What Your Office Furniture Says About You and Your Company

A trendy modern open floor model office space

Impress your office visitors with the right choice of office furniture. The right style sends the right message. What does your office furniture say about you?

Why You Need To Update Your Office Furniture

There are a lot of reasons to replace your old office furniture with new stylish and comfortable pieces. You spend more than half your day at the office, so you probably want it to be more inviting. After having the same office furniture for a while, you get so used to it, it’s hard to notice that things have grown old, worn out, and outdated, and it may be time to consider something new. Besides, the way your office looks says a lot about you and your business, including how organized, inspired, considerate, hardworking, or lazy you are.

Having old, outdated, mix-matched pieces scattered all over the place may also give others the impression you don’t care about what people think and it does nothing for your creative style either. Everything in your office, from the furniture to accessories, tells a story that leaves your associates, clients, and business partners with a good or bad impression about you and your company.

Keep Your Employees Happy With New Office Furniture

In case you don’t already know, technology has reached the office. Now there are ergonomic chairs, desks, and accessories that your employees will really appreciate. Therefore, let them know you care by moving the old stuff out and getting some new office furniture in. Imagine transforming your office into an attractive business space that your employees will look forward to coming to every day, rather than dread coming to the same dull setup. Keep in mind that employees usually sit in the same chair for the most part of their day. It can be quite daunting if their chair is not comfortable and doesn’t do anything for the body. You also want to create an attractive space that both you and your employees will be proud to call your workplace.

What Your Office Furniture Says About You

Now let’s talk about the different types of furniture you currently have in your office and what it might say about you and your business.

Old, Worn Out Furniture

Over the years, everything shows signs of wear.

  • Fabric may have stains, start to thin, and eventually begin to tear
  • Wood will begin chipping, scratching, and may even discolor
  • Screws may become loose or warped
  • Aluminum can have dents and scratches
  • Glass or hard plastic material can have cracks or start to appear foggy
  • And everything will potentially fall apart overtime

What does having old, worn-out furniture say about you? Seeing this kind of furniture in your office setup may give others the impression that you are a hoarder who hates to get rid of things and tries to keep them as long as you can. They may also think of you as a cheap person who doesn’t want to invest in newer and better things.

Broken Down Stuff You Keep Patching Up

When things break, our first instinct is to fix them, and our second instinct is to replace them. For example, a leg breaks off a table and the screws are warped, you can just drill new holes and screw in new screws. Also, it doesn’t take too much to patch up a stain or a hole in any fabric, but what would someone think about you when they visit your office and notice several pieces of patched-up furniture? They probably won’t think you just like to fix things. Most people would think your business is not doing too well, which is why you haven’t got the money to buy new office furniture. Thus, when you find yourself consistently making repairs, it may be time to consider replacing your old office furniture.

Outdated Office Furniture

With the kind of technology and ergonomics they have today and at reasonable prices too, you would think that everyone would invest in a new office setup. However, some business owners may not have the time to shop for new furniture and just continue putting it off, but never get around to it. This may be the impression that some will get by seeing this type of furniture in your office.

However, one thing to keep in mind is by not keeping up with the times and upgrading your office, people may think you don’t really care much about your employees since they are the ones who have to use this furniture. Old, outdated furniture can cause employees back issues or other related problems that could cause them to call off work multiple times, making production go down along with your profits. New office chairs have ergonomics and are adjustable, allowing a person to sit comfortably for many hours during the day.

Transform Your Office Into a visually Appealing Comfort Zone

Keep your team productive, energetic, inspired, and motivated by giving your workspace an upgrade with new office furniture. When our surroundings contain comfortable and attractive furniture, it improves the atmosphere and makes a huge impact on our mood and productivity. An office space with a well-designed furniture style can also play a big role in your business’s success. To enhance employee productivity, choose a furniture style that balances a professional business image with the comforts of the home. Adding a lot of colors can bring a room to life, promoting a happy environment and a healthy workplace for your team to thrive. Your staff won’t be able to wait to get to work every day with inviting, stylish furniture to look forward to.

Spice Up The Department and Avoid Health Issues

Improve workplace morale and give prospective clients a positive impression of your business. Create an awesome display by adding uniform office furniture to spice up the department. Promote a healthy workplace with ergonomic office furniture that provides comfort and functionality to help prevent injuries. You and your employees probably spend most of your day sitting at your desks in front of a computer. Did you know that this can pose a risk of musculoskeletal problems in the spine, neck, wrists, and legs? Ergonomic furniture was specifically designed to avoid these issues so you can have a healthy office without pain or worry.

The Creative & Workspace Advantages of the Office Cubicle Design

Office cubicles get a bad rep. They are often the target of commentary or jokes regarding office work uniformity or tedium, but the truth is —since their emergence into the workspace in the mid-1960’s— cubicles have proven to be a rather effective way to organize workspaces. Modern day has given us some new ideas about how to better modernize and maximize this office furniture; there is no shortage of creativity when it comes to using the office cubicles in enhancing work output.  Here at Indoff, we know that so much lies in the organization and the configuration of the furniture and why we are in the business of improving workspace layouts and environments.

When they first emerged on the scene, it was known as “Action Office” and the design of the office cubicles was the product of a lot of back and forth discussion regarding ways to improve the productivity of the worker. The design was predicated upon the idea that employees are more productive when they can personalize a space and have a sense of privacy while not being completely disconnected from the other people in the office.

Creative Advantages

The modern workstations can take many forms. The cubicle has changed since the early versions, but it has kept its most effective features.

  • Personalization: The space of the cubicle allows for some personalization of the space with photographs, trinkets, books, or other personal items. Workers can decorate without affecting the space of others and still make their workstation feel like their own.
  • Functional: While there is something to be said about an open workspace, there is undeniable functionality to an office cubicle. They can be arranged in a variety of ways that enhance the worker’s particular purpose. This might be installing desks, placing printers nearby, adding screens, etc.
  • Privacy: This type of office space arrangement also promote a sense of privacy. In this way, employees can have some control over the disruptions that happen around them. In a completely open work setting, this can become an issue and hinder productivity levels.
  • Encourages teamwork: In the same way that this office set up provides some personal space, it also allows for collaboration, as there is usually easy access to nearby employees. This encourages face to face communication around the office.

The Modern Workstation

Modern office cubicles also offer more options than the traditional ‘cube’ shape. The modern stations can be arranged in a variety of ways with different options on height, material, desk space, and configuration. The modern workstation is a great way to optimize space while providing each worker with their own demarcated work borders. This gives you a great amount of freedom when arranging workers in the best possible arrangements to fit their needs.

Enhance Your Office with Indoff

Indoff Commercial Interiors can help turn your office into a hub of human potential, creativity, and energy. Despite the cubicle’s misrepresentation, the reality is that fifty years later it is still being used as an effective way to organize today’s modern workspaces. Today’s office layouts are being defined and redefined by the concepts that first gave rise to the cubicle in the first place. The modern workplace offers variations and modifications that can suit your employee’s particular needs. Give us a call today!

 

What is Better: Office Cubicles or an Open Workspace?

office staff working in their office cubiclesWhether you are a new startup or just moving to a new building it can be a challenge to look out at all that open space and decide what to do with it. The main question at hand will be how to divide the space. You can choose office cubicles or an open workspace. What you decide will ultimately depend on your work culture.

The History of Office Cubicles

In 1960 Herman Miller created a study to examine furniture in the workplace. The study employed behaviorists, mathematicians, and anthropologists. He wanted to know how people worked, how information traveled, and how the layout of the office affected performance. At the time, the common trend for office workspace was an open plan with rows of uniform desks offering no privacy. The study showed that this layout actually interrupted the flow of communication. Robert Propst, who ran the study, found that employees were also suffering from sitting from long periods of time.

Herman Miller designed office furniture to combat these problems. However, the assembly was difficult and employees struggled to construct the workspaces. They then created what we know as office cubicles to maximize the efficiency of small areas.

Maximize Efficiency in the Workplace

Multiple other studies have been conducted throughout the years to find the optimal work environment. “Cube farms” are often noted in a bad light in multiple comic strips depicting life in the workplace. However, there are benefits to be found in both open workspaces and rooms divided by office cubicles. It is actual quite possible to increase productivity and foster open communication by changing the layout of the office.

Office cubicles are great for creating privacy for employees. There are also options that offer segregated space with an open feel. An open space can foster more communication and collaboration. Giving employees the option to sit, stand, and walk around will also create a more relaxed workspace that can lead to higher workplace contentment.

Your Company Culture

When it comes to choosing cubicles or opting for an open workspace, you want to access your corporate culture. Do your employees require a lot of dedicated focus? Do you need a constant abundance of new ideas? Knowing what your employees need will help you decide between the two options.

Contact Kim Gregory Today

The great part about working with Kim Gregory of Indoff Commercial Interiors is the fact that she will help you decide which is best for your company. You can communicate your vision and ideas and she will help those thoughts materialize. She will get you from a drawn sheet of paper to cubicles and office furniture delivered and assembled. Give her a call today to find out more.