It can be pretty frustrating and claustrophobic spending the 9-5 in an office cubicle in the first place without having a fellow colleague commit one of the following pet peeves:

1- Erm, That’s What Headsets are for…

Putting the telephone on speaker phone is an almighty pet peeve especially when the bloody headset’s hanging round their bloody neck.

What’s worse is when the phone’s on speaker phone:

a) and whoever they’re calling isn’t picking up, but like a stubborn pit-bull terrier on a soya-milk diet, they just won’t hang up – so it just keeps on ringing and ringing and ringing AND RINGING,

b) or when the call’s been placed in a queue and there’s background music to keep them company (and to send you over the edge) while they wait.

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2- Nail Clipping…

It’s bad enough hearing people clip their nails on the journey to work without having to endure a longer duration of it in the office. All one can do is cringe and hope that the force of each clip won’t catapult one of their nail clippings over the cubicle divide and land on your keyboard (or worse yet, in your cup of tea. Imagine getting one of those stuck in your throat).

The ultimate office nightmare would be if the colleague to the left is a nail clipper and the one to the right is a coffee slurper. And you’re in the middle.

Oh boy.

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3- Dramatic Sneezes, Colds and Coughs…

Another pet peeve is when the guy / gal in the next cubicle sneezes really really loud. Try as you might, you can’t get used to it, you jump each and every time they aaah-aaaah-ACHOO, and you’re starting to lose the hearing in one ear. Such high-decibel sneezers deserve to work alone in a sound-proof room.

And then there are the ones – the special ones – who, rather than blowing their noses, prefer to make sniffling an art form.

Same goes for coughing.

Oh and it seems to get more persistent whenever you’re on the phone.

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4- The ‘Gift-Shop’ Cubicle…

When there’s a certain cubicle with enough little teddy bears, cards, framed photos and flowers to last a decade of birthdays, then you do have to wonder if the person’s in the right profession to begin with. Maybe they’ll feel right at home in a novelty gift shop. They might make it to manager even.

Point is, until they’re hit with a sudden epiphany and decide to open up their very own gift shop, everyone’s unfortunately lumbered with the mini one on their desk.

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5- Erm, Could You Turn it Down, Mate…

If speaker-phone conversations and overheard partner dramas are downright irritating, then listening to him/her listen to whatever music or news they have on comes pretty close. (‘specially if the music’s quite sh*te)

Wear a headset. That’s what they’re there for.

He/she might genuinely think that the music they’re playing is sooo cool, that you’ll enjoy it too – that that news headline just needs to get out to anyone within ear’s reach.

Aww, bless ‘em.

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6- Ok, so They’re Good Mates…

A friend pops over to the next cubicle to say hello to whoever. Fine.

Where it gets annoying, though, is when it becomes a reeeeaaaallly loooong hello and visitor & ‘visitee’ proceed to converse incessantly beside you and all you really want to do is swat them.

Word of warning: if you’re bold enough (or irritated enough) to suggest they continue their chin-wagging elsewhere, there’s a chance you’ll be wearing the ‘miserable so-and-so’ tag for a while. Certainly not your fault – but sometimes office politics is as office politics does, unfortunately.

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7- Munchies in the Cubicle…

The sound of a packet of biscuits or crisps being opened in the next cubicle is annoying to say the least – not forgetting noisy chewing and noisy swallowing too. It’s a bit like knowing what’s going on in the toilet next to you, but not wanting to hear every single trickle, fart and plop.

If the crisps are anything other than plain-salty flavour, especially if it’s cheese and onion crisps, then there’s the smell to contend with too. And God help you if they painted the town red the night before and you can smell EXACTLY what wine bottle they shook hands with. If they smoke as well, then there’s nothing else to do but pray when the whiffs of ‘cigarette-alcohol-cheese&onion’ breath hit you. Alternatively, you could hand in your resignation right there and then to save you from the impending nasal doom.

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All office chairs are not created equal. When you are shopping for office chairs for your business there are many situations that require their own special type of chair and in some cases a special chair is required just to allow some employees to be able to do their jobs. Choosing an office chair should not be a standard affair but rather an important part of the office furniture planning process.

For a certain segment of your working population a standard office chair will do the job. Most people are of average size and have no physical challenges that would make any special kind of chair necessary. When choosing a standard office chair you should always go with quality over price. Many people will come and go at your company but you do not need to constantly be investing in office furniture to accommodate any new people. A well built office chair that costs a little more than the economy model will pay for itself through years of service to the revenue generating people that will be using it. Constantly purchasing inexpensive office chairs is not good business.

An employer should always be in touch with the needs of their employees and that includes needs for a special office chair. If you hire an employee with a physical challenge then you should make the effort to purchase a chair for them that will allow them to be productive and do their job without any physical discomfort. If you hire a person that may require a larger office chair then investing in that chair can allow the employee to be productive without having to constantly go through several standard office chairs. Paying attention to the needs of your employees by investing in special office chairs when needed helps to improve company morale and that has a positive effect on your bottom line.

Conference rooms can sometimes require a different kind of office chair than the chairs your employees are using. Your employees require comfort in an office chair that allows them to perform their jobs and remain productive. In a conference room setting you may want to invest in more formal office chairs to give a more professional look and feel to your conference rooms because your conference rooms is where you will be having meetings with customers and partners and a more professional look in those situations is much preferred over the casual look of an office chair that is designed for day long comfort.

When deciding on a design for a new office, a lot of thought should go into the layout. The layout of an office will affect many factors, including productivity, interpersonal relationships, workflow, and the impression given to clients and prospects. Especially if you are moving your office to a new location, give some thought to how the layout of your existing office could have been improved. Proper planning on the layout of the new office will make the work experience and employee productivity much better. Here are several tips when thinking about the layout of the new office.
Managers & Executives

First, is the location of the managers and executives. You need to think about the layout of their space in relation to each other, and to their employees. Think about keeping managers with similar jobs and that need to interact close to each other. Also keep managers with a line of site to their employees. You will also want to consider the furniture selection and layout. Managers on the same level in the organizational chart should be given similar furniture and accessories.
Furnishings & Employees

Second, think about the layout of the furnishings for the employees. This should be done in such a fashion as to increase productivity. Again, employees with similar tasks or that need to interact should be kept close to each other, and have similar furnishings. The layout should be done in such a way as to minimize movement through the office and maximize productivity.
Office Flow

Third, think of the general flow through the office. You want to maximize workflow and the ability to quickly get things done. At the same time, keep the flow open and spaces wide enough between furnishings. This will not only help in terms of safety considerations, but you may need to implement barrier free access for those in wheelchairs.
Expansion

Fourth, you will want to plan the layout with an eye toward expansion. Don’t lock yourself into the current number of employees. There needs to be room and furnishings to accommodate growth, both in the employee side and the management side of the house. If you fill every available private office in the beginning, what happens when you need to hire more managers? A little extra planning and expense now can save you another move or construction in the future.

Impression

Finally, think of the layout in terms of how your clients and prospects will see it. You want to create a good first impression when they walk in the door. Spend some extra money on the layout and furnishings in the lobby area and the conference room. You can’t put a price on a great first impression, so don’t try to cut corners in these areas.

Office furniture can be quite an expense and it can make a difference as to whether you purchase your office furniture or lease it. Leasing may seem like an attractive and seemingly less expensive alternative to buying but there are many reasons why you should consider purchasing office furniture as opposed to leasing it.
Long Term Savings

In the long run purchasing office furniture can save you money. Your initial costs on leasing furniture may seem to be less but long after the new furniture is paid for you are still paying every month to lease that rented furniture. Leasing office furniture just adds one ongoing expense.
No Previous Wear & Tear

With new furniture you are getting newly built equipment, whereas leased furniture has been used prior to it arriving to your site. With leased furniture you could spend months finding wear and tear on the furniture which may even prevent it from working correctly, whereas new furniture comes with a virtually no defects.

No Additional Contracts to Fulfil

If you purchase furniture and your business needs to liquidate assets due to a closing you can sell the office furniture and recover some of what you paid for it. If you signed a lease you may owe for the term of that lease whether your company is in business or not.

No Damage Fees

When you lease office furniture you need to be very careful not to damage the furniture- if you do you may need to not only for damages but also continue to pay on the lease. When you own the office furniture, wear and tear along with damage is all part of using the furniture and you can choose to repair or replace office furniture at your discretion.
When you own your office furniture you can derive value from it in a couple of ways. Your office furniture allows your employees to be productive and generate revenue which allows a return on investment to be realized for the life of the furniture. When you feel you have received your return on investment you can then sell the furniture for additional profit. Leased furniture will never reach the point where there is a complete return on investment and you cannot sell it for additional revenue at any point in time.

People who care about the appearance of their reception area know that they can trust Edison furniture to provide them with a beautiful, long-lasting reception desk which is as functional as it is attractive. Edison produces a large variety of these reception units for offices of all sizes, and they work as well in a small business as they do a large auditorium.

Edison uses only the finest components to build their reception units, because they know that these units will need to maintain their good looks for years to come. As such, the counter top is a thick 12mm ground glass which provides a flat, durable surface for writing which resists stains and scratches. This tough glass can put up with abuse most table tops can’t, and because it’s glass it is easily cleaned back to it’s original shine with ordinary household cleaners. The main body of the desk can be finished with maple, cherry or mahogany finishes so that the wood matches the appearance of the rest of the furniture where it is displayed.

Edison reception units are designed with appearance and functionality in mind. They are durable, long lasting and beautiful pieces of furniture designed to add to the look of a room while also providing both the receptionist and potential visitors or customers with the work surface they need. Edison reception units are some of the finest on the market and they are a long lasting investment which adds volumes to the appearance and usefulness of any reception area.

If you dread office meetings, then the following meeting-unfriendly chairs should do the trick:

1. The Slanted Chair…

One’s bottom would have to be shaped at a pretty sharp perpendicular angle for them to get all comfy with this chair.

It’s either that or they‘d have to strap themselves securely onto it to stop from sliding sheepishly to the floor.

Anyway, we’re not looking for solutions round the seating problem – no siree, we’re looking for severe meeting off-putters.

So, hmmm…I wonder if the slanted chair comes with a matching table.

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2. The Rickety Chair…

With the one leg shorter than the other three, a rickety chair can sometimes feel like a mini see-saw.

We all know a quick solution is a wad of folded-up paper lovingly tucked underneath the leg, right?

Obviously, the ricketiest of chairs would be very helpful in seeing a meeting through to its extremely abrupt end. They’d be hyper mini see-saws. There’d be absolutely no paper in sight so two people would have to sit on either side of them to stop the see-saw effect. Both people would also have to get up at exactly the same time or else one of them would run the risk of being catapulted towards the ceiling.

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3. The Squeaky Chair…

The sound of a squeaky chair is as irritating as constantly-clicking pens, animated gum chewing and people on buses talking loudly into their mobile phones.

Squeaky chairs squeak on purpose. It’s their way of nagging. Of irritating everyone apart from the actual person sitting on it. It’s crucial that said person in said squeaky chair remains oblivious to how irritating it sounds. That’s how squeaky chairs multiply.

A squeaky chair would therefore be perfect in a meeting.

All that’s needed is the one chair for the desired effect.

(img credit: flickr.com/photos/tuey)

4. The Mega-Low Chair…

…as low as a child’s potty.

It wouldn’t be effective if everyone in the meeting sat on a low chair as they’d all be able to see each other underneath the table. There’s a chance they might still go ahead with the meeting thinking it’s the company’s way of injecting creativity and play into the team.

No – best to mix up the chair heights. So, normal height, normal height, mega-low height. Normal height, normal height, mega-low height. In that order. Should put a spanner in the works that way.

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5. The Hula Chair…

This is called the Hula Chair because it moves in a circular motion when you sit on it.

Hula. Get it?

It’s apparently meant to be good exercise for the body – “improve your balance and coordination”, it claims.

Yeah, right.

But, can you imagine how ridiculous this would look at a serious staff meeting with everyone sitting on one of those babies while trying to sip on a cup of coffee?

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6. The Stick Chair…

One person’s completely impractical design is another person’s potential meeting deterrent!

Who knows if the stick chair can bear the weight of a house fly let alone a human – which is precisely why the boardroom table should be surrounded with them.

The possibility of it giving way might make them ‘perch’ rather uncomfortably on it rather than ‘sit’ on it.

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7. The ‘Sharpened-Pencils’ Chair…

Hmm…do you get the feeling this one doesn’t want to be sat on? Perhaps it was a hedgehog in a past life.

Chances are no-one will want to sit on this chair unless they’re adept at walking over a bed of nails or possess buns of steel or don’t mind getting lead poisoning…

…or are just completely nuts.

Off to the meeting room it goes, then!

Meeting room, meet chair. Chair, meet meeting room.

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8. A Wet Chair…

One: it’s wet.

Two: Where did the ‘wet’ come from?

Three: Imagine the squishy sound when someone sits on it.

Four: Eeeeeeewww.

Five: Even if it was just 100% pure unadulterated water, not many people would want to sit on it (unless they’re part-human, part-fish).

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