Summer’s almost here, with the weather that makes you sigh out your window and long to be out there rather than cooped up at your desk. Instead of simply staring at the lovely day, bring summer inside with a few easy tricks.

Clear the Clutter

No, it isn’t your job to clean your office. You have plenty to do without resorting to the all-purpose cleaner. However, many times people leave items strewn about their desk and it is unable to be properly tended to by the janitors. Give them a break and clear off all the surfaces inside your cubicle. Remember you’re responsible for how your office looks, and once the clutter has been tamed your office will feel brighter and more open.

Organisational Items

Your in- and out- boxes, utensil holders, business card holders, and any other items that reside on your desk may be in need of an upgrade. Do they look dingy? A trip to an office supply store can yield items in a bright colour. Don’t spend a fortune or break your budget, but a little can go a long way to making the office a nicer place to inhabit.

Add Bright Colours

Continuing with bright colours, find some art to put on the wall. This might just be placing construction paper over the cubicle walls, but the color will lift your spirits. Add an area rug if you prefer. If you have your own office and your company doesn’t mind, try painting the walls. Just be sure you do it on a weekend or outside company hours. No one will thank you for sharing the fumes or using valuable work time.

Green Plant

A green plant adds a touch of the outdoors. Bring a plant in a pot to work helps reduce stress and increases productivity. They can be placed to reduce noise between cubicles, and improve attitudes for employees. It’s best to bring a green plant and not a flowering one for the health of your coworkers in case they have allergies.

Reflect the Light

Add something light to reflect light to your space. It can be a mirror, a water fountain or aquarium, or even a crystal dish with a bonus of candy for your coworkers. This type of addition to your workplace will chase away some of those wintry shadows and the blah moods with it.

While you don’t want to get too carried away redoing your office space, a few minutes spent doing even one of these will give you a new outlook.

Office furniture may not seem to have changed in the last 30 years. You still have a desk, a chair, filing cabinet, and phone sprinkled within cubicle walls. The differences are subtle, but it’s worth recognizing the strides companies make in the workplace.

Typewriter to PC

You traded in your typewriter for a computer, which was then upgraded a few times because it was obsolete the moment it was installed. At least there are games to play during the lunch break.

Fax to Email (and e-faxing)

With this change, we have replaced faxes with email and shortened the time to do just about everything. It’s also created the great impatience with having everything happen right now. That’s a large change that everyone notices, and here’s the differences in the things you may have missed due to the eyestrain.

From Open Spaces to Cubicles and Back Again

Cubicles were coming into vogue. The move from a large communal space like a secretarial pool changed into small personal spaces. Now, many forward-acting companies are moving away from them. The new office space looks more like a coffee house, with no space designated to a specific person and technology has granted the ability to work elsewhere, like from home.

Evolution of the Office Chair

The office chair went from having four casters to five. There are still five today, giving greater stability than the old models. Other improvements include ergonomic developments for comfort during long hours. The materials are moving toward foam and temperature controlling fabric. The back is higher and most models have arm rests. Each piece is adjustable to give the maximum number of users a satisfying experience.

From Chunky, Heavy Work Desk to the Practical, Slimline Workspace

Desks now come standard with holes to let your wires disappear. Many workers no longer have many large wooden desks with drawers, using instead work tables that allow more flexibility with respect to height adjustment and placement of tools.

From File to Dial
Instead of a rolodex, pagers and rotary dial phone, the everyday office worker now has touch tone phones and many have mobile phones, iPhones/Androids, PDAs, or other technological gadgetry to keep them connected when they’re not at their desks.

Many of these changes occurred because of advances in ergonomics and human factors. Professionals from these fields have made their niche reducing workplace injuries and improving health. As they learn more about how to work smarter, the workplace environment will continue to change to suit people better.

When designing an office, many people get so caught up in the logistics of their business that they fail to remember how important it is to take into account all the details that are necessary in order to make the office as comfortable and efficient as possible. While picking out office furniture may seem like a vain exercise to some, it is crucially important if you want your office to be a center for productivity.

Office Chairs are the most important element of any office, as it is important to keep your staff comfortable. This is not the area to skimp monetarily, as an uncomfortable staff is also an unproductive staff. Try taking the route of ergonomically correct office chairs.

Next, every office needs a conference table. Your conference room is where you will hold your morning production meetings ever day, as well as client meetings, so your table must convey a sense of professionalism and class. These days, many offices are going with modern look of a plate-glass conference table. These tables become the centerpiece of whatever room they sit in.

Obviously, each member of your staff will need a desk, and it is important that they feel comfortable at their workstation. That said, this is an area that you can try to save on costs, as many of the modern office desks on the market today can be purchased for lower prices than you might think.

When most people think of going green at the office, they usually think of recycling paper and using organic cleaners for disinfecting surface areas and cleaning windows. But, the office furniture you use, including the chair you sit in each day, may contain carcinogenic chemicals which can pollute our soil when the furniture is discarded.

Recycling Old Office Furniture

If you’re in the market for some new, sustainable office furniture, but your old furniture still has some use left in it, you should recycle the old furniture rather than taking it to a land fill. How do you recycle your old furniture? By allowing someone else to have it, either by selling it to them or giving it away. This empties your office of old furniture, keeps it out of the land fill, and allows someone else to get a deal on the office furniture they need.

What To Look For In Sustainable Office Furniture

When you begin shopping for your new furniture, you may feel that the price is your first concern. While you must consider your budget, it should not be your only determining factor and in fact, it should be low on your list of priorities.

The first thing you should look for in sustainable office furniture is functionality. You want furniture that will serve you well for many years. If yours is a small operation, consider that your business will grow. You need furniture that will grow with you. This may mean purchasing a desk or file cabinet with some extra drawers to allow for expansion.

You should also look at the features of the furniture which allow it to be functional or non-functional for your particular purpose. Is there a place on the desk for a computer keyboard? Are there shelves for books and other materials?

After functionality and features, your next consideration should be comfort. This especially applies to your chair. You will spend many hours in that chair at that desk, so you want to be sure that you will have ample back support. Also, your desk should not be too low. You should be able to fit your legs under it comfortably and stretch them out.

Finally, you will want to check the certification of the furniture and the materials used in the manufacturing process. Make sure the manufacturer stands behind their products and offers a guarantee on quality and materials used.