Most small to medium sized offices only have one large meeting space. It may have to double as a training space, the executive boardroom, and the place to hold conferences with clients ranging from a single representative to a large group. The meeting tables and furniture in that room therefore have to be as adaptable as possible.

Large conference tables have their place, but where flexibility is important, it may be better to choose a more modular arrangement. Small meeting tables can be put together to make one large one (very neatly in some cases), arranged in rows for the viewing of a presentation or a talk, or placed in a circle for an inclusive feel where everyone gets an equal view and an equal share of attention. They can be split up into smaller groups for training exercises and more easily placed out of the way when a big open space is needed, perhaps for the office Christmas party.

The office dividers most commonly used to create cubicles can also be useful when it comes to dividing up meeting space. Two meetings can go on concurrently if the tables can be divided and the spaces defined with dividers that block out most noise. It may not be as good as having two separate conference rooms but it’s the next best thing!

We believe in furniture that offers the greatest possible range of usage as well as the sharpest looks and the best designs, so we have the high quality office dividers and other items that will let you create the most flexible meeting space possible.

Although it is very important that office desks afford good levels of comfort and practicality to the workers who use them, there are more things than just how tall, wide or ergonomic they are that need to be considered. The way in which co-workers communicate with each other in an office can be greatly affected by the layout of office desks. Therefore it is important that desks are laid out in such a way that they will benefit the overall atmosphere of the office.

Panels & partitions
Some office plans involve having groups of desks sited behind panels and partitions that unsurprisingly make workers feel ‘hemmed in’. Of course, once workers start to feel cut-off by their office furniture in this way, it is quite common for negative feelings of tension and stress to take hold. Needless to say this can very detrimental to staff morale and employee productivity.

Open communication
Open communication is an essential feature in most offices as employees need to be able to effectively exchange ideas and work together without having to send an email every time they have a question. Having office tables and desks laid out in an open-plan fashion can not only contribute to achieving this, it can also help in creating an office environment that is as human as it is professional. Indeed, ‘humanising’ an office in this way will create a lot more positive energy, invigorate employee productivity and reduce levels of tension and stress.

Let’s face it, it can be rather tricky to perform at your best in the workplace under the lingering sense that someone is looking over your shoulder nine to five. Whilst the open office layout is very popular for reasons of multifunction and cost, it can bring up some frustrating issues of privacy for all employees.
With a little forethought, desk layout can be instrumental in providing employees with a little private breathing space. Siting desks front to front and back to back tends to be the most practical norm in many open office spaces.

Front to front desks

Front to front desks usually employ desk screens to give a little personal seclusion. We stock several different variations on the classic desk screen, including fabric and glazed options. All our desk screens are desk mounted for maximum practical application and ease.
Office dividers can also help define spaces and bring an element of dexterous privacy in the workplace. Our ranges of office dividers vary from eco-friendly floor-standing options to top quality acoustic noise combatant products.

Reduced noise

Adapting areas of the open office for meeting tables etc. needn’t present an unsolvable problem. It’s perhaps here that our top quality acoustic office dividers can be most effective, allowing meetings to be conducted in an atmosphere of significantly reduced noise and visual interruption.

Space Planning Service

If you’d like a little more tailored advice concerning the best privacy-driven layout in your working environment, get in touch today to discuss our free Space Planning Service.

No matter what kind of company you run, or what kind of office you manage, your employees will appreciate having work stations where they feel secure and their privacy isn’t invaded. If you’re looking for ways to give your staff some privacy while working, you’ll definitely want to check out our desk dividers and desk screens.

Desk dividers are an excellent way of providing privacy for individual work stations. We offer a great variety of floor standing screens from our basic great value range of fabric screens to more luxury products like our glazed glass screens or our wood lattice diamond vision screens.

We also offer a range of flexible screens and pods for creating quick meeting room areas or small offices. You’ll also find a wide range of meeting furniture should you need tables and chairs to furnish the area.

Another simple way to give your staff members more privacy while working is to give them desk mounted screens. We offer these screens in fabric, glazed acrylic, and even an eco friendly version made of 100% recycled materials.

Our fabric screens come in a choice of forty different fabric colours, and come with all the necessary hardware for desk mounting. Our eco friendly range comes in a choice of thirty different colours, and also comes with the necessary hardware. Our glass desk screens come in a range of styles and sizes.

Many of our products come with free delivery and installation throughout England. We’re proud to offer you competitive prices for all your office furniture needs.

When you have a large room full of busily working people, sometimes privacy can become an issue. It’s hard to concentrate on your own work when you can see other people’s computer screens and hear their conversations. Sometimes it’s difficult to get any work done at all in an environment where there is no privacy for individual work stations. Here are some ways you can create that privacy in the office.

Office screens are an excellent way to create some sense of privacy and personal space for each person in a large office room shared by many people. Desktop screens are a good place to start if you don’t have the money to buy larger screens. These will afford a bit of privacy in shielding paperwork and computer screens from prying eyes. We offer a variety of fabric, glazed/acrylic, and eco-friendly desk mounted screens.

With floor standing screens, you can create even more privacy. With office dividers that separate each workstation into cubicles, you can make your employees feel they have their own personal space which often leads to better work production and more amiable office relationships.We offer a wide range of screens including value or budget screens, premium, decorative, acoustic (to minimize outside noise), glazed, and mobile screens. We also sell a wide range of other furniture including chairs, meeting tables and more.
For more information about how we can assist you with creating privacy in your workstations, please feel free to get in touch via the Web site, or ring us on: 0800 731 4592.

The busy, open plan office presents all sorts of clear advantages to both employees and visitors. Perhaps your company is based within the creative industries? We meet tons of creative sector clients who utilise an open plan layout to help creative juices flow, foster employee relations, afford clients a relaxed view into the inner workings of the creative process, and encourage the organic flow of ideas, concepts and strategies throughout the department. One thing many of our clients – across all sectors - could live without, however, is superfluous office noise.
Keeping noise to a minimum in most office environments tends to be conducive to productivity and development. Intelligent layout and design covering everything from office tables to desk dividers can help reduce noise reduction via both psychological and practical means.
•    Does the layout of the office encourage unnecessary chatter? Have you put sufficient environmental measures in place to disseminate sound in an office where noise is part of the working atmosphere? Use our free CAD layout service to find the ideal solution to a noise-prone office.
•    Fabric reduces the scope for noise to echo around the room, so install curtains or fabric wall hangings to help diffuse sound.
•    Acoustic screens are designed to combat office noise. Developed in partnership with The Sound Research Laboratories, the 62mm thick regular models, superior acoustic dividers options (featuring enhanced visual aid), curved models and noise-barrier doors serve to significantly lower noise interruption.

1.    Defining boundaries can help ease the appearance of chaos. Utilising office screens to create zones within an open plan space is a great way to allude to a more conspicuously defined office. Our range of office screens is diverse, cost- effective and can help in the battle of noise reduction too.
2.    First impressions count. Creative offices are legendary for an “order within chaos” approach to office layout. However, within most sectors, visitors can often find a hectic, messy office to be unfavourable and a signal of a disorganised company.
3.    Don’t skimp on storage. Along with things like appropriate meeting room tables and comfy office chairs, storage is one of the most significant elements within the office environment. Open plan offices are often rife with I’ll-just-leave-this-here-a-moment piles of folders, products, used mugs and discarded items. Install adequate, easy-to-use storage and politely enforce its use to keep clutter out of the office environment.
4.    Afford privacy. The busy, open plan office gives very little in the way of private space or sanctuary. Desk-mounted screens and glazed floorstanding can provide valuable solace for your busy employees.
5.    Enforce ground rules. Nobody enjoys being the office nag, but insisting all staff follow a few basic ground rules concerning things like phone etiquette (when LOUD is too loud!), returning used mugs to the kitchen, washing up, waste disposal, returning office chairs to their original position and so on, could make more difference than you realise.

Having desk screens or office dividers may seem like a distinctly American thing, but more and more often the potential they offer is being realised by companies in Britain too. Whilst some people may feel like they segregate the work force and make conditions much more impersonal, it is very much a case of how you use them.

Whilst many imagine them to cause claustrophobic working conditions, creating working cubicles often only serves to make a workforce much more productive. For many, it offers the necessary privacy to get on with work without feeling that they are doing it in the view of everyone else. It also offers the chance for a workspace to truly become one’s own, allowing staff to decorate it as they see fit and truly feel at home.

With desk dividers, you don’t even have to create a cubicle. You simply mark out a territory for the staff to feel like they have their own space. Dividers and screens come in all shapes and sizes too, meaning that you can create a space that best suits your workforce, whether that is a cubicle with ‘windows’ available so that staff can have privacy but still converse, or whether you simply want designated space for each employee.

Office tables and desks can very easily feel oppressive and impersonal, but given the right materials, you can not only increase productivity by removing distractions such as excessive noise, or by removing feelings of insecurity, but you can also help staff to feel much more at home in the process.