Using Proper Conference Room Furniture for a Productive Office

Workplace designs have undergone a drastic change in the last few decades with regard to all areas of the office including conference rooms, break rooms and workstation spaces. Cubicles, office spaces with partitions and cramped spaces are becoming a thing of the past. This is because such dated office designs restricted employee communication, encouraged unnecessary isolation and decreased employee interaction.

However, as times change so do office designs and recent trends promise the exact opposite of whatever disadvantages the previous ones offered. Overall, factors such as using comfortable conference room furniture, allowing employees short regular breaks in attractive spaces, improving natural office lighting conditions, etc., can lead towards increased work productivity (Jones Lang LaSalle, 2013 ¹). Read on to learn more.

First Impressions

Making the best first impressions, be it on new employees, guests or potential clients, is extremely important from a sales perspective (Magloff, 2017 ²). For example, in boardrooms where a business might conduct initial meetings with clients, it is crucial to provide them with comfortable furniture such as quality conference room chairs. Adding a tinge of comfort to these meetings could make the clients feel better, which contributes towards making a good impression. The same holds true if conference tables with outlets for power sources are used in the meetings. This enables the clientele to plug in their laptops, tablets or other gadgets, thus promoting smoother presentations and discussions.

Break Areas

Apart from putting emphasis on getting the right conference room tables and chairs, businesses should design attractive break room areas for their employees. Research indicates that encouraging employees to take short and regular breaks can help them to rejuvenate their mind. De-stressing one’s mind by taking a nap or just taking out some alone-time can be beneficial in bringing forth the required focus. A focused mind can help employees concentrate better on tasks at hand, thus ultimately improving productivity. Thus, employees should relax in break rooms that have comfortable chairs, sofas or even bean bags in case some employees want to take a nap! Employers can also set up a few "privacy pods" for employees who need to have some peaceful time away from their work, which can help them regain their focus.

Lighting

Lighting is a very important factor, which can heavily affect employees’ concentration and focus on their work. Working under dim lighting for long periods may cause eye-strain, eye-itching and other related issues. In some cases, this may also lead to long- and/or short-sightedness. In contrast, bright lighting may cast an unnecessary glare over computers, which can also badly affect the eyesight (Jensen, 2016 ³). Hence, to avoid all these issues, employers should pay close attention to the lighting set up in the office. The lighting should not be too dull or too bright, it should just be right, so that employees do not feel sleepy or get too much glare. Natural lighting also offers a huge boost to productivity levels, so be sure to make the most of this wherever possible.