Nowadays, many creative designers are developing ingenious ways to make office furniture with exotic colors and chic finishes. In the past, no efforts were taken to decorate the office interiors. The trend of today is such that people wish to have an office environment so pleasing to work, with eye-catching furniture and interior designs. The right kind of furniture can have huge impact on staff productivity and comfort. When it comes to buying office furniture, it is highly crucial to check if the furniture has been ergonomically designed or not. Regardless of how great it may look, it should not cause any injury and back pain. Sitting for hours can bring in a hell lot of health complications, especially back pain. This is not the case with ergonomic chairs as they are designed in such a way that relieves the person of these problems while sitting for long hours.

img credit : jnyemb

Good office furniture plays a detrimental role in increasing the office productivity as well. Say if your office furniture is uncomfortable to sit, employees will find it difficult to work continuously and as a result they would find an excuse to leave their desk for tea/coffee breaks. By reducing stress over the body, weariness and discomfort, you will discover that your employees would be happier to sit and work for longer hours, thereby reducing the number of breaks they had taken previously. It certainly adds to the staff morale, which is sure to promote productivity. Poorly designed office furniture breaks too often and need replacement. This will cost you more bucks in the long run. This is the reason why many companies prefer using ergonomic chairs to save money and unnecessary overheads.

img credit : cubagallery

Good office furniture spread a sense of peace and tranquility inside the room and also augments the energy levels. Refurbished office furniture, on the other hand proves to be an excellent alternative over other models in being environmentally friendly and reusable. Not just furniture, but every element inside the office atmosphere speaks a lot about the work ethics. It is always better to use modern wall art prints rather than using motivational posters to encourage the employees to work even harder. Looking at abstract paintings soothes the person and can be as inspiring as a motivational message. Turn the monotonous setting of your office, where there are plenty of files and folders piled everywhere into an interesting workplace by placing art works everywhere inside the room. This in turn will create a pleasing environment, where employees would give their 100% when it comes to work.

Busy offices  usually produce a lot of noise, which makes privacy a very rare commodity. Having to deal with high noise levels can disrupt concentration and have a cumulative effect on employees’ productivity and efficiency.

To ease the effects of  “noise pollution” in an office environment, technologies have been developed to help cancel out the background noise and provide a “cone of silence” for individual work stations, offices and call centers bullpens.

Sound masking systems have advanced far beyond simple acoustic ceiling tiles and insulation. The new technologues use miniature emitters installed in the ceilings to create a pleasant, non-distracting “white noise” that not only blocks outside sounds, but insures private conversations are not overheard.

These devices can be installed and adjusted to suit any size of office. Sound masking systems can be either be used as a stand-alone for a single office or a multi-office system can centrally controlled.

Be aware that sound masking is NOT the same as noise cancellation. Only military facilities have access to true noise cancellation technology, so on the open market only use of headphones or directional microphones actually cancel out ambient sounds. Sound masking creates a cushion of background noise that creates individual “quiet zones” so you do not have to control the source of the sound, but can eliminate it from the immediate environment.

Sound masking also reduces the need for extra insulation between workspaces and the physical sound blockers like plenum barriers and complicated acoustical return air ducts. Architects have more flexibility designing comfortable office spaces that do not depend on using doors and walls to block sound. Contractors can drastically reduce construction costs by installing continual suspending ceiling grids for office complexes since sound masking technology eliminates the need for separate t-bar ceilings in individual rooms.

With professional sound masking devices, organisations have the freedom to using open plan offices and reduce workstation footprints, athough there is a noise threshold that must be calculated to insure optimum efficiency. Sound masking consulatants can determine the correct  acoustic requirements for increased  density in an office space.

True, the idea of team building has been around for decades, but a new trend is emerging that goes beyond the “feel good” atmosphere of many events that resemble a pep rally more than a tool to create rapport.

Corporations realize that they can accomplish two goals with one effort when they arrange team building exercises that contribute their time and labor to charitable activities. It is a perfect chance to benefit the community at large and boost their corporate image better than anything as superficial as a  celebrity golf tournament.

According to a New York Times article, the Cone Corporate Citizenship Study showed that 86 percent of the consumers surveyed said their brand choice is influenced by good deeds done by their employees. But positive consumer reaction is just part of the equation, and researcher Charles Moore has said studies find the volunteering as a team creates a “camaraderie quotient.”

Habitat for Humanity
This popular charity constructs new homes for low income families and has programs in most U.S. Cities, so you can even sponsor a Habitat for Humanity trip to a fun location like Las Vegas or Miami Beach.

Participants in these projects have a chance to use their ‘out-of-office’ skills such as carpentry, painting, roofing or landscaping and learn things they never knew about each other.

Since the schedules are arranged so that a team can spend the day working together, they can achieve significant results that creates a true sense of group accomplishment at the end of the day.

Kaboom

Help refurbish or build new playgrounds for children in disadvantaged neighborhoods by signing up for the SAVE PLAY program offred for corporate team building by the non-profit group Kaboom.

This weekend activity coordinates your staff for a high-spirited day building outdoor playgrounds that are laid out in advance. The result is a safe, fun environment for neighborhood kids and some rather obvious rewards for future public relations campaigns and product branding.

IMEC

Corporations in the medical field can arrange for team building programs with this non-profit agency that assembles equipment and supplies for hospitals and clinics in 70 third world countries.

Clinical workers and recent graduates can get hands-on skills repairing and sterilizing refurbished equipment that will be packaged up and sent as complete medical emergency kits around the world.

Not only is this project good for building morale, but it can be great for applying skills that had only been academic to some employees.

Disaster Relief Stations

A flexible in-house team building project can be established that will respond to natural disasters where federal agencies can be overwhelmed so additional, coordinated help from corporate teams is welcomed.

Having the equipment and training necessary to respond to disaster situations shows your corporation is responsive to the community and has taken steps to be prepared to offer their services when the need arises. It also empowers employees to feel like they have made a plan to contribute to their community when help is needed most.

Who would ever want to go home if their office looked like this?

1) Google (Googleplex): California…

You can’t mention cool places to work at and not mention Google. The big G has been in the top best companies to work for for a good number of years — and, after seeing the pictures below of their main quarters in Mountain View, California, who can argue with that? (try – but you won’t win).

It’s really a case of ‘home is where the office is’. Far from an office in the traditional sense, Google’s main quarters is more like a totally uber-cool college campus where you just happen to get paid really well too.

There’s gourmet food (in no less than 11 cafeterias), a doctor on site, laundry facilities, sleeping pods, pool tables, lapping pools.

Google Cali doesn’t scrimp on the parental perks either – includes: adoption assistance of up to $5000 — and $500 towards take-away meals for parents of a new born – over the first couple of months they’re at home with their little one. Can someone say fairy godmother?

Aaaah, this is the life.

I so want one of those …whatever it is.

They let you bring your dog too?

And England win the World Cup!

Google, you neeeed me.

Space. The final frontier.

(img credit: google.com)

2) Google, Zurich…

Nothing can match Google’s main quarters, but its branch in Zurich is pretty damn impressive. Five floors. Five different themes of cool. Meetings are held in vibrantly-coloured pods (real igloos formerly used in Antarctic expeditions), staff can take some serious timeout in serene water lounges…

…and the piers de resistance is a fireman’s pole that gets staff from one floor to the next. What could be cooler than that? (hmm…a magic carpet???)

If Google won’t go to the Alps, the Alps will come to Google. Simple as that.

A fireman’s pole? Right. Where do I sign?

Conferences in igloos? Should come as no surprise, really. We are talking Google, after all.

Find your inner Mister Miyagi in the water lounge. No snoring, though.

Gives ‘work-life balance’ a whole new meaning.

3) White Mountain Office, Stockholm…

I’m not taking away from the super duper coolness of this ‘office’, because it’s certainly awe-inspiring. Yes indeedy. But doesn’t it remind you of a chemical plant in a James Bond film?

Not too far off though – at 100 feet below the streets of Stockholm, it used to be a nuclear shelter. In 2008, it was transformed into the amazing office you now see; home to Bahnhof AB: an internet service provider.

“Veeve been expecting you, Mr Bond”.

(img credit: theroxor.com)

4) Selgas Cano Architectural Firm, Spain…

This is way too cool. Google, you’re losing me.

How could anyone get complacent about coming to a place like THAT for work? Must be an incredible experience.

The glass windows down the length of the side of the office have the desired effect – you literally feel as if you’re part of nature.

David Attenborough would be proud. So, so proud. You could try doing a Dr Doolittle impression with the wildlife, teach the bears how to use a laptop and encourage the bees to squeeze their honey directly into your tea.

Doesn’t it get a tad creepy at night with all that window — with bright beady eyes staring at you from the outside?

Part of the building is apparently underground. Maybe that’s where the toilet is…because I don’t see it. Unless you’re expected to answer the call of nature amongst the bushes — literally.

(img credit: iwan.com)

5) CheBanca!, Milan…

You wouldn’t guess it by looking at it, but believe it or not, this …is a bank. No, really. It is.

The word ‘CheBanca!’ means ‘What a bank!’ and what a bank it is. The exclamation mark isn’t a typo, by the way. Plush, unique, unusual, spatial, magnetic, futuristic, you probably get as many tourists passing through as you do account holders.

The fact that it’s in Milan serves to add that extra layer of cool.

6) TBWA\Hakuhodo, Japan…

Whereas Selgas Cano went out to nature, TBWA Hakuhodo brought theirs right in. The trees, grass and bamboo flooring look lush and authentic. Their own little Garden of Eden. Simple, but quite powerful design. It’s got that whole calming thing going on.

That’s my spot right there.

p.s. they have a VERY cool website. Make sure you have your speakers on.

(img credit: theroxor.com)

7) Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Slovenia…

The huge structure snaking through the space is pretty damn awe-inspiring, almost as if it’s challenging you to question its sheer magnitude and ability to co-exist with other visual embellishments in the space.

This is just the photo. Imagine being there in person.

The plants accentuate the space and look as if they tame the structure’s boisterousness.

And the windows look great too – part of the space without dominating it.

(img credit: theroxor.com)

8) RedBull, London…

Redbull’s office is so smooth, it’s ‘smoove’. Very slick, sharp, minimal design.

…and then it’s cheekily disrupted by the audacity of a slide that takes you from one floor to the other. That’s just…just…irresistibly playful. Looks like a whole ton of fun. I’d love to try walking back up it just for the hell of it!

Good morning, super cool RedBull reception. Sam speaking. How may I help you?

Game of tennis, anyone? I must warn you: I WILL win.