Surely they both go together and in-turn provide a positive return on investment? Anyone can switch off half the lighting and reduce the heating which of course shrinks energy bills but leaves a cold dark and possibly miserable place to work, and consequently shrinks the workforce.
Smart comfortable commercial interiors are part of quality staff recruitment and retention.

Absenteeism due to sickness is costly for employers. Year in year out businesses suffer unnecessary financial costs of because of absence due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), these are generally back and neck pain or upper limb problems where employees gave spent excessive time or wrongly positioned computer monitors or other display screen equipment (DSE).

It is therefore important that employees have their workstation set up appropriately to allow for a comfortable working posture. This reduces the cause of aches, pains and muscular stress.

Prior to discussing any plans to refit a commercial interior, it is worthwhile conducting an ergonomic assessment of the workstations. An ergonomic assessor will consider the working tasks involved to adjust and “fit” the task to the worker.
This can reduce current or future MSD complaints that workstation users often experience when spending long static periods at their desks.

The aim of an ergonomic assessment is to identify and minimise any musculoskeletal risk to the employee by removing any unnecessary stress or poor postural positions adopted. It isn't just MSD complaints but RSI complaints too. Repetitive Strain Injuries can result in costly law suits and compensation claims.In addition to the employees comfort, under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations, and other related legislation, employers have a duty to provide safe working conditions by assessing the workstation, ensure workstations meet the minimum requirements and provide health and safety training and advice. In creating a more comfortable environment for employee’s it has been shown to improve users’ performance and productivity, thus benefiting the business.

An ergonomic workstation assessment will benefit the business in several ways:
Reduce sickness absence due to MSD
Reduce recruitment costs (to cover absent employees)
Reduce training costs
Reduce compensation claims
Improve staff moral
Improved performance/productivity and quality – due to improved comfort
Reducing potential problem areas before they occur
Compliance with health and safety law

Ergonomics in simple terms is about how we fit into and around our environment. An ergonomically designed office chair is designed not just for comfort but with health and safety in mind. Repetitive Strain Injury is taken very seriously and employers have a 'Duty of Care' to ensure our time at work does not take too much toll on our bodies. So why has 'ergonomically designed office furniture suddenly become important and who created the word - was it a switched on contract furnisher?

The word ergonomic derives from two Greek words ; ‘ergon’ meaning work and ‘nomos’ meaning laws.
Ergonomics isn't just about desks, chairs and work stations and it isn't as new as we may have first thought. The science came about during World War Two when many of our pilots lost their lives because they had an enemy aircraft on their tail and they failed to respond quick enough to either shoot down the enemy plane or at least get out of its way. In terms of money, the lack of ergonomically designed workspaces within the cockpit cost the price of a trained pilot and a fighter plane - and the cost multiplied after each fatality . Experts were called in to analyse what went wrong. After lengthy trials and examinations they came to the conclusion that the position of the controls and the cockpit layout made it almost impossible to react quickly even to the most skilled fighter pilot. So half a century on, ergonomics is an important part of commercial interiors and office furnishings.

Ergonomics is now concerned with our well being, both physical and psychological as well as with our Health and Safety .. and of course comfort. If the human body is expected to move in an unnatural manner, it will sooner or later rebel. I am sitting at a workstation typing and staring at a computer monitor, it is not a natural stance. Experts tell us that Ergonomically designed workplaces, equipment and jobs increase efficiency and productivity and reduce accidents and errors which could cost organisations dearly.

SoHo - Small Office : Home Office
Many of us spend longer periods sitting down than ever before, at work and at home, including those who work from home. The internet, Commuting to and from work, Television, - even dining out, involves sitting down. The electronic office means we will work longer sit on our seats without moving other parts of our body We can send a letter to someone without moving from our office chair and picking up an envelope!

The European standard classifies anyone who operates or uses a computer monitor as a ‘user’ under the 1992 Display Screen Equipment (DSE) regulations which lay down requirements for workstations. Non-compliance could put employers in breach of these regulations, thereby facing prosecution and litigation. Look out for BS EN ISO 9241 which is a directive produced by the European Union on the use of VDUs in offices (which also applies if you work for a company but from home) and a European standard. Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals is already in effect. The aim of the standard, which has the same status as a British Standard, is ‘to encourage movement, promote comfort and reduce physical, mental and visual problems’.

Working from home is now widely acceptable and indeed many companies are allowing their workers to convert a spare room into an office. If they choose this method and in order to comply with the various rules and regulations, it is better to contact a contract furnisher such as Optrys Ltd for guidance on the correct office furniture. Optrys can help in terms of design, an upgraded interior can make a tangible difference to the business and the way staff perform when working away from the main office environment. It is important to make more efficient use of floor space and available storage facilities - especially if the room has a duel purpose such as a bedroom or dining room. Noise reduction needs careful examination together with improved air management and ergonomic workstation solutions.

All this can produce really appreciable business benefits including an increase in work efficiency, reduction in absenteeism and compliance with important health & safety legislation.

Bored Room - or Board Room
Board Rooms tend to be multi purpose, when the board of directors are not using this executive suite, it may be called upon as a meeting room, a conference facility. a training room. These uses are different in terms of the people occupying it. Board Directors may feel that the furnishings should reflect the success of company and the board room decor should be conservative with traditional overtones. The meeting room occupiers may be using it to discuss commercial matters with buyers, thrash out new projects and brainstorm forthcoming campaigns. The training room may need to be inspirational, feeding creative minds - this may be a far cry from the staid environment of a board room. The conference team could require a different room entirely with additional equipment such as OHP, planners, charts and sound systems. Can a boardroom please the board and deliver the right atmosphere to conference delegates?

First Impressions Count
We've all entered a building where the reception has impressed us. The beauty of the design and decoration, the statement that says 'Welcome'. A busy reception needs professional design to cater for the differing range of visitors. Busy couriers need to collect and drop off important documents as quickly as possible and it is beneficial to the company to clear the reception of leather clad bikers and skin-tight Lycra bodied cyclists. Storage and space planning is paramount in order to speed the process of collection and delivery. Important visitors should undergo any necessary security and access control without feeling intimidated. The interior design of your reception will help.

Hot Desking
Many facilities managers will recall offices when they were real offices. When individual or small teams had 'real walls' around their domain - some even had windows!. For better or for worse, the vast majority of modern offices are great halls, vast spaces filled with workstations. separated by partitions or acoustic screens. Yellow sticky notes haphazardly defying the fans wind, clinging onto the edge of a PC monitor. Each workstation is as individual as its user, some are fine examples of organised chaos whilst other desks are so consistently neat and tidy that they look like a set for a photo shoot.