Blog

Designing the optimal office is an ongoing experiment. Private offices and cubicles of the 1980s and ’90s gave way in the early 2000s to open office layouts that removed walls and encouraged more collaboration (and fit more people in smaller spaces). And yet, while many loved the increased transparency and access to management, the open office was far from perfect.

Chances are good if you manage an office workspace, you already provide ergonomic chairs for your in-office employees (or you should!). A well-designed chair delivers both comfort and health-friendly support. The shift to working from home, however, hasn’t been kind on the backs, arms and legs of workers who divide their time between the office and working from home. Dining chairs, kitchen stools and even inexpensive office chairs found online simply aren’t designed to give remote workers proper ergonomic support for hours at a time.

For decades, the modern work environment was an either/or proposition: work on site or work from home. Sure, coffee shops and libraries worked in a pinch, but neither was a permanent alternative.

Task-based workplace design makes sense, right? Until recently, that’s simply how businesses usually sorted themselves, compartmentalized by various functions and tasks. Sales sat with sales, HR with HR, product management with...you get the idea. These departments often functioned independently, each contributing its part to the larger corporate picture. On a seating chart, it’s nice and neat. In reality, physical and organizational barriers can get in the way of office collaboration and cohesion.

Over the last two years there is no question that we have all been tested (pardon the pun!). And yet, at HON we’ve seen inspiring responses to it all. We’ve been impressed by the resilience of our members, the resourcefulness of our distributors and the determination of those we serve in business, education and healthcare. To us, they’re all essential workers.