How Office Furniture Shapes Workplace Behaviour

Workplaces have evolved into high-functioning environments and have moved beyond the traditional cellular layouts of the past. This evolution is, in part, due to the development in how we utilise office furniture in the workplace as office design is now far more complex than simply a desk and a task chair. There is a greater need for specific types of furniture to be included in our workplaces as they are so closely linked to the tasks and activities that take place in the modern office.

As the blend of in-person and digital work is more prominent than ever, companies are beginning to consider how they can best support their employees productivity and wellbeing through ergonomic furniture solutions, as well as flexible and functional products to enhance workplace experience. But not only can office furniture support staff in their day-to-day roles, it can also shape their working patterns and behaviours.

With such a wide variety of furniture products available in today’s market, it is important to understand the logic and utilisation behind each product rather than focusing solely on the aesthetics or brand name. Furniture can act as a signpost to show the type of work that is best supported in that space and office furniture can totally change the flow and layout of a workplace. In this article we explain how furniture can support office design and start to shape behaviour in the office.

What is behavioural design?

Behavioural design is about using design features to influence and encourage specific behaviours within an environment. Connecting design elements, like furniture or plants, with our emotions and senses helps to shape habits and behaviours that make people interact with a space in a specific way.

Within an office space, we may see behavioural design reflected in the layout of an office to encourage specific ways of working in different areas. This is heavily influenced by the types of furniture we place in these settings as they immediately make us think about how to interact and work within that space.

The reason the furniture is so influential to shaping behaviour in an office layout is because it helps guide employees through an environment and utilise designated areas within a workplace to complete specific tasks. Furniture is a key component of unlocking the full potential of a workspace.

Why is furniture so influential to office utilisation?

Furniture encourages people to use different parts of the office in certain ways. For example, in open-plan areas you would expect to see high-tables, booths and touchdown spaces that are aimed at supporting spontaneous collaboration. Alternatively, zones aimed at supporting focused work will include private workspaces, phone pods or other settings that support deep concentration.

If each part of the office was designed in the same way, it wouldn’t be clear which space was meant for private focused work and which space was intended for collaboration. By designing different zones within the office, and using a variety of furniture throughout the workplace, staff will interact with the spaces best aligned with their tasks and utilise more of the office.

Encouraging Collaboration and Interaction

The majority of companies focus heavily on collaboration space but this is such a broad term and covers so many different modes of work. For when you are looking to create open, adaptable layouts that encourage spontaneous conversations and ideas, modularity is essential.

Modular furniture is individual pieces that can be used on their own or combined with other pieces and adapted into larger configurations to support different sized groups. In certain areas of the office, using modular tables and chairs will make it easier for teams to come together and exchange thoughts.

Another important component of collaboration and interaction is the bridging of the gap between the digital and physical. Hybrid working is common practice for most businesses now and so furniture solutions must support teams that work together in-person and online. There shouldn’t be a bias towards in-person or remote as this can lead to disengagement and less productive workplaces. With a few simple additions, furniture can help transform how people connect in the office.

Types of furniture that support this:

• Seating types: Wooden stools will invite shorter check-ins and focused interactions whereas deep comfortable lounge chairs enable longer conversations and collaborations.
• Tech-enabled pods: With more meetings taking place virtually, being able to sit in a pod helps to improve collaboration and focus without disturbing people working at their desks.
• Virtual meeting rooms: Reconfiguring meeting spaces can greatly improve hybrid collaboration. Simple changes like using semi-circular tables or positioning furniture towards the screen will create more natural, inclusive interactions between in-person and remote participants.

The importance of privacy

While collaboration has become such a key part of how we work in the modern workplace, not every task, nor every member of staff, thrives in an open, collaborative setting. Acoustic pods are effective solutions that give a level of privacy when people need to make quick calls but there are many ways to encourage quiet, private working without installing multiple call pods throughout the office.

Zoning through furniture plays a big part in this, in the same way it does for outlining the collaboration spaces in the office. Through the use of signage, colours and materials, people pick up on the visual cues that they are in a quiet workspace. There are huge benefits to enabling collaboration and seeing people face-to-face in the office but people will always need areas to focus and get their heads down.

Designing quiet spaces that make us feel calmer or naturally make us lower our voices can be intelligent inclusions in the workplace as it will promote greater levels of focus and quiet working without trapping people in pods all day. Spaces like libraries or areas with a high density of plants and greenery can be excellent ways of introducing privacy into the office. It is highly likely that the desired behaviour that helps quiet working will naturally follow.

• Pods or booths: These popular features are some of the most simple ways of supporting deep focus in the office as well as offering a retreat from noise and other distractions.
• High-back chairs: Not quite as closed off as pods, high-backed or wing-backed chairs can offer partial privacy by creating a semi-enclosed space that blocks out distractions and can be a great space for a phone call.
• Semi-solid partitions: Using features like bookshelves, planters or even acoustic screens can be effective ways of signalling to people that they are entering a quiet zone and can help to reduce distractions.

Flexible and reconfigurable office furniture

Workplaces have to offer as much flexibility as possible; not only from a space utilisation perspective but also to enhance functionality within a space. Teams are a lot more fluid with their working habits and rather than creating restricted, static settings, teams can benefit from having the freedom to shape their environment around the task at hand.

Selecting the right office furniture can enable teams to reset their environment and switch a quiet focus area into a collaborative zone when they need it most. Enabling a level of adaptability into the office is an effective way to ensure that the office is responding to the needs of your people and provides a more future-proofed design that can continue to grow and develop with new ways of working.

Reconfiguration is also a great solution to providing more variety and comfort but also supporting a wider range of working styles and needs. There has been a real shift towards more flexible space within offices in recent years and that is driven by companies needing to offer dynamic spaces that adapt to the people using them

Examples of flexible furniture types

• Modular seating: Sofas and benches with interchangeable components that can be rearranged for team huddles, lounge areas, or private working.
  
  
• Foldable desks: Certain spaces will benefit from tables on castors as they offer maximum mobility and allow teams to activate spaces when everyone needs a space to sit at their own desk but also then clear them away quickly to enable collaboration.
  
  
• Sit/stand desks: Desks that can be raised or lowered to accommodate sitting or standing, supporting ergonomic comfort and activity-based working.

Creating impact with furniture

When most people think about office furniture, they immediately focus on comfort and durability. But what often goes unnoticed is how influential office furniture is when implementing new ways of working. It is so crucial to give teams the tools they need to interact and work together and yet there are lots of other decisions that take priority over furniture selection.

Designing a successful workplace is about enhancing the experience of that office and furniture plays a key role in that. Achieving greater levels of comfort, performance and collaboration all come from people’s behaviour and actions being adequately supported at work. As companies look for ways to attract new talent and entice staff back into the office, understanding how to create an impact with your office furniture could be a strong point of difference over competitors.

Need advice on your furniture selection? We can help you design a workplace that shapes a connection between behaviour and performance. Get in touch with our expert team today.