ergonomics Archives

Designing for Comfort and Employee Well-Being with the Resimercial Office Trend

Resimercial Office Trend HON Westhill Lounge

Lines between our personal and professional lives have blurred with instant communication and cloud storage. Kids and colleagues can get in touch as needed. There are boundaries, of course. But the 2020 stay-at-home orders showed that many companies found a way to keep operating with nearly all of their employees at home. Enter the Resimercial office trend.

Now that the focus is once again on the corporate setting, the Resimercial office trend is more popular than ever.

Create an inviting office where home-style comforts are mixed with commercial durability. The benefits of resimercial design include increased comfort with a boost in productivity.

Photo: Snowsound Perline Acoustic Panel

Why can’t a corporate office have the needed functionality plus personality?

This type of office bridges the settings of home and work—while being flexible enough to incorporate the best of both residential and commercial.

A well-planned resimercial office space following the resimercial office trend will have the furnishings that are needed with intangible elements that can make your office a welcome destination. The addition of biophilic design (bringing elements of nature indoors) also is a huge benefits as it helps improve overall office wellbeing and positivity.

Resimercial Office Trend: Attitude and Atmosphere

Use as many large windows as possible to get rid of stuffy feelings inside. Southern California has a diverse landscape of beaches and mountains, plenty of sunshine, and some of the best weather in the U.S.

Office settings that incorporate natural elements create a pleasant atmosphere—especially when maximizing natural light and using colors that represent the surrounding environment.

Offices in Pasadena or Monrovia can use as much window space possible to capture the red and purple hues of the afternoon sun on the San Gabriel Mountains.

In Playa Vista or Culver City, an office can make use of ocean scenes and equip an outdoor space to experience the ocean breezes.

Use green on your walls strategically with the Nevins Bio Canvas Frame. Bark, moss, and stone panels are tastefully arranged in this no-maintenance option.

These touches make an office personable while getting rid of a sterile feeling.

Work is demanding, but these familiar connections can reduce stress and show employees that they don’t have to be separated from the soothing elements of the world.

Resimercial Office Trend: Furnishings and Fabrics

Office spaces that are planned effectively have a clear purpose. Visit 2010 Office Furniture’s resimercial office trend page to stir your own creativity.

Don’t wall people off from each other. Use furnishings that allow for a flow of open interaction yet provide private spaces. Placement, look, and feel are factors that the team at 2010 Office Furniture considers when assisting clients in planning their spaces.

Photo: Maverick Apex Desk Workstations

You’ve got many choices ranging from the inventive DARRAN Chameleon Workspace to the Maverick Apex Open Plan Desking and the Global Zira Desking Workstation.

Photo: Darran Chameleon Workspace

Each solution is unique with finishes that look pleasant, has comfortable seating, and can be incorporated into a soft, office design.

In a home office, you should have a dedicated workspace, but you’re free to move around and work on the sofa or at the kitchen table. Design that same freedom into your office setting.

Make your breakroom personally stylish using items like the Arcadia Betwixt Table.

Photo: Arcadia Betwixt Table

Consider the DARRAN Honey Lounge Seating. It’s a seating solution that incorporates nature, provides ergonomic comfort, and has been proven to help reduce stress, bolster productivity and enhance well-being.

Photo: Darran Honey Lounge

Storage space is important in both the residential and commercial worlds. Step away from gray metal with the OFS Hitch Shelf and Storage, a unique, modular storage system available in a range of wood veneer finishes.

Resimercial design has a range of ergonomic benefits when quality furnishings are used.

Expect durability. Commercial grade furniture is meant for heavy use, several hours a day, while a sofa in your home is meant for much lighter use. You can still have comfort with quality seating and workspaces.

People and Productivity

The Resimercial office trend isn’t just about furnishings. It’s about letting your employees work in comfort while maintaining high levels of productivity.

Promote well-being.

Quality office chairs are a good place to begin.

The OFS Pret Chair is the type of ergonomic seating solution that’s pleasant to look at while supporting an individual’s body weight and shape.

Photo: HON Solve Chair

Lighting matters, too. Forget big and bulky lamps. Sleek is in for corporate settings and home offices. The Workrite Fundamentals 2 Desktop Light focuses light as needed without getting in the way. It’s one of many ergonomic lighting options.

Channeling sound is another way to make the office pleasant and comfortable. Use acoustic panels of all shapes and colors to deflect and absorb potentially distracting conversations and clacking keyboards.

Photo: Nevins Bio Canvas Panels

As you make the office comfortable, employees will find it a desirable setting to work in. It could become their home away from home.

Rely on 2010 Office Furniture for Resimercial Office Trend

The team at 2010 Office Furniture has more than 50 years of combined experience working with clientele that are among Southern California’s most notable corporations, universities, and other not-for-profits, and small businesses in all industries.

Contact them with your office needs and questions.

Read Also: 6 Reasons to Use a Resimercial Design for Your Office
Main Photo: HON Westhill Lounge
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Arcadia, Darran, HON, Maverick, Nevins & Snowsound

Designing Your Workplace to Channel Stress into Productivity

Effects of workplace stress compound and will chip away at morale if left unchecked. A stress-filled office hurts communication channels, impedes decision-making systems, and ultimately threatens a company’s well-being.

Let’s look at the outer and internal factors causing stress and use workplace design to turn stressful forces into productive results.

Stress in the Workplace – Outside Factors

Operating profitably and gaining market share in previous economies was always challenging.

Suddenly, in 2020, the Covid-19 shutdown hit companies with sudden stress that no one had ever experienced before. Large and small businesses throughout Southern California were forced to respond.

The manager of The Derby restaurant in Arcadia, a well-known local landmark, was quoted by the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce in a video presentation as saying the moment was unprecedented during 98 years of operating.

Fortunately, some systems were already in place like webinars that were used for instructional and promotional purposes. Many offices had been using modular workstations and open office spaces with flexible designs.

Photo: Darran Chameleon Workspace

Working remotely became necessary and normal, and the use of Zoom quickly turned into a well-used meeting platform.

Photo: Senator Group Play AV Media Table

Outside forces that are global or ones that pertain to specific industries will always be a cause of some stress. Stressors can come from inside as well.

Stress in the Workplace – Internal Factors

Clients changing specs on a project, miscommunication, and the complexities of personal lives are just a few of the stressors within the workplace.

Equipment not working, fuzzy goals, and changes in personnel all contribute to stress.

Use Planned Engagement to Reduce Office Stress

Engage your team in their tasks with a purposeful design and space plan that accounts for the overall company goals, the needs of departments, and the needs of employees.

Flexible seating, room for personal space, and furnishings that assist team members in completing tasks lend to an engaging environment.

Photo: Source International Scape HB Booth

Incorporating elements of the company’s history and the surrounding neighborhoods creates continuity of purpose and place.

Take a fresh look at the many design options that reduce stress with the use of pleasing colors, the ability to incorporate your brand, and maximizing nature. Engagement should begin when people first step into the office.

A Sleek Welcome

A reception area shouldn’t act like a barrier between outsiders and the interior office space. Create a pleasing first impression where visitors feel welcome to linger in the waiting area. Modular seating and a sleek reception table add to the comfort.

Photo: Arcadia Scenery Modular Lounge

Build Stress Relievers into Your Plan

Make systems “calming to the nervous system,” advises the director of the American Institute of Stress in a 2019 article on Buildings.com How to Design to Reduce Workplace Stress.

Flexible seating with privacy booths and mobile partitions is one strategy while designing with nature is another.

Photo: Friant Shield Freestanding Panels

Keep it Green

Green spaces reduce stress.

A University of Edinburgh study in 2012 concluded that for every one percent increase in green space there was a corresponding decline in stress levels.

More green space helps people respond better to disruptive events, either by not getting as stressed in the first place or by coping in as healthy a way as possible.

See what a green office design can do for your environment.

Photo: Stylex Free Address Series

Ergonomics

Ensure that your team is able to use their workstations, chairs, desks, and accessories to easily accomplish their purposes. This reduces the toll of physical stress.

Excessive workplace stress causes 120,000 deaths and results in nearly $190 billion in health care costs each year, as the American Psychological Association found in their 2018 Stress in America survey.

Use chairs that support the body’s weight and natural movements so stress on knees, elbows, and the lower back remains at a minimum level.

Height-adjustable desks position laptops and desktop computers at the right level for each individual user, allowing for proper posture and reducing strain on the eyes and wrists.

Maximize Light

Letting in as much natural light as possible keeps your team on a natural rhythm of being active at work while promoting restful sleep cycles at home. Natural light is a perk that’s valued by many employees.

Rely on 2010 Office Expertise to Help Reduce Workplace Stress

You may decide to refresh your office or plan a completely new layout. The team at 2010 Office Furniture has a combined half-century of experience working with Southern California’s most distinguished companies.

2010 Office Furniture’s clients are leading corporations, universities, and small businesses in greater Los Angeles, Orange County, and the Inland Empire.

Read Also: Easy Ways to Reduce Office Stress and Create a Welcoming Atmosphere
Main Photo: OFS GrowUp Planter
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Arcadia Contract, Darran, Friant, OFS Brands, Senator Group, Source International and Stylex

biophilia biophilic design covid office ergonomic chair ergonomic furniture ergonomics flexible office layout green office design happy office height adjustable desk office inspirations office morale office natural light office productivity office wellbeing purposeful office design team engagement workplace stress

Designing Your Office Space from Top-Down to Bottom-Up

If you’re looking to create a new office design when designing your office space, an effective way to begin the process is to consider how different layouts will benefit the workflow. The goal is to help your company function efficiently. After all, work needs to get done.

Now consider the human element and how your team can work at its best.

An office isn’t just about placing workstations and then fitting your people into slots. Social and psychological dynamics matter as well.

Photo: Allermuir, Arcadia Contract & OFS

Chart Your Basic Workflow Needs

Analyze the different functions in your business, ranging from your core function—the reason your business exists—to the support functions like sales and marketing, finance, and customer care. The principles of laying out an office are timeless. A write-up from 1995 in MIT’s Sloan Management Review noted that “technological innovation and creative space design together make solutions possible.”

Here are the “tactical initiatives” highlighted in the article that benefit an organization:

Ergonomic planning
Defining group and personal workspaces
Offering shared workspace
Accommodating remote workers

This is the top-down approach that relies on higher authority figures who see the wider goals and filter decisions down to the tasks of lower-level employees. In contrast, the bottom-up style gathers staff input and gives everyone a voice.

Ergonomics works well based on employee input since the concept is to fit the workplace to the needs of people and how they function. Their suited to say what’s comfortable and what works or doesn’t work.

That’s what co-working spaces have done. They’d set up shop, sign up freelancers and remote workers who wanted to use the facilities, and took feedback on what the users liked or didn’t like. Then they’d make adjustments as necessary.

A “bottom-up” approach when designing your office space can fine-tune plans to arrive at a satisfying solution.

Create an Invitation—Not a Maze—When Designing Your Office Space

When you design or freshen your office space, imagine that you’re working with your team to make a space that’s inviting. You’re not creating a maze of modular workstations, so let your employees know that you’d like their thoughts on what makes an office welcoming.

Some may not have much of an opinion while others may want to share what works for them and what can be changed. If they’re recent hires then they may have positive or negative opinions about their previous office environment.

Photo: OFS Height Adjustable Workstations

Take the approach used in the book Life of Work, What Office Design can Learn from the World Around Us. The authors, Jeremy Myerson and Imogen Privett, undertook a major research project and concluded that while “most contemporary offices satisfies physical and functional requirements, it seldom supports the psychological comfort and individual needs of the people who use them every working day.”

Get ideas for how people relate to design by doing what the authors did: looking at diverse spaces like theater layouts, newsrooms and medical offices.

Take a look around and adapt what works for your people within the physical space available.

Select from Different Office Styles

2010 Office Furniture’s Inspiration page reveals several different layouts and their aesthetics. Each layout makes a statement and can easily be tailored to reflect your company’s brand and enhance the office atmosphere. It’s a great resource for inspiration when designing your office space.

A modern, abstract office uses bold colors and fascinating shapes. Modular lounge furniture can work well.

Photo: The Senator Group Mote Lounge

Contemporary industrial style offices pay homage to a city’s past while bringing comfort and functionality into present times. Google’s office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania brings in original brickwork into a space that’s “unconventional and inspiring.”

Use your surrounding city to spark features. A space in Irvine may be sleek and modern while an office in Ontario or the San Dimas area can harken back to local history.

How about an upbeat, contemporary look? You may have a traditional accounting firm but why not add splashes of color? Should pediatric dental offices have all the design fun?

In an open office plan, use different styles of workstations and colors to differentiate teams with their distinct responsibilities.

For private executive offices, choose between elegant designs or more casual ones, with both options being able to integrate technology in the desks and cabinets.

Photo: AMQ Work-From-Home Workstation

Health and wellness is a major consideration in this age of Covid-19 precautions so consider accessories and layouts for a social distancing workplace.

Don’t forget the breakroom. Create a small gathering place with chairs and tables that are easily moved or create a lounge near a kitchen space. Offices aren’t just about desks and cubicles so invest in plenty of healthy snacks and drinks that people enjoy.

Consider the Types of Work

Different functions are needed to make a company hum along the road to profitability. People with unique skill sets can have different personalities. It’s not your task to please everyone with a layout, but you can take into account the various needs that people have when designing your office space.

A graphic designer, computer programmer or engineer will need hours of quiet to focus while a marketing and sales team is going to be more collaborative and creative.

Make the office a positive social environment and don’t hesitate to experiment with new trends and refresh a look every few years.

Know your goals. Do you project growth in the near future using staff who are on-site or through remote workers? You can be nimble to provide for current needs and still plan for what can happen in the years to come.

Need Help Designing Your Office Space?

You don’t need to go it alone in office design. The team at 2010 Office Furniture has nearly 50 years of combined experience helping leading companies and nonprofits in Southern California lay out office spaces and provide furnishings that promote employee well-being.

Contact them with your project needs and questions as you undertake designing your office space.

Read Also: The Best Office Spaces are Responsive to Employee Needs
Main Photo: Groupe Lacasse
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Allermuir, AMQ, Arcadia Contract, Groupe Lacasse, OFS & The Senator Group

co-working spaces ergonomics office decor office design office function office inspiration office styles office workflow open office plan

Tag: ergonomics