When it comes to arranging a modern office workstation, you don’t have the luxury of just throwing some things together without giving thought to comfort or productivity. For the employee who spends eight hours a day at their workstation, getting the most out of their work day takes careful consideration. The following list of the five best office workstations will give you a basic idea of some of the office plans that could work together to make the ideal work station:

* Comfort: The planner who designs a workstation for the comfort of the employees is using his expertise to his advantage. If the work space is ergonomically correct, you can expect a higher quality and quantity of work from your employees. Each workstation should be measured and planned according to the height and weight of each employee. The chairs should be swivel models, and easy on the back. The distance between the keyboard and employee should be measured as well, to ensure that they will not be susceptible to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Tendenitis.

* Computer Settings: You want to make sure that the brightness of the computer monitor is easy on the eyes. The size of the monitor is important as well. If your employees are going to be using the computer for long hours everyday, then a large screen is recommended, so the images can be viewed quickly and correctly without straining the eyes.

* Cubby Set Up: Offices no longer design their work space for their employees in small isolated cubby spaces. Time has proven that this setup which was originally designed for privacy and a higher quantity of work, are not effective or productive. Today’s modern cubby spaces are more open, allowing the employees to feel like they are part of a team.

Headsets: Time has proven to be an enemy for workers who have to hand hold their telephones. Invest in headsets for your employees, and this will not only add to the comfort level, but it will also save you a bundle, since you won’t have worker’s compensation claims for the medical conditions your workers suffer when they are not provided with a hand-free telephone system.

Storage Space: It’s critical to ensure that each work station has sufficient storage capacity. This will result in a desktop that is free of clutter, and an employee who is more productive and organized, resulting in higher quanity and quality of work.

If you work in an office then chances are that you know what stuffy air feels like. Office space, coupled with the high population of workers and long hours, has the potential to begin to feel and smell quite stale. The technical reason for this is that as the workers breath, they breath in the fresh oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide. A room filled with carbon dioxide makes people feel claustrophobic and enhances anxiety. One solution to this issue is to introduce several office plants to the space.

Plants breath carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen therefore having a purifying effect on office air. In addition to plants having a scientific benefit to an office, they also have the ability to soften the look of a bright, unnatural fluorescently lit office. Hang some from the ceiling and encourage workers to put plants on their desks for decoration. Office plants also have the ability to improve productivity because of the oxygen enriched air they emit.

Another benefit of plants in the office is that they have the ability reduce the noise level. If you work in an office where there is lots of marble structures or concrete floors, plants will work to absorb and diffuse noise, making the office a more relaxing place to be. Besides noise reduction, plants also keep humidity at a perfect and comfortable level. People who spend large amounts of time in dry air environments have been known to be more susceptible to the cold and flu. If plants are controlling the humidity of the office air, fewer workers will fall ill which means greater productivity for the company.

Finally, studies have shown that plants absorb dangerous toxins, such as those emitted from computers or copiers. This may not have been something that people consider, but office equipment is quite dangerous when in small, unventilated rooms. Plants can work to curb the amount of toxins in the air that employees are breathing.

Indeed, not only do plants improve the appearance of an office, but they have many health benefits for employees that are there on a daily basis. Studies have shown many lasting benefits of making an office a greener place.

Comfort is the very much the priority in the modern workplace. You can’t concentrate and be productive while using awkward and impractical furniture. From multi award-winning designer Herman Miller comes the Celle task chair which meets all the needs of the contemporary worker. Its ergonomic style means it is easily usable and transportable. It scores high on aesthetics too, blending coolly into a range of office environments.

The Celle task chair is so-called because of its unique cellular suspension design, which is made up of loops and cells which adapt to the user’s body movements. Thus extra, responsive support is provided to the user whatever their physical build. According to Miller, the seat can be adjusted to suit 95% of people. Each individual cell begins to conform to your flexing, weight and shape. The backing of the chair can also come with alternative upholstery which induces better flow of air to the user’s body. Most of ther chair is constructed from plastic, but its underlying structure is metal, which explains its firmer, more work-oriented feel. However, softness and support are provided in equal measures.

There are so many variations and settings that the chair can be more or less personalized: you can change arm angle, arm width, arm height, seat depth, seat height, lumbar depth, lumbar height, tilt limiting, tilt tension and forward tilt.

Also on the plus side, the Celle task chair is a product of Miller’s ‘Design for Environment cradle-to-cradle protocol’ which means it is designed according to a sustainable philosophy. It is 99% recyclable and manufactured in an environmentally-friendly way.

You can be rest assured that you’re paying for a good-quality, high-class piece of executive furniture. It is ideal for most working people today, given that they spend so much time sat stationary in front of a computer.

The downside to the Celle is that it cannot be locked in a reclining position, although that might be the intention – bosses do not tend to be fond of their subordinates lying back on the company’s time. It should be clear enough that this product is intended for work and not relaxation.

Celle chairs are unmatched in their design, practicability and class. If you have the cash, then you could do worse than splash it on one of these.

Many business persons find themselves constantly on the move. This has resulted in the adoption of the “mobile office,” namely powerful business tools that can be uploaded to any laptop and carried around. Here’s a quick top ten of the most useful business software tools for the mobile office.

10. Skype
Skype allows for live video and audio teleconferencing without the need for installing lots of fancy equipment. The sound quality is about as good as you’d get from a cell phone and the video is a bit choppy, but it gets the job done.

9. Flickr
Most people use Flickr as a cheap way to share photos with friends, but it’s also good for business. Uploading new designs, blueprints and other images to a company Flickr account means that anyone and everyone can see what you’re up to without you having to e-mail it to each of them.

8. Trillian
Many companies use MSN, Yahoo and AIM instant messengers to communicate with employees. Trillian connects to all three simultaneously, while using less RAM than any one of them.

7. GoToMyPC.com
GoToMyPC.com eliminates this problem of syncing a laptop and a desktop by permitting you to access your computer remotely from anywhere. This also means that if your laptop is stolen, no documents are lost or compromised.

6. LinkedIn.com
Social networking websites aren’t just for college students! LinkedIn permits business persons on the go to keep in touch with their contacts and business partners in real time.

5. Gmail
A lot of people see Gmail as nothing more than a free e-mail service, but it has phenomenal amounts of power. It’s able to check other e-mail accounts and copy the e-mails, it’s readily accessible, and works on just about any machine.

4. WWAN internet
Many companies offer this, but to explain, it’s internet you can access over the cell network. It’s important to shop around for good WWAN services, but they’re a lot more reliable and useful than hotspots.

3. Google Calendar
Writing down everything is essential, and Google Calendar does that. Like most Google products, it’s safe, simple and efficient, and it does it’s job.

2. PortableApps.com
This is a must for people who rely on many, many computers. It carries all the software and settings from one machine to another. This is especially important if you don’t own your laptop and are instead borrowing it from your company.

1. Google Docs
Google Documents are an online, remotely hosted, and powerful. It’s a full office suite you can access anywhere, and everywhere you go your documents are right there. It’s much easier and better than syncing software, and it’s free and easy to use.