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Furniture
Paula Marshall, head of furniture sales at business solutions provider
Office Depot, discusses the latest furniture trends that will encourage a
workforce to get moving
Fit, healthy and happy employees
have been proven to positively
impact a business’s operations
and bottom line. A recent report,
Britain’s Healthiest Workplace
(BHW), has found that the most
active employees within a business
take less time off work for sickness
than those who smoke, have a poor
diet or exercise very little. The study
also found that employees who
lead unhealthy lifestyles are costing
British businesses one month per
year in lost productivity due to time
off sick or under-performance, at an
estimated annual cost of £73 billion.
Whilst the benefit of having active
and healthy employees is apparent,
encouraging this lifestyle within the
workplace can seem a tough task for
employers. The sedentary nature of
many job roles means that UK workers
spend 75% of their day sitting down,
so incorporating physical activity into
the nine to five working day can be
challenging.
Some high profile businesses, such as
tech firm Hootsuite, are attempting to
garner the benefits of a fitter workforce
by installing free gyms on their
premises. Others might regard such a
perk as financially unviable, or at the
very least imprudent, given how rarely a
workplace gym might be used once the
novelty has worn off.
However, there are alternative
solutions, such as introducing office
furniture that encourages physical
activity throughout the working day,
that won’t be viewed merely as a short-
lived gimmick.
The workstation
A number of research studies link
excessive time sitting to ill health,
including a greater risk of cardiovascular
disease and Type 2 diabetes. According
to guidelines by Public Health England,
office workers should spend two to
four hours of their working day on their
feet to avoid the negative effects of a
sedentary lifestyle.
Most office workers need a computer
screen to do their job, and encouraging
them to step away for four hours is
unrealistic. But by introducing height-
adjustable desks that can be adjusted
between sitting and standing height,
workers will be able to stand for the
recommended amount of time without
jeopardising their workload. Standing
desks have also been shown to boost
energy levels, increase engagement and
lessen the aches and pains that can
come from sitting down for long periods.
Whilst height-adjustable desks are a
clever way of encouraging staff to get
up on their feet more often, managers
will need to motivate employees to use
them at first, before it becomes habitual.
Line managers and team leaders can do
this in a number of ways, from leading
by example to allocating times when a
whole team should work standing and
rewarding those that meet standing
targets.
In the boardroom
Meetings are an essential part of office
life, but many involve sitting down for far
too long, adding to health problems as
Fitness furniture:
how to get staff moving in the workplace
well as causing attention levels to drop.
To encourage workers to keep meetings
to the recommended 30 minutes and
promote physical activity, employers
could swap the traditional boardroom
table for standing benches or ‘poseur
height’ tables.
In a similar manner to standing
desks, benches and tables provide
an alternative to traditional seating
arrangements, helping to aid circulation
and boost energy. One benefit of
introducing this kind of furniture
within the boardroom is that it can
be incorporated smoothly, minimising
disruption. A combination of high tables,
stools, benches and poseur height swivel
chairs encourages employees to either
stand or adjust equipment to their
own personal comfort as the meeting
progresses.
Introducing such equipment into a
meeting room will make things much
easier should you subsequently need to
roll it out to individual workstations. As
many employees take part in meetings
on a daily basis, it can be a simple and
effective way to facilitate non-sedentary
work without the need to prompt
workers.
Breakout spaces
For informal meeting areas or breakout
rooms, employers can provide exercise
and stability balls to promote activity
during downtime. Balancing on an
exercise ball requires small, constant
adjustments to postural, leg and
abdominal muscles, which can improve
one’s posture, minimise back pain and
strengthen ab muscles through a low-key
workout.
By introducing such aids in breakout
areas, businesses will only need to
purchase a limited number of them,
giving all staff the opportunity to reap
the benefits of active sitting, without
breaking the bank.
Health and well-being initiatives
needn’t be costly or difficult for
employers to implement. By providing
the furniture and means to create an
active work environment, businesses can
encourage behavioural changes that will
lead to productivity and financial gains.
A number
of research
studies link
excessive time
sitting to ill
health
Paula Marshall,
head of furniture
sales,
Office Depot
Sit-stand desks or platforms, like this one from Fellowes,
can help employees reduce the amount of time they spend
sitting down
