*This is a collaborative post*
It's likely, if you work from the age of 18 to the age of 68, that you'll spend 50 years of your life in paid-employment. That's a lot of time spent at work. And if you have a traditional job role, it's likely you'll be spending most of those 50 years in an office. Having the right office furniture, then, is so important. After all, the standard of your office furniture can have an impact on your health; from the psychological to the physical.
So what is the most important piece of office furniture then? It might seem obvious, but the answer is...chairs and desks! Admittedly, a poor quality chair can cause all kinds of physical problems (usually neck and back related, due to poor posture) but can it also affect your mood? Research indicates yes, due to the correlation between posture and mood. Sitting up straight, rather than slouching, increases positive feelings about yourself, and your abilities.If you find that you spend most of your day slouching, try a chair that provides good support for the lower and middle parts of your back. Also avoid; sitting at your desk for too long without taking a break (aren't well all guilty of this? I know I am!), cradling your phone handset between your shoulder and ear, and frequently looking down at your smartphone.
With chairs and desks being the most important piece of office furniture, it pays to know what makes a good quality chair. Well, according to the HSE, a good quality office chair should have; a well-padded height adjustable seat with a rounded front, a backrest that provides firm support to the middle and lower parts of the back, a tilt feature to reduce neck discomfort, convenient and easy-to-use adjustment control, and a swivel function to provide flexibility.
Interesting side note: Charles Darwin is said to have been one of the first people to attach wheels to an office chair - supposedly so he could reach his plant and animals specimens more quickly!
Furniture@work conducted a survey which found that nearly 45% of respondents believe their chairs should be replaced every one to three years. So far, so good, right? Worryingly, though, 26.8% said these furnishings haven't been updated for more than six years! And just over 50% said the condition of their seating could be improved, while more than seven in ten said their chair gives them backache either 'sometimes' or 'very often.' Poor quality workstations have a huge impact on the employee, and the employer. Figures from the Health and Safety Executive show an estimated 9,466,000 working days were lost due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders, developed by employees due to poor quality workstations, in 2015 alone!
Whether you work at home, as more and more of us do nowadays, or share an office with colleagues, it's clear to see that the right office furniture is imperative to a healthy and productive working life. Whether you're after a new office chair, desk, or boardroom tables, visit furniture@work for all your office furniture needs!
Do you work from home, or in an office? What do you think is the most important piece of office furniture?
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