Furniture Guide

Everything inside a workplace influences employees’ morale and productivity, from office design, layout, features and furniture. With work stressful enough as is, keeping employees happy and comfortable in a place where they’ll be spending at least 40 hours of their week is essential.

Why choosing the right office furniture is so important

You can’t expect employees or students to be happy or work to their full potential in a place where the tools they need to achieve this aren’t available or easily accessible.From reception to meeting rooms, break rooms to personal offices and general working spaces, what furniture you choose sets the tone of the business. Employees, clients and guests see and interact with the furniture on a day-to-day basis, and it has a direct impact on how people perceive their jobs and a business as a whole.

1) It increases productivity

Having the right, high-quality furniture in the workplace increases productivity more than you think. Creative furniture that brightens up the office makes all the hours spent at work seem less dull. Similarly, giving your employees everything they need to work comfortably will make them feel valued, meaning they’re able to work more efficiently.

2) It impresses clients

Never underestimate the power of first impressions. If your business regularly invites clients and guests onto the premises for meetings, you’ll want to have office and meeting spaces that showcase the modern outlook and skills of your business.

If your workspace looks sleek with modern furniture that gives off a vibrant, welcoming feel, you’re more likely to impress the client and they’ll be more likely to put their trust in your business.

3) It keeps your employees comfortable

Many workers find themselves stuck at their desk for over eight hours a day, therefore it makes sense to invest in ergonomic furniture that will prevent pain and injury.

While there is no such thing as a ‘perfect chair,’ there is a wide range of office chairs available with different seat cushions, arm rests, back rests and adjustability options so employees can find the right chair that suits their personal needs.

Height-adjustable desks give employees the option to stand and work and promotes movement and flexibility, reducing pressure on the lower back.

4) WHS

When selecting furniture for your workplace it’s important you take into account the responsibilities you have in terms of WHS and keeping your employees both safe and comfortable. Your aim should be to optimise the comfort and productivity of your staff and minimise their risk of suffering musculoskeletal disorders.

Safe Work Australia offers to approaches to prevent these problems: avoid prolonged periods of sitting down through ways of ensuring frequent breaks and varying your work, and by giving attention to furniture and equipment and its proper arrangement and adjustment.

Types of office furniture you should have in the office

Reception Furniture

Your business’ reception area is the first point of contact for everyone – from clients, customers, contractors and employees – who enters your workplace. If they are there for an important meeting, a stylish and professional reception area to greet them on entrance will ensure things start on the right note.

Reception Desks

The first area your clients and visitors will encounter will be your reception area, so it’s important to make a statement and a good first impression with a stylish reception desk. Reception desks have space for a receptionist to work at with their computer and telephone.

Reception Counters

Like reception desks, leave an uplifting impression with a stylish and practical reception counter where visitors are greeted when visiting your business. Reception counters commonly don’t have any desk space but are more of a first point of contact for people entering your business.

Lounges

Comfortable, stylish lounges will impress guests and allow them to wait in peace as they sit in your reception area. Opt for leather lounges for a more professional feel, or fabric if you’re more going for a warm, comfortable environment. Your colour choice should be reflective of your business with bright colours sending a message of confidence, while darker shades and colours a classier option. Depending on the size of your business and how many people you expect to enter your reception area, ensure you have enough room for 6-10 guests to sit at one time.

Lounge Chairs

Lounge chairs come in a variety of shapes such as cubes and cones and add a stylish, retro touch to bring any reception area to life. As lounge chairs are an individual seating option, you can spread these out around the reception area and experiment with brighter colours than you’ve chosen for the rest of your furniture.

Seating Options

Seating can be found in every single room of the workplace and choosing the appropriate seating for the differing environments is important. For example, you wouldn’t use the same type of chairs in the lunchroom as you do in the executive boardroom. Although their styles will differ, ensuring your seating is comfortable should be of the highest importance when making your selection.

Visitor Chairs

Give your visitors comfortable seating options during your meetings with visitor chairs, which are also ideal for lunchrooms and kitchens. Visitor chairs often have a simplistic design and are stackable.

Executive Chairs

Show your employees how much you care with stylish executive chairs. Often made from leather with high backs and wide arm rests, executive chairs are comfortable, durable and make a statement.

Mesh Chairs

With breathable mesh backs providing the comfort you need to get through prolonged periods of sitting, mesh chairs usually have superior ergonomics to regular chairs and provide higher levels of lumbar support.

Ergonomic Chairs

Ergonomic chairs usually have extra-large seats and backs that reduce pressure and heat buildup, as well as increasing blood flow. These chairs are specifically made for those with back issues or who sit for long periods throughout the day.

High Back Chairs

High back chairs are undoubtedly one of the best options if you’re looking for a chair that provides head, neck, shoulder, lumbar and overall back support. Many come with adjustable seats and backs so the user can customise the chair according to their height and body type.

Stools

Some employees may prefer to use an adjustable stool over a normal office chair as stools have been proven to reduce strain on knees and lower the risk of lower limb circulation problems.

Tables

While generally serving the same purpose, tables differ through their function, style, size, portability and suitability to the area for which they’re made. Here’s a breakdown of the different type of tables and desks that can be found around the office or workplace.

Office Desks

Office desks are where your employees are going to be spending the majority of their time throughout the working day, so it makes sense to invest in a high-quality product. Ensure you choose an office desk with cable portholes for a more efficient, clutter-free working environment.

Boardroom Tables

Ensure you have a stylish, professional boardroom table to send a clear visual message to your clients or employees that you mean business. Boardroom tables are an important aspect in projecting the right image for your organisation.

Meeting Tables

Meeting tables are often less eye-catching than executive tables, but serve an important purpose inside meeting rooms where ideas are created and some of the most important business decisions are made. Meeting room tables come in a variety of different shapes such as rectangular, square, circle, boat shaped and oval.

Flip Flop Tables

When you have a function or an event where you’ll need extra tables, flip-top tables are the way to go. Flip-top tables are quick to set up and are easy to store when not in use.

Height Adjustable Workstations

Workstations are purpose-built for offices to accommodate things such as monitors, keyboards, laptops, telephones and all the resulting electrical cords. What sets workstations apart from average desks is the fact that most are height adjustable, allowing the user to find their perfect working height or to alter between sitting and standing.

The effects of prolonged sitting have been widely proven to negatively impact your posture and overall health, so workstations are a great option for those who have pre-existing back conditions or for those who simply want to make a healthy change at work.

Electric Height Adjustable Desks

Electric desks and workstations are a quick and simple solution for reducing the hours spent sitting at work. They usually come with one flat surface and a motor underneath the table for adjusting the height.

Sit-Stand Workstations

Sit-stand workstations generally have two-tiered features allowing the user to fit their keyboard, laptop and multiple monitors on it all at once. They are height adjustable which lets the user change between sitting and standing while working at their desk.

Storage Solutions

Keeping a tidy workplace by providing effective storage solutions isn’t just about keeping things looking presentable, which is a big enough reason alone. But it has also been proven that workplaces that are messy and full of clutter lowers staff productivity.

Pedestals

Pedestals usually come with either two or three drawdrawers on wheels, perfect for employees to keep under their desks or tucked into a corner so they can keep stationery, documents and personal items easily accessible.

Credenzas

A wider alternative to pedestals, credenzas are closed cabinets for papers, office supplies and personal documents often at desk height. They tend to have lockable sliding doors instead of separate drawers.

Bookcases

Maintain a tidy and organised workplace with a bookcase, great for holding books, folders and magazines.

Storage Cupboards

Place storage cupboards at central locations throughout the office to store essential everyday items such as stationery, printer paper and important documents your employees may need regular access to.

Filing Cabinets

Loose sheets of paper and important documents build up extremely quickly in an office and it’s incredibly easy to lose track of what you need to keep and what you don’t. Ensure your staff have accessible filing cabinets so they can keep their build up of work properly organised.

Key considerations for choosing office furniture

Quality Construction

Office furniture isn’t made equally, therefore it’s crucial you confirm the furniture you opt for is constructed correctly. Cheap, less durable furniture will often be held together by nails, staples or glue, mid-range furniture will have screws, while the highest quality furniture will have timber jointing such as dovetail or mortise and tenon. The higher the quality of construction, the longer your furniture will last.

Quality Materials

The materials used to make your furniture is equally as important as how it’s made. For example, higher quality furniture such as lounges will dense foam cushions wrapped in Dacron, while lower quality lounges will only have foam and will be less durable and less comfortable.

Scale and Proportion

Before you go breaking the bank on a bulk order of furniture to fill your office, do your own research first and make sure that you check the size of each piece of furniture and confirm it will all fit, and how it will look once it’s all in place. This includes ceiling heights, corridor widths and how the furniture will look in a large open space.

Longevity

When buying office furniture, you want it to last and not have to replace it every five years. Most pieces of office furniture will need maintenance at some stage during their life, but by purchasing items of high quality you will reduce the need for maintenance and extend their lifespan.

COSt per use

Say you purchase a top of the range, ergonomic office chair for $500. While this may seem like a hefty investment for one chair, consider how much the chair will get used and how long it will last. If someone sits in the chair 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, the cost per use of the chair works out to be $2 a day. High-quality chairs are expected to last for multiple years, so by the time that happens the chair will have well and truly paid for itself.

Fake Vs Authentic Products

Fake furniture using designer names is a real problem in Australia, and if you’re not careful you may be scammed into buying a replica product that looks exactly like the real thing when instead it has been poorly constructed with low quality materials. Ensure you purchase your office furniture from a trusted, reputable supplier to ensure you receive the high-quality products you’re paying good money for.

Ergonomics

Sitting for long periods of time is one of the worst things you can do to your body, yet employees are expected to sit at their desks for 40 hours a week with minimal opportunities to move around or exercise. Therefore it’s important to make those 40 hours as comfortable and stress-free as possible by providing your employees with high-quality furniture options, especially office desks and tables. The higher the quality of product, the higher the ergonomic properties and time spent on the human-centered design phase of the product.

Investment

As is often the case with office furniture, desk chairs especially, people may not be able to see the quality of product just by looking at it. But they can definitely feel it through extended use. Employees will be able to tell quite quickly after using and interacting with office furniture for 40 hours a week whether or not the product is of high quality. The use of appropriately selected furniture and design says a lot about a business’ attitude to one of, if not their greatest assets, their employees.