Why These May be the Best Office Furniture Trends Ever

Best Office Furniture Trends Stylex Trim Table

Professional offices are experiencing lasting changes after Covid shutdowns scattered employees who stayed connected through online meetings and other forms of technology. The office functioned outside the walls of the corporate headquarters. Hybrid work arrangements have become normal for many with the corporate office taking on a new role as a hub.  With all these significant work style changes, let’s examine the best office furniture trends, now not just for the main office but also for the home.

Companies in Southern California are adjusting well. In Culver City, Creator IQ allows employees to balance remote work with the main office being a supportive location where there are special times to come in and focus. Offices need to re-think spaces and create a desired destination spot instead of just being a place where people are told to work.

Is there an upside? Yes.

Companies are discovering the best office furniture trends ever. These provide comfort, allow for collaboration, and provide flexibility with hybrid work schedules.

Read on to get ideas to refresh your office, furnish for greater productivity, and give your team an inviting reason to be in the office.

Best Office Furniture Trends: Dynamic Office Spaces

A popular office furniture trend is allowing for inter-office movement.

Photo: Friant System 2 Workstations

Your team may begin at their workstations but decide to move to a more informal area with lounge seating or even the breakroom where they can work on their laptops or take personal calls. Formal conference rooms are giving way to informal group spaces.

Offices can certainly have defined space, but with open layouts and hybrid work arrangements, they’ve become dynamic. Support the changes using the best office furniture.

Best Office Furniture Trends: Collaborative Furniture

Photo: DeskMakers TeamWorx Open Plan Benching

Open office layouts were meant to spur collaboration, but the effort was met with mixed reviews. People need privacy, too.

Photo: OFS Staks Workstations

Cubicles that were seen as dull and gray were redesigned for small group sharing and privacy. One of the best office furniture trends is the ability to have collaboration while at the same time not disturbing others who are working.

Photo: OFS Aptos Open Plan Benching

Bench seating solutions can bring people together for a few hours—while encouraging movement to other areas as needed. Encourage an ebb and flow of work communication.

Resimercial: The Personable Yet Professional Office

Make the office a home away from home. This has been one of the best office furniture trends taking place for the past few years, even before the Covid shutdown occurred.

Resimercial simply combines the look and feel of residential spaces with the durability and professionalism of commercial spaces.

Why is this popular?

Our culture has become more informal and relational while offices are less hierarchical than ever. Employees feel comfortable in a work environment where they can sip coffee while sitting on furniture that have the touches of home, including the fabrics.

Interiors to Brand Your Company

Resimercial isn’t the only design option, though. It’s possible to brand your interior in a way that reflects your company’s overall brand image and design. The promise made to customers on the outside can be made to employees on the inside.

2010 Office has an Inspirations page where you can easily see some of the best office furniture trends in use.

Photo: ODS Lift Height Adjustable Workstations

A minimalist approach is taken with the Scandinavian office while open offices can have a modern industrial look and feel.

Offices in Southern California and nationally make use of local flavors. In Pittsburgh, Google’s office design made a splash when it set up shop more than a decade ago in the 100-year-old Nabisco building. Designers kept some of the original brick, installed industrial-looking catwalks, and had a large picture of the Smithfield Street bridge.

Touchdown: Creating Office Spaces for a Breather

With people coming and going, offices need touchdown spaces. This is another trend where individuals can step aside from noise and distractions to focus or take a break.

Photo: Rouillard Blok Lounge Seating

Small groups of employees who want a meeting away from the formal conference room can use modular lounge furniture to accommodate just a few people, or if need be, make room for a larger group. Make use of moveable whiteboards for charting.

Remote workers stopping in for meetings can use touchdown spaces to work or collaborate while waiting for the official meeting to begin.

Integrated Technology

There’s no escaping our connected worlds and the rapid flow of information. Offices with hybrid schedules and remote workers are making greater use of video conferencing than ever before.

Set aside specific spaces like the OFS Obeya Architectural Structures that are tastefully designed and house necessary technology.

Natural Light and Ergonomic Accessories

Another trend isn’t furniture but it promotes well-being. Maximizing the amount of natural light in a space is proven to be an effective way to boost morale and aid in promoting a healthy sleep cycle for employees.

Use ergonomic lighting accessories to focus the right amount of light at workstations and reduce problems associated with eye strain.

Home Office Furniture Trends

Equipping the home office is another of the best office furnishing trends and has become more important than ever. Some remote workers are full-time while others split time between the corporate office and home office.

Work-from-home furnishings include items that corporate headquarters will have. Sit-to-stand desks and ergonomic chairs can be as useful in a remote office as they are in the home office.

Make sure printers are accessible but not in the way and that the space stays uncluttered with the proper amount of storage.

Stay Up to Date on Best Office Furniture Trends and Office Furnishings

Rely on the team at 2010 Office Furniture to keep you up to date with the best office furniture trends and to plan your office space so you use it well. 2010 Office staff have more than 50 years of combined experience and have served clients who are counted among Southern California’s most recognizable corporations, centers of higher education, and small businesses.

Contact them with your specific project needs and questions.

Read Also: NeoCon 2022 Trends: The Future of Office Furniture
Main Photo: Stylex Trim Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: DeskMakers, Friant, ODS, OFS, Rouillard & Stylex

6 Reasons to Let Your Employees Work from Home

6 Reasons to Let Your Employees Work from Home SitOnIt Reya Desk

Working in the Covid era has shown how knowledge-based businesses and professional firms can be productive even when employees work from home offices.

Corporate offices are still needed as hubs that lay out the mission and set direction, but some employees can function more effectively at a home office setting.

Why?

They have the equipment, a dedicated space, and can function free from inter-office distractions like breakroom conversations, clashing office personalities, and employees who are ill.

But let’s be clear: the center corporate office is still very much needed.


Photo: Maverick Apex Workstation

Read on to learn the 6 great reasons to let your employees work from home, as opposed to the office.  Also, it’s important to understand the differences between the two office set-ups and how both environments can work together for everyone’s benefit.

Reason 1: Home Offices Provide Functionality

A variety of employees have as much functionality at a home office as they do at a central location.

Data entry, marketing specialists, and sales teams can enter information, create content, and contact customers. The financial team can access accounts via the Internet, and executives can hold online meetings.

What’s needed to make a home office work well? Start with the basics.

A Dedicated Space

When employees work from home, having an area where the focus is on work is crucial. It can be a separate room, or a designated space within an existing space, such as a living room. Use dividers to reduce distractions just like you would in an open floor plan.

The home office shouldn’t be cramped.

In greater Los Angeles and Orange County, the moderate temperatures and sunshine during the year can let back yard decks and patios also be part of the home office setting.

Internet Connection is Key When Employees Work From Home

Being connected with smartphones and a reliable Internet connection is the reason that 18 percent of the U.S. workforce works full-time from a home office or other remote location, according to OWL Labs.

Citigroup and Google are among the top corporations who have employees work from home, and have establishing hybrid arrangements, as reported by SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management.

Citigroup says most of its 210,000 employees now work remotely two to three days a week.

Desks

Say goodbye to the bulky desks of the past and embrace today’s sleek designs. Simple table-top models, height-adjustable desks, and modular workstations can all be used in the home.


Photo: Deskmakers Ascend Height Adjustable Desk

The Desk Makers Ascend Height Adjustable Desk is an example of a contemporary design that lets users move from sitting to standing position in seconds.

Lighting

The right lighting is essential to working well in any setting, even in a home space. An office that’s lit properly reduces eye strain, the stress of glare, and promotes restful nights. Natural lighting is optimal while LED lighting is preferred over fluorescent lighting which has been shown to make office workers tired.


Photo: Humanscale Nova Light

When employees work from home, affordable office lighting solutions come in a variety of shapes to focus the best light on the task at hand.

Ergonomic Chair

Sitting stresses the spine and lower back so make sure home offices are equipped with an ergonomic chair that supports the body’s shape and natural motions. A quality chair will last for many years. It’s an investment that promotes well-being by reducing strain on the back and joints.


Photo: SitOnIt Seating Wit Chair

Laptop and Monitor

Laptops have plenty of power for nearly every need. Specialists like graphic artists may benefit from a desktop set-up and large monitors. But laptops can hook up to larger monitors, as well.

Companies can develop policies when employees work from home, using personal computers versus ones purchased directly by the corporation.

File Storage

The paperless office still has paper, but minimal file storage is needed. Designs like the OSF Beck Credenza tend to have more traditional appearances. A modular storage system like the Desk Makers Catalina Cubbies can also serve as a room divider in home offices or at the main office


Photo: Deskmakers Catalina Cubbies

Combination Printer, Copier & Scanner

Like it or not, printers, copiers and scanners are still needed even with the advancement of new technology and widespread use of electronic communications. Top-rated printers with combo functions include HP Office Jet Pro 9015e, HP Office Jet Pro 6978, Canon PIXMA TR8520 and Brother MFCL-2710DW.

Reason 2: Workers Have Health Concerns

Covid isn’t the only virus that spreads germs. Other illnesses like the common cold and flu can be transmitted at the work office.  Office wellness can mean that employees work from home when they’re not feeling well.

Being active is important and taking stretch breaks or quick walks every two hours may happen more easily at home than in the corporate setting.

Reason 3: Workers are Connected Remotely

Work vocabulary now includes Zoom as often as Google. Nouns have taken on another life as verbs. Connections via email, social media messaging, and inexpensive or free face-to-face platforms make communication easy.

What may be challenging or tough is disconnecting after hours, weekends, or while on vacation.

Reason 4: When Employees Work From Home, They Save Money

The cost of gas around Los Angeles is pushing $5 per gallon or higher. Reducing a daily commute to a few times a week, or less, lets your team keep more money in their pockets.

Fuel isn’t the only cost.

There’s wear and tear on the car in addition to buying lunches.

Reason 5: Top Talent Likes Flexibility

A friendly and flexible work environment aids in retaining top employees. Studies made pre-Covid are evidence that it’s preferably for many to have employees work from home. A 2019 article on HR Daily Advisor.com reports that the firm Crunchbase, a company specializing in business insights, “found that by offering flexibility around family life, it was able to attract and retain top candidates.”

Reason 6: A Central Office is Still Needed When Employees Work From Home

Why is the corporate office still important?

Employees have social needs which is why arrangements that include working from home with time in the office are popular. No one truly wants to shut the door on a space where there’s stimulating collaboration.

How can you make the corporate office a desired location?

Schedule regular meetings that are interactive and filled with shared insights.

Use office designs and layouts that are welcoming, have break rooms that are well-supplied with beverages and healthy snacks, and create lounge areas.

The central office can be a destination where collaboration happens, while the home office can be a place to focus on specific tasks.

We’re Here to Help Your Employees Work From Home

The team at 2010 Office Furniture has supplied furnishings and planned office spaces for some of the most recognizable brands in greater Los Angeles, throughout Orange County, and in the Inland Empire.

2010 Office Furniture has more than 50 years of combined experience to address in-office or hybrid work arrangements, as well as home office needs.

Contact us with your project needs and questions.

Read Also: Reasons to Refresh and Improve Office Layout
Main Photo: SitOnIt Seating Reya Height Adjustable Desk
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Deskmakers, Humanscale, Maverick & SitOnIt Seating