11 Nov The Best Office Furniture For Employee Wellbeing – Ultimate Buying Guide
Want to improve productivity and help your team stay healthy?
Go look in their offices. The best office furniture and supplies are not just stylish desk and chair setups for your office – they can transform your employees’ wellbeing and work performance day in and day out.
Here’s the issue: 77% of employees would consider quitting their current employer if they believed the company did not value their wellbeing. Ergo, your office furniture choices could be actively driving away top performers.
The good news? Choosing the right furniture to support your team is simple, once you know what to look for. Plus, the benefits for your team’s health and productivity are immediate and measurable.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- Why office furniture matters more than you realise
- The hidden price tag of making the wrong choices
- How to pick furniture that’s going to make your employees happy and productive
- Simple upgrades that can have a massive impact
- Proven steps to transition from “bad” furniture to “wow!” furniture
Why Your Office Furniture Choices Matter
I’m about to let you in on a little secret…
Your office furniture choices are silently and invisibly draining your bottom line every single day. You’re hard at work focusing on the front lines of sales, marketing, and operations – while your team members fight through back pain, neck strain, wrist injuries, and chronic discomfort that chips away at their ability to perform.
And the stats back it up. Back pain alone costs companies up to $51,400 per year per 100 employees due to lost productivity alone. That’s money literally flying out the window based on your office furniture choices.
Employees are stuck in bad chairs for 8+ hours a day at poorly designed workstations. The result? They’re uncomfortable, less productive, disengaged, absent more often, and constantly looking for other work that “cares” about their wellbeing.
Why? Because your office furniture is silently impacting their experience and sending signals to them and the marketplace about how much you care about your team.
The Ergonomic Solution Your Team Needs
The good news? Things don’t have to stay that way…
When it comes to choosing the best Office furniture and supplies to improve employee wellbeing, ergonomics wins the day.
An ergonomic office chair is the best place to start for office furniture and supplies that support employee productivity because you are supporting their bodies while they work.
Adjustable ergonomic chairs provide lumbar support for the lower back, armrests that move and adjust, breathable materials, and options to recline as well as adjust the seat height and depth for comfort.
Key features in an ergonomic chair:
- Adjustable seat height and depth
- Adjustable lumbar support
- Adjustable armrests for height and width
- Breathable materials for comfort
- Option to recline to change posture
Ergonomic office furniture can also include height-adjustable desks that allow employees to sit or stand throughout the day, monitor arms that adjust the height and distance of screens, keyboard trays that allow wrists to rest in neutral positions, and external mice and keyboards.
Research has found a 15% increase in productivity when employees work in an ergonomically optimised environment. Why? Less discomfort leads to fewer distractions and more focus.
And that’s before you factor in reduced injury and illness rates, fewer workers’ compensation claims, and better employee retention and engagement. Awesome, right?
The Hidden Cost of Choosing Bad Furniture
I hate to be the one to break this to you…
Choosing the wrong office furniture or simply neglecting to make changes results in a host of other problems that eat away at your business.
Employees will suffer:
- Back pain
- Neck strain
- Repetitive stress injuries
- Tendonitis
- Carpal tunnel
You’ll pay the price in:
- Healthcare costs and treatment
- Absenteeism, disability claims, and sick days
- Reduced productivity when present
- Higher turnover (remember the 77% stat from earlier?)
- Employee turnover (not in terms of salary) when they quit to work somewhere “better”
How to Choose The Right Office Furniture
So how do you actually choose the best Office furniture and supplies for your team?
Start by considering your team’s unique needs. No two bodies are the same. Employees have different heights, weights, postures, and preferences.
Look for furniture with a high degree of adjustability to customise to the individual. This can include height-adjustable chairs and desks as well as modular accessories that can be added or removed as needed.
Chairs That Support
Chairs are the number one furniture investment that pays off.
Look for features like adjustable seat height and depth, adjustable lumbar support for the lower back, armrests that adjust in height and width, breathable mesh for the seat and backrest, and the ability to recline or change positions.
This list may seem obvious but you’d be surprised at the sad state of office chairs in many workplaces. Don’t scrimp here – a quality chair can last 10+ years and easily pays for itself in productivity gains and injury prevention.
Desks That Adapt
Goodbye to the one-size-fits-all desks of yore.
Height-adjustable desks allow employees to work while sitting or standing throughout the day. This small change can improve circulation, reduce back strain, and keep employees energised.
Budget permitting, motorised standing desks can be expensive but worth it. Alternately, desk risers are a cheaper way to provide similar benefits.
Details Matter
Don’t overlook the “small” furniture and accessories…
Monitor arms can let workers adjust their screens to the correct height and distance, external keyboards and mice ensure wrists rest in neutral positions, and cable management tools prevent tripping hazards.
Investing in these supporting elements can help create an office furniture set up that actually works in concert for your employees instead of being a pain point.
Making The Transition
Don’t feel like you have to rip and replace everything at once…
Start with the pieces that will have the most impact: ergonomic chairs and height-adjustable desks. Then work on upgrading other elements as your budget allows.
Involve your employees in the furniture selection process. They are the end users so their feedback is critical on what works and what doesn’t. Plus, they’ll be more invested in the changes if they have a say.
Ask for furniture trials or schedule showroom visits to see and test products before buying.
Plan for the long-term. Quality furniture has a higher upfront cost but lasts longer and provides better value over the long haul. It’s an investment in your team’s wellbeing and your company’s productivity.
Conclusion
It’s time to stop neglecting and underinvesting in office furniture as if it doesn’t matter or impact your business.
Employees spend a lot of time at their desks. Far more than any other location (except perhaps home). If their office furniture makes them uncomfortable, unhappy, in pain, or unproductive, it sends a clear message to them about how much you care and directly impacts their experience.
In fact, studies have shown that “employees spend at least 2,000,000 hours of their life at their desks, or about 3.5% of their entire lives.” (Source: Columbia SC News)
Show them you care by providing office furniture and accessories that literally and figuratively supports them while they work.
Higher quality office furniture means fewer injuries, reduced absenteeism and presenteeism, better productivity, and improved employee satisfaction.
Bottom line: Better furniture can be an investment that pays for itself many times over if it attracts and retains top performers who love working in your environment.
Start with an assessment of your current set up. What furniture is causing problems? Where are the pain points?
Prioritise changes that will have the greatest impact on your team’s wellbeing and work experience. As noted before, invest first in ergonomic chairs and height-adjustable desks.
Remember: Your team members spend more time at their desks than any other location (except perhaps their homes). Make sure those hours are comfortable, healthy, and productive.
Investing in high-quality office furniture is not a luxury anymore – it’s a necessity for any forward-thinking business that cares about its employees and wants to attract and retain top talent. The numbers don’t lie: Better furniture means better productivity, less injury and illness, and happier employees.
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