Choosing the right office furniture for an open-plan office has been found to have significant impacts on productivity, wellbeing and staff interaction. With open-plan offices becoming ever-more popular, let’s take a look a look at this in more detail.

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What are the benefits of open-plan offices?

A study by the University of Arizona found that open-plan offices produce more active and less-stressed workers than traditional offices. A well-designed open-plan office with carefully chosen furniture gives workers the chance to interact naturally with others whilst also providing spaces for private discussions and meetings.

One of the major advantages of an open-plan layout is that it is infinitely flexible, enabling a company to adjust the use of the space as its business needs change. Open-plan offices can enable companies to make much more efficient use of their space.

What trends in open-plan furniture should you consider?

There is a growing awareness that the choice of furniture and office layout has a huge impact on workers. At a fundamental level, it is vital to get the choice of desks and operator chairs correct. Workers need to be comfortable, with a properly adjustable operator chair reducing the risk of avoidable injury at work. You can visit Best Buy office chairs and other providers for examples of suitable operator chairs for all budgets. Desks that are height adjustable are also popular, giving staff the ability to quickly adjust the desk to their own height or even the ability to use it as a standing desk.

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The right office furniture will be multi-purpose, allowing a business to make the most of this flexibility. Filing and storage solutions are available with wheels, enabling them to be quickly moved from place to place as required.

Employees working in an open-plan environment need space to interact with each other and also to break out into smaller groups; what’s more, some staff may need private or semi-private areas due to the demands of their role. Desk panels can be used to provide privacy to the occupant of the desk or can be grouped together to provide screened-off areas for meetings. This can range from furniture with wheels that can easily be moved from place to place to desk panels that provide both privacy and screened-off areas for meetings.