylish for many years to come.

Build
Naturally, workers’ desks need to be able to comfortably accommodate monitors, telephones, keyboards and mice whilst still allowing plenty of space to do work and store various items. However, by investing in larger office desks you can ensure that your office will be ready to accept any new developments in the technological world as and when they become available. Furthermore, office tables and desks that can be assembled in different ways can also offer you much more choice in the future as they can be completely separated or added together to accommodate evolving work space requirements.

Nobody can predict the future, but choosing office furniture that is durable in both style and build can help ensure you get the best value for your money.

There are two key aspects to keep in mind when furnishing an office: style and functionality.

Style
When furnishing an office, it is important to select a style which will accurately reflect your company. For example, a creative agency may want a bright and vibrant environment, whereas a law firm may prefer a more traditional surrounding. Certainly, your choice of office furniture and the design of your work space can directly express what your company’s attitude to work and business is. Indeed, even aspects such as the presence of name plates on office tables and the background music you choose (or don’t choose) to play can all say something about your company ethos.

Functionality
Creating a stylish space is one thing, but you also need to remember that your office must first and foremost be a place where your staff are able to work productively. Therefore, your office furniture must offer your employees enough support and comfort to ensure they can stay focused on their tasks for the duration of their working day. Ergonomic furniture is essential in this respect. Indeed, ergonomic office chairs, desks, and keyboards provide significant amounts of support that can help to reduce the risk of back, wrist, arm or muscle pain which is typically related to office work. Furthermore, the addition of ergonomic office chairs, desks and keyboards can also help to reduce stress levels amongst workers, so your employees will not only be more comfortable; they will also be more content.

One important factor to consider when choosing office furniture is; ‘What office design or furniture combination will provide my employees with enough space for them to comfortably work in?’

Occupational claustrophobia
A heavy presence of office desks, chairs and storage cabinets can often make a work space feel somewhat limited at times. Unsurprisingly, feeling ‘hemmed in’ can have a negative effect on staff productivity as it can make workers feel as though they don’t have enough space to think. Having a spacious lounge-type area in the office can be a great solution to this problem as it can allow workers to have somewhere to go when they need a break from the confines of their office desks or cubicles.

The right desks for the job
When it comes to choosing desks for your office, consider the type of work your employees do. Do they need to discuss their work between them or do they need to concentrate by themselves? If their work does need to be discussed then an open plan office allows this to be done easily. However, work that requires individual concentration may be better served by singular workstations.

With a little bit of careful thought and consideration, you can turn your office in to a place where your staff enjoy having the space to think. To find out more about office design and view our great range of desks, chairs and meeting tables; explore our pages further or call our free customer hotline on 0800 7314592.

Most offices manage to keep workplace accidents to a minimum but that doesn’t mean offices are perfectly safe places to work. Slips, trips, and falls are amongst the biggest contributors to accidents at work and they are by no means confined to heavy industries and the manufacturing world. In an office environment, cables present one of the most persistent problems. There are computer power cables, printer cables, network and internet cables, phone line cables, cables for the copier, the scanner, the fax machine and even the coffee machine. With all of those snaking their way from A to B it’s no wonder so many people are injured in trip accidents.

To minimise cable mess, choose computer desks that are pre-prepared for electronic equipment and have cable ports so the cords can go under the work surface rather than over it. This is particularly important for executive office furniture- the higher up the ladder an employee is, the more gadgets they are likely to have on their desk.

Cable ports are also something to look for on meeting room tables. These days many people bring laptops to conferences, and a table with half a dozen power cables scattered around it is an accident waiting to happen.

Of course, computer desks and tables with cable ports don’t get rid of the problem entirely, but they are the first step towards managing cables effectively. You might also like to consider other measures like running cables up to the ceiling rather than along the floor, or keeping them enclosed along the skirting boards.

Whilst the idea of working long into your golden years may not seem very appealing, the fact is that many of us will not be settling down in our favourite armchair with a nice quilted blanket until we are well past 65.

Naturally, the result of this is that offices up and down the country will be populated with more senior workers. Although this will be a good thing with regard to experience and knowledge, it will also mean that certain considerations will need to be made concerning their health and well-being.

As we all know, your body inevitably deteriorates as you get older. Indeed, the sore hip and achy back that are only mild irritations in middle-age can become far more serious once you reach senior citizenship. Therefore, it is essential that older workers receive the necessary measures needed to keep them healthy while sitting at an office desk for most of the day.

To this end, senior workers will need to have a comfortable, practical workspace that will include a nice spacious office desk, a monitor positioned at eye level, sensible office storage solutions and of course a posture supporting office chair which will keep the aches and sores at bay.

We take posture and comfort very seriously here at Southern Office Furniture, which is why we stock a great range of top quality office tables, desks and chairs that are perfect for keeping all workers comfortable and healthy throughout their working life!

There are several factors which need to be considered before purchasing a new office chair:-

Buy quality
It is quite easy to source good quality office furniture at prices that aren’t going to dent your budget. Therefore, don’t buy something that isn’t going to suit your needs just to save a bit of money – those extra few extra pounds may well be what prevent you from struggling with aches and pains in the future.

Function over impression
Although purchasing a big, executive leather chair may make you feel like “the daddy”, it may not work out to be to your advantage if you are buying it simply for its status enhancing qualities. Even if it looks so impressive that you think it simply must ‘tick all the right boxes’, make sure that it has adequate padding and sufficient back support that will keep you comfortable throughout your working day.

Individual needs
There are several things which you as an individual will need to consider before purchasing a new office chair, most notably: how often you will be using the chair, the sort of positions you like to sit in, and the way you are accustomed to leaning. All of these individual concerns will need to be scrutinised so that you can choose a chair that will suit you perfectly.

Here at Southern Office Furniture, we have a wide selection of chairs, desks and meeting tables to suit all individual and company needs. Browse our pages now to find out more.

There are several things that you as an employer can do to ensure your workers remain healthy whilst at their workstations:-

Allow frequent breaks
All workers need to get up and walk around at least a few times every hour so that they don’t get stiff and adopt bad posture. This doesn’t equate to going for a gentle stroll along the nearby canal for half an hour – just getting up to buy something from a vending machine or pick up some supplies from the stationary cupboard can be enough to stimulate the core muscle groups.

Encourage correct seating
Although office chairs with lumbar support and arm rests can help to encourage good posture, it is important that you frequently remind your staff (and yourself) to: sit up straight, keep feet flat on the floor, keep thighs parallel to the floor with knees bent, adjust chair height so that monitor is at eye level and keep desks at a height that ensures wrists are straight when using a keyboard and mouse.

Provide quality office furniture
Despite what you may think, purchasing employee-friendly office furniture doesn’t mean that you have to go out and spend thousands of pounds on the very latest office pieces. There are plenty of quality office furnishings available at low prices that can help improve your employees’ working conditions.

To source the very best inaffordable office tables, desks and chairs, make us here at Southern office Furniture your first port of call.

There are very few companies around these days that are able to operate without computers. Therefore, with computers being such a vital part of the modern workplace, it is important that companies invest in the right type of computer office furniture.

Having inadequate computer office furniture can cause workers to experience a number of job-related health issues such as: back pain, stiff neck, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and eye problems. Although workers may not experience these issues immediately, they are sure to manifest themselves over time if the root problem remains untreated. Naturally, the simplest way to solve this problem is to invest in computer office furniture that is created with comfort and function in mind. The office chair that accompanies a worker’s desk needs to be adequately padded and have adaptable armrests so that workers do not strain their shoulders. Furthermore, such chairs should also be height-adaptable so that users can position them at a height which will encourage proper body positioning and therefore better support their back and neck muscles. In addition, placing a computer on an inappropriate desk will only make the task of operating it uncomfortable and tiring. Therefore, it is essential that computers are only sited on desks that are of an adequate height and which can be easily positioned to minimise on instances of constant over-reaching.

To find the very best computer office tables, desks and chairs, look no further than us here at Southern office Furniture.

Many more companies and business organisations these days are discovering that their modern office furniture needs to be more than just functional - it needs to be ergonomic.

Ergonomics
Ergonomics is a field of science that examines how well people (in this case, office workers) ‘fit’ with their furniture, computer terminals and various other environmental features so that solutions can be found to help them function more comfortably and safely in their surroundings.

Inappropriate furniture
Employees who persistently sit at unsuitably sized or shaped office desks in unsupportive chairs will inevitably experience some kind of joint, muscle or nerve problems such as the all too familiar repetitive strain injury (RSI). Quite simply, having inappropriate furniture can make individual employees far less efficient in their work tasks. Of course, this is bad enough, but if there are also other employees who are equally inefficient for the same reasons, it will soon have a negative effect on the business as a whole.

Improved productivity
Investing in ergonomic office furniture can not only help to significantly reduce such risks, it can also provide extra levels of comfort that can greatly encourage and improve workplace productivity. To this end, ergonomic office tables, desks and chairs are now considered to be integral features of a successful office environment. That is why companies of all sizes now realise that investing in this kind of furniture ensures they will always get the most out of their single greatest asset – their workers.

Many people who work in offices spend the majority of their day sat around the same office tables or desks on the same office chairs, day in, day out. In truth, it is a bit like Groundhog Day, but possibly a little more uncomfortable.

Let’s be fair; if workers are going to spend so much of their time in the same office environment, it should at least be a place where they feel happy and comfortable. It really shouldn’t be too much to ask that their workplace feels like an uplifting, comfortable and productive area rather than an Orwellian, regimented place that simply breeds ill-feeling and negativity.

Thankfully, investing in the right office furniture can quickly remedy this situation and help to transform even the most depressing office environments into places of positivity and comfort. Of course, much depends on the kind of industry that an office is involved in, but in most situations, a little bit of careful thought and a very modest investment is all that’s needed to turn an uninspiring space into a area where employees genuinely feel content and satisfied.

To this end, many more offices these days are choosing open-plan layouts that are furnished with ergonomic desks that maximise individual workers’ space and ergonomic office chairs that help keep staff comfortable and healthy. Changes like these are easy and inexpensive to implement and pay immediate dividends as they help to foster positive feelings amongst workers who feel far more appreciated and invigorated.