Over in our articles section we’ve got a brand new guide to planning, designing and implementing a reception desk. It’s a detailed guide that will take you through the key stages of organising your reception desk project with us. So if you’re considering getting a new reception installed for the first time, or there were hiccups last time, check out the guide and see an outline of what we’ve come to expect from our side and yours in a reception desk project.
Here at Posture People we’re very much proponents of the ergonomic chair, it’s all about a healthy posture and exceptional comfort for us. But there are other schools of thought and among them is the increasingly popular concept of the ‘standing desk’. Some of you may already work in an office where people have taken to this practice, some of you may have never heard of it, yet others may in fact already be standing desk users. This blog piece hopes to enlighten the ignorant, inform the curious and perhaps even tell the experts something new.
Standing Desks Are Good For You
This is the crux of why people even bother with standing desk setups. We humans weren’t designed to sit around all day, and a standing posture is the task our bodies have evolved to assume. Standing keeps the back in its natural curve, to the same extent of one our lovely ergonomic office chairs. And to us posture is paramount, you need to look after your spine and standing is one of the best ways to go about it.
Sitting of course isn’t bad for you, but you do burn less calories whilst sitting than when you are standing. To be more specific you’ll burn about 1 calorie per minute when sitting, but 3 per minute when standing. Now think of that in terms of your average day at work, eight hours, nine, or more? If you were to work sitting down for eight hours you’d be burning around 480 calories, if you stood up for the duration of that time we ‘re now talking around 1440 calories being burned.
The benefits should be obvious; burning an extra 1000 calories during your working day without stepping foot into a gym or anywhere near a scrap of Lycra will have almost immediate effects.
Setting Up Your Standing Desk Correctly
In order to reap the most of your standing desks bounties you have to ensure everything is laid out perfectly. Just like we recommend with sitting workstations: aim to have your eyeline meeting the top of your monitor. Then keep your arms at right angles with the surface of your desk. After this we’re into the unknown territory of standing desk specific advice.
What Do I Need?
Creating a standing desk set up does require a little more thought than just deciding to stand at work one day. First of all you need your desk to be considerably taller. Some desks can be adjusted to reach the height required, and there are even fantastic electric height adjustable desks that make switching between a sitting and a standing desk even easier.
Then there are a few extra options to consider. A lot of standing desks have issues with computer cabling, not just keeping them tidy across the new extra distance they have to travel but also issues because the cables won’t stretch far enough. A common solution is to have the computer slung under the desk in a special mount, which many desking ranges already accommodate as an optional extra.
Footrests, or foot bars. Standing can get tiring very quickly but simply being able to shift your weight from leg to leg with the help of a footrest.
You may even want to consider a relief chair or stool. Of particular note we’ve just taken stock of an ideal stool here at Posture People, the Sway.
Home offices are in just about every home now, most people have got at least one nook dedicated to the computer. But how do you make that nook the best it can be. This series of blog posts aims to look at beautiful home offices to give you a bit of design inspiration then provide a few hints on how the ergonomics could be improved.
We came across this beautiful workspace on www.unplggd.com and we really liked the inspiring decor, and the fact that you could have it tucked in the corner of your lounge and it wouldn’t look to ugly or out of place. This home office belongs to Rebecca, who amongst other things writes a great blog on small space living – loving, living, small
The clean bright design, with the colourful rug really helps to create an inspiring work place. The bookcase allows files and reference material to be easily reached.
Our ergonomic tweaks would be to place the computer screen in a central positon rather it’s current position which is on the side. By having the screen to one side, it means that you have to twist while you are working which puts unnecessary strain on your body. Also the chair featured is a four legged chair (a bit like a dining room table chair) this is ok for short bursts, but if you are using your home computer for any period of time it’s worth investing in a proper office chair where the height can be adjusted and your back properly supported.
If you fancy some free advice on your home office, we’d love to see your pictures – send them into enquiries@posturepeople.co.uk and we’ll feature them in a future blog post.
This is the first post in a series which will feature inspirational home offices in terms of design, and then we’ll add our comments to show how small tweaks could improve the ergonomics.
We loved this home office featured in the See my home forum at Living etc and it seemed a good starting point for the series.
We loved the simplicity of this home office, the clean colour scheme and the fantastic storage. Also custom building your own desk means that you can set it at the right height for you. (Our guide to healthy workstations can help if you want to know how to work out the perfect height).
This home office is also great because it makes clever use of the space either side of the chimney breast to create two desks. If you are doing a project like this at home, and the same desk is going to be used by different height people – set the height of the desk to suit the tallest person, and get a footrest for the other person, if the desk is too high.
The reason for setting the desk height to suit the tallest person, is that it’s very easy to use a footrest for the smaller person, but the only way to get a tall person to fit would be to cut their feet off – which seems a bit drastic.
If you are building a custom desk, and just want to set the height of the desk to the industry standard, most office desks are now 73cm high, and 80cm deep.
One final point is that both the chairs featured are lovely, and great if you are sitting for very short bursts of time. But if you are working at home all day, then a more supportative office chair with an adjustable backrest will provide better support.
Every once in a while Business Link produces something worth promoting, we came across this link to an article explaining how companies can optimise their office space.
The article is a really good summary of how companies can think about laying out their space differently to avoid a costly move. It explains how to measure occupancy and apply density targets. It’s probably too simplistic if a company actually wanted to look at how to optimise office space but it’s a good starting point.
If you are considering how to optimise your space, space planning your exisiting office is an excellent way to see if you are making best use of your current space or if you really do need to think about moving.
If you are just at the start of contemplating your office move, you may be wondering what you need to factor in when allocating your budget. Our expert team at Posture People have outlined all of the key areas you need to consider before relocating and obtaining relevant quotes.
First question to ask yourself is do you really need to move? This may sound palpable, but relocating offices can be a huge expense and possibly one that should only be undertaken if absolutely necessary. If you consider your current space, are you utilising it as effectively as you could be? Often a professional space planning service can help you re-assess what you have already got, and ultimately, put it to better use.
After you’re positive that moving is the best option, it is a good idea to devise a relocation budget. Here are several important examples of what to include:
The final piece in the relocation puzzle is how this project will be financed. Most moves are either funded out of capital expenditure or more and more companies now look to lease their refurbishment costs. Leasing can offer an attractive alternative as the costs can be spread over a three or five year period preserving cash flow.
You can contact us for further bespoke, friendly advice on moving office, including office space planning, reception design and consultancy.
How often have you got half way through the day, only to realise that you’ve spent the last 10 minutes moaning to the person opposite you, how much you hate your office chair? Well to celebrate Valentines Day, here are Posture People’s tops tips to help you fall in love with your office chair (again!)
Image from babble.com
So, you have an important meeting with your boss at the head office. The polite receptionist buzzes you through and leads you into a super modern and plush waiting room which looks overwhelmingly impressive. You’re early and the receptionist marches off to get you a cup of coffee, while you sit and wait for your boss to arrive – but something is not quite right? You just can’t get comfy. You squirm and move on the seat, but your back is against the hard angle of the chair and your feet just aren’t falling right.
Fifteen minutes later you’re desperate for the boss to call you in, but the coffee hasn’t even arrived. You find it hard to mask your disappointment with this. When you finally get into the boardroom, the chairs are even worse. You’re vaguely sure that your boss is telling you good news, but you can’t concentrate enough to hear him and are just desperate to return to your comfortable desk in peace.
Now imagine that you’re not an employee, but actually a very important client. You’re waiting to visit the office with the intention they’ll manage you as a client, and you’re looking forward to seeing what they can do. However the uncomfortable chair you’re currently occupying is an indication that you may struggle to listen to a word of what is being said during your meeting.
The importance of a reception area’s comfort and design is so important. A balance between the two could make or break the impression made on a new client, and your reception area is your front of house. Visitors walking into a untidy reception can give an immediate negative impression that your staff have to turn around, whereas walking into a beautiful and stylish reception gives a feeling of a successful and dynamic workplace.
Not everyone can afford to have their office receptions completely redesigned by professionals, so hear are a few little tips:
A good example of when co-ordination goes to far
A comfortable place to wait - the Chicago Sofa
We provide beautiful ergonomic interior design furniture for stylish reception and visitor areas. Contact us for more details or please leave a comment if you have any tips to add!
