OFFICE FURNITURE COLOURS AND YOUR BRANDING

It may seem like just a perk, but it’s actually one of the most important basic elements to consider. You need to choose furniture that echoes the colours of your Brand. Second-hand office furniture is not usually a good option to achieve this. Being intentional about your furniture choice helps you own the space as an employer making you seem stronger and more established in the eyes of your employees. Psychologically this gives your employees a feeling of security that you will be around for a long time.

If your brand colours are too strong for furniture you can choose generic colours like light brown, light grey, black or white and use highlights of your brand colours. Whichever suits your colour pantones, do not skimp on this. If you speak to an importer you can order any colour combination as most pieces can be upholstered based on your preference.

AESTHETICS AND ERGONOMIC FURNITURE FOR A HEALTHIER OFFICE

We all remember the first ergonomic furniture on the market. It looked odd and there was nothing pretty about it. Today many brands specialising in ergonomic furniture employ high-end designers and produce furniture that is beautiful, aesthetically pleasing and hugs your body like a glove. Ergonomic furniture is a very important part of a modern office, with a special focus on the ergonomic office chairs in Malta, because this is usually the starting point.

Today we speak more about work lifestyle than we do about work-life balance. Companies and employees understand that in order to develop strong employee-employer relationships companies need to offer perks and flexibility and employees give back by being available when times are busy and they need to give a bit extra.

This is where your stand-up or electronically adjustable desks are not a perk but a requirement, as are the ergonomic swivel chairs. Your furniture needs to fit the lifestyle, it needs to be ergonomically sound in order to allow your employees to work long hours without getting aches and pains when this is required. It needs to provide the flexibility to go from seated to standing if people are spending long hours in the office without moving around much.

Giving your employees a free gym membership is a great perk and will attract people that are healthier and can take spurts of stress more gracefully. However, supporting their health outside the office is not enough. Make sure your work environment is as ergonomic as possible. This will avoid long-term aches and injuries that arise from spending long stretches of time without moving around. Some employers also target lack of movement by not allowing their employees to eat at their desks and instead creating a recreational area in the office that is not near their desks. This makes sure that employees get up and move around a couple of times per day and has been proven to improve overall sedentary stress to the body.

Implementing ergonomics in your office helps to decrease daily discomfort and the risk of work-related injuries. It has also been proven to increase productivity. Employees can suffer masco-skeletal injuries caused by repetitive movements and stress, this causes wear and tear of tendons and joints. These types of injuries account for 33% of all injuries and illnesses that make people miss work or perform at a much lower output level than they normally would. It is a silent profit killer.

It’s easy to upgrade your office environment without compromising on aesthetics. There are some amazing brands out there that offer ergonomic furniture that looks good an can be ordered in the right colours for your office.
Some of these Brands include:

SOUND ABSORPTION FURNITURE FOR CALL CENTRES AND OPEN PLAN OFFICES

For many years we saw the open plan office sold as the coolest office layout around. In fact many still advocate this, however today research shows open-plan plan layouts are not suited to all kinds of workers and often result in a large reduction in productivity for at least half your workers.

According to Cal Newport’s research, face-to-face interaction is actually reduced in open plan environments. People still need privacy and spatial boundaries to interact effectively on a social level. This means that if you opt for an open plan office you should also provide private space where people can interact more openly and privately. The worrying side of Cal’s research is that he also found that people sent more emails and their effectiveness dropped as a direct result of having less face-to-face time.

By providing private spaces for face-to-face interactions you can reduce this effect on your employees. There are various options to help you counteract the negative side of an open-plan or a large office floor.

Sound Absorbing furniture

Nowadays you can buy sound absorption furniture that looks good and can be customised to fit your environment. Often this will look similar to any reception area furniture and can be purchased in sets of sofas and armchairs. These sound absorption suites come with tables or laptop accessories so that your employees can have meetings comfortably, too.

Sound Controlled Meeting Booths

These are all the rage right now in Malta. Every office with a call centre is getting one! It looks like a see-through glass telephone booth which accommodates between 1 and 4 people depending on the size you purchase. It comes with a table and provides a quiet and private space even in the noisiest of office environments.

Sound Control Chairs

Don’t have room for the meeting booths? Don’t worry you can go ahead and buy a sound insulated chair. These are often used by call centres to provide a quiet space for employees to sit in without leaving the floor. Noisy environments are a source of stress for call-centre employees and small breaks from a consistently noisy environment can make all the difference in staff stress levels and employee turnover. These are also beginning to make an appearance as part of the school furniture in Malta, often in libraries, where peace and quiet is required.

SOUGHT AFTER OFFICES LET YOU RELAX, SLEEP AND PLAY

The coolest offices around are the ones that care. They provide healthy snacks for their employees, gym memberships and health benefits. However, they also provide health benefits on a daily basis during working hours. Some offices in Malta are already equipped with sleeping pods. Yes, it’s not just for employers like Google and Apple. The price of sleeping pods is within reach and in itself will become a talking point about your company.

Nothing says “We care about our employees” as loudly as a sleeping pod.

Many companies also allow opportunities for their employees to relax at work, providing games and relaxation areas. Bean bags, table soccer, and billiard tables are a staple for fun-oriented companies that understand that their employees’ lifestyle is not just about work-life balance, but also about a healthy work lifestyle.

There are many things you can do to position yourself as a great employer. This article touches on perhaps the most important and visible aspect of that. If you make all the changes discussed above, the only thing left to do to really make an impact as an employer is to make sure everyone inside and outside your company is talking about it.

At BSL we understand that people spend so much time at work, that the work environment has become an important part of our lifestyle. We are probably the only office furniture suppliers in Malta that have a mission to improve people’s lifestyles, with great furniture products that improve health and happiness whilst reducing stress.

Do you need to inject some fun and improve the health of your office?
Contact Chris on (+356) 2138-2601 or info@bsl-lifestyles.com for an appointment.

BSL
Healthy Work Lifestyles