Whether your organization has moved into a new space, a bigger space or you’re just starting from scratch and building a new business from the bottom up, you’re going to need to furnish it. Office furniture can have a surprisingly large effect on employee happiness, productivity, and well-being, so it’s wise to carefully consider the kind of furnishings you bring into your work space.
Quality furniture can make an employee feel as though their needs are valued and they are important, so skip the drab, uninspired cookie-cutter office furniture and make sure you have everything your team needs to put forward their best work each and every day. Here’s a list of the essentials you need to get your office furnished right.
Cubicles or room dividers
Having an open-plan office seems trendy, but it can hinder productivity. However, you still want to ensure you’re fostering an environment that’s collaborative, social, and cohesive. Rather than building walls for offices, room dividers can separate space in a big empty office without the mess of construction or completely closing off a space to the rest of the room.
As for employee workspaces, cubicles have a bad rap as being dreary and, frankly, soul-crushing. It’s a cliché dream for any office worker to escape the cubicle life and move up into a swanky office. The fact is, cubicles aren’t like they used to be. There are plenty of modular and modern workstations that foster the same creativity and open-concept vibe while still maintaining a personal workspace, like round or colorful desks, cubicles with windowed walls, or long desks with dividers to separate employees without completely cutting them off.
Ergonomic desk chairs
Your employees are going to be sitting at their desks for most of the workday, so they should feel comfortable doing so. Quality ergonomic desk chairs are a must because uncomfortable chairs actually mean unproductive workers. Imagine sitting in a chair all day that’s uncomfortable. You probably will fidget, get up to stretch a lot, and have a hard time focusing on the task at hand because your body is getting sore. You also most likely won’t be thrilled to be sitting at your desk a lot of the time, so you’ll find any excuse to get up and walk around. Having a comfortable chair means your employee won’t mind sitting for extended periods of time and can focus better on the work that needs to be done.
Kitchen appliances
Having appliances for food and drinks is important for employees to feel as though they’re at their second home. Small kitchen appliances are essential, like microwaves, coffee makers, and a mini-fridge or full-sized fridge, depending on the size of your office and number of employees. If you want to go further, having toaster ovens for cooking food is a good idea too, so your team can bring food and cook small meals at work and eat healthier than just take out every day. Additionally, having bottled water coolers strategically placed around the office will encourage employees to keep themselves hydrated and give them a place to fill up their cups and water bottles.
Family-style tables
Continuing with the kitchen furniture, having a big table and chairs for eating lunch or taking breaks is a great way to make the office more sociable and cohesive, rather than having small tables that don’t accommodate enough people, or worse, not having any tables at all. Making sure your employees have somewhere to sit and socialize on lunch breaks is critical to building an environment where people feel comfortable being all day.