There aren’t too many essentials that your office needs in order to have smooth operations, but the things that it does need are, well, essential. Take your office furniture. While it might seem like a non-influential part of your office, this isn’t the case — it has such a huge impact on the look and feel of your office, as well as on the productivity of your workers.
But it’s not as if you can just buy the necessary furniture once.
There’ll come a time when you need to replace it. Below, we take a look at some of the signs that it’s time to upgrade.
When you’re ready, check out our offerings here at ADD office.
It’s Uncomfortable
Do you know the story of the frog of the boiling water? If you put the frog in a hot pot of water, it’ll jump straight out. If you put it in a cold pot of water, and then turn the heat up, it’ll slowly boil.
The same can be said of your office chair (hear us out).
If you sat on a chair that was obviously uncomfortable to begin with, you’d never buy it. But over time, once the quality of the chair begins to wane, you’ll find that you’re sitting on a chair that’s not as comfortable as it should be.
So take an honest look at your office furniture. Is it still comfortable? If not, look at upgrading it to a more comfortable option.
Looking Old
Your office furniture doesn’t have to look beautiful or like it’s straight from a glamorous Hollywood movie set, sure, but it has to look presentable. As part of the process of running a business, from time to time you’ll need to invite outsiders into your office.
You won’t make a good impression if you’re offering them a seat that has obvious tears and other imperfections. But let’s forget about your visitors for a second. Old, tattered furniture will also affect how you see yourself.
You’ll have a better view of yourself if you’re conducting your work with high-quality furniture. To make a big impression, look at getting an executive office desk.
Updating Office Style
Scuff marks and the like aren’t the only reason why you might consider updating your office furniture because of its appearance. To have a cohesive look in the office, your furniture needs to reflect the overall decor.
If you’re updating the paint, the colour scheme, or giving it a makeover, then you might need to switch out the furniture so that it better complements your new look.
If you’re going to go to the effort of updating the look of your office, don’t undermine the appearance by filling it with furniture that doesn’t quite match.
Productivity Is Winding Down
In business, productivity is key. A lot of research has been conducted in recent years about what contributes to high productivity, and, unsurprisingly, the quality of the furniture plays an important role.
Workers just aren’t able to reach the concentration levels they need if they’re sitting uncomfortably.
They need to get up to stretch, walk around, they’re thinking, in the back of their mind, how annoying it is to be sitting down. This is not ideal!
If you have a high-quality desk and chair combination, one that emphasises comfort, then you’ll be able to work for longer and harder. If you’ve been wondering why your staff aren’t quite as productive as they used to be, then this may be the reason.
Also, let’s not forget that new and updated furniture will boost the happiness levels of your staff, and that studies have shown that an increase in happiness is closely linked to an increase in productivity.
Safety Issues
People can get pretty sick of talking about health and safety, but there’s a reason why it’s discussed so often: it’s important!
As a business owner, you have a duty to look after your staff.
One issue can cause big problems, for the employee and the company as a whole. If you’re only using old furniture, then you’re putting your staff at risk, in two ways.
First, old chairs are more likely to break and leave the employee on the floor.
Second, poor-quality, old chairs can lead to longer-term problems, such as back pain.
Invest in the best, and you’ll be helping to keep these issues at bay.
Needing More Teamwork
You might have initially filled your office with any old desks and chairs. So long as they give your workers a place to sit down and work, that was enough!
However, it’s important that you’re buying furniture that will help to bring out the type of work that you want.
For example, if you’re trying to have your workers enter the zone and work on their projects individually, then you’ll need office furniture that encourages that type of work.
If you want greater collaboration, which is common in a modern office, then more “open plan” furniture will be ideal.
Moving On Up
You’re unlikely to stay still forever. Eventually, your current office space might not be suitable for your needs, and you need to move to another location in order to help your business grow. This might require buying new furniture.
If you can’t disassemble your tables and chairs, trying to move them across town might be too problematic.
The perfect excuse to go chair and desk shopping!
Expanding Your Team
You might have just started your business with one or two employees, but what if you expand your team? You’ll need more furniture so everyone can work onite at the same time.
Keep in mind that you might not want to avoid only buying the new intake of staff members new furniture.
To keep everyone on the same side, it’s best that everyone has the same great desk and chair combination.
Need more space? You can get a large office bench desk.
It’s Time
Finally, remember that sometimes you don’t need to dig too deep to look for reasons why you should upgrade your office furniture. You just get a sense that it’s time! Nothing lasts forever. If you’ve had your desks and chairs for more years than you can remember, then it’s probably time to upgrade.
When you’re ready, check out our office furniture here at ADD office.
