Comfort factors

SUSTAINABILITY & SUPPORT

Jo Kirk, Sales Manager at furniture manufacturer and designer, The Senator Group, advises that a lead driver in the majority of current furniture purchases is sustainability, followed by the need to meet ergonomic challenges at a great price point. And whilst there is some evidence that home workers require office furniture to be more design-led for the home aesthetic, with alternative fabric ranges, in fact many businesses tend to select simple styles that are used across the board wherever their teams are working, with supportive mesh back chairs still being a popular choice, especially in the office or workspace itself.

A fully ergonomic office chair needs to have a range of adjustable features that support and respond to the user’s movements throughout the day: one of Senator’s bestselling chair ranges is Orthopaedica, from their Torasen brand, which suits many colleagues (not just those with issues around back health) while offering ergonomic features, with sculptured seat and back cushions, pump up lumbar support and larger seat width options.

And what about desks? Senator is seeing demand for sit/stand desks increasing, with larger businesses allowing for around 20 per cent of desks to be height adjustable: one of the most popular being their Freeway HA range. The latest models have battery-operated height adjustment so that desks can be repositioned around the workplace and aren’t tied to a fixed floorbox.

Another recent development is specialist seating that complements sit/stand desks: standard task chairs don’t support the full range of heights. Senator’s Lyft perching stool is a good example of a new product designed to work with height adjustable desks, as it supports sitting, standing or perching and is also ideal for today’s more impromptu meeting culture.

BEFORE YOU BUY

At East On Commercial Interiors, we work with facilities and workplace professionals from project inception, which means that we are in a position to take a step back and advise on ergonomics while working on overall fit out schemes, including space planning and interior design.

OUR ADVICE TO FMS EXPLORING ERGONOMIC OPTIONS IS:

• Audit your team’s current furniture and accessories requirements with full DSE assessments of each team member– one size doesn’t fit all. Prioritise health.
• Think about your culture – if your teams don’t feel comfortable taking a break to move around and stretch, the best sit/stand desk on the market won’t help. The novelty of a sit/ stand desk will soon wear off if changing position isn’t encouraged.
• Factor in DSE requirements – screen positions are vitally important to avoid neck strain before you get to desk and chair planning, so monitor arms, document holders and laptop stands are crucial.
• Plan your breakout areas as workspaces – if you are encouraging collaborative working in these areas, then ensure that your teams can use a laptop effectively while using soft seating. And of course these might also be ideal spaces for movement and stretching or even walking meetings.
• Hybrid working needs ergonomic flexibility – you won’t have the same people in every day so it isn’t possible to set up a bespoke work station for each colleague.
• Ensure that your team is equally equipped with the correct ergonomic furniture and accessories when they are home working.
• Static monitor arms are a false economy – screens need to be adjusted with each user and also to have the flexibility to move with a sit/stand desk.
• Assess your furniture and accessories budget once the ergonomic planning has been done.

There is no doubt that balancing the ergonomic needs of each workplace and meeting legislation requirements is a challenge for FMs. However, when viewed as a way to enhance the health and wellbeing of each team member and the wide range of advice and products now available, it’s never been easier to turn this challenge into an opportunity to boost team performance.