Month: November 2017

Making the choice to move to a sit/stand way of working can be quite an adjustment, but with the right equipment and accessories, it should be a more comfortable transition

  Despite sit/stand desks being proven to be beneficial to health, well-being and productivity, if you're used to sitting at a desk for many hours, changing to sit/stand can be a challenge. The key is to build yourself up slowly, finding a rhythm of sitting and standing that works for you and gradually building your standing time up. As with any lifestyle change, jumping in head first and not pacing yourself can quickly cause you to give up and revert to what is familiar and comfortable. Alongside your increasing sit/stand schedule, there are several other products and accessories that can help you to make a smooth and comfortable adjustment. Standing Mat: These types of mats can help you to better control your posture, which in turn can help relieve aches and pains in the legs, feet, hips and back. They also make it easier to get used to spending time on your feet by providing a soft but supportive base. If you prefer to work in this position with your shoes off, they also provide a clean area for you to stand. Monitor Riser/Screen Mount: Raising your computer screen up to eye level is a crucial part of reaping the benefits of a sit/stand desk. If your monitor is too low, you will need to hunch or stoop to get a proper view, or you could even end up leaning. Postures of this type can cause painful problems with the neck, shoulders and upper back. Most risers also provide support to your wrists which can help to prevent RSI when typing. An added bonus of mounting or raising your screen is the extra desk space you gain for accessories, notes and files etc. Comfortable Footwear: Be aware that if you have been used to sitting at your desk, your choice of footwear may not have caused you any problems in the past. However, if you are trying to stay on your feet for longer, you may find that your usual shoes can cause pressure, pain and blisters. If possible, try to wear a soft sole shoe such as trainers to help you with your transition. You may even choose to remove your shoes for a period if this is appropriate. Ergonomic Chair: Preventing aches and pains and keeping your body moving doesn't need to stop when you need a break from standing. Ergonomic chairs are designed to help you to keep a proper posture and provide support to the parts of the body that require it the most. Some ergonomic chairs even come with a mechanism that keeps you active whilst you're sitting. This helps to keep you alert and productive and prevents stiffness and aches throughout the body. Foot Rest: Improve your posture further with the use of a footrest when you are sat down. A foot rest can help to prevent swelling in the legs and feet and relieve pressure in the hips by keeping your legs at a suitable angle. The Right Height Adjustable Desk: The above products and tips will all be wasted if you haven't got a sit/stand desk that works for you. There are plenty to choose from on the market and you should invest some proper time in choosing one to suit you and the way you work. From electric or manual height adjustable desks, to those that remind you when its time to stand up and keep track of burned calories for you, there really is a desk for everyone. Request to visit the dealers who you are interested in buying from so you can see the desk before purchasing. Some companies will even let you trial the desks at your own workplace to ensure you have the right fit.   [yikes-mailchimp form="1" title="1" description="1" submit="Sign Up"]

If you're planning an office fit out or refurbishment, you may feel a little overwhelmed with the enormity of the planning and tasks to be carried out.

Here, we aim to help you to create a simple checklist that will begin to help you break the process down

 

What Are Your Reasons?

• Do you need more furniture?
• Require more space?
• Want to improve your brand's image?
• Boost morale and well-being?

The reason for your refurbishment could include, some, all or none of these reasons but identifying why you are planning to carry put an office makeover can help you to work a number of important things about the project. These include how big the job might be, how long it might take, the scale of your budget and how and when the work should be carried out.

Who Needs to be Involved?

A refurbishment project requires the collaboration and agreement of a great many people, so ask the experts! Below are a few examples of key departments and decision makers that should be involved in the process.

• Managing Director: Make sure they are kept well abreast of plans and budgets and make sure you have their approval for each stage of the project.
• Finance Department: Set budgets and balance costs with this department and make them aware of any changes as soon as possible.
• Operations Director: Let them know how and when each stage of work will be carried out and liaise with them to keep disruption to staff and productivity to a minimum
• Office Manager: This person can give you some valuable insight as to what their employees may require from the refurbishment project
• Marketing Department: Include this team when deciding how and where to use company branding and colours throughout the refurbishment. They could also keep a blog or add images of your refurbishment to social accounts to keep customers informed of progress and impressed by the end result!
• Landlord: If you have a landlord it is very important to make sure you have their approval for any work that you are planning to carry out before the project starts. Keep them well informed throughout the process to avoid any confusion.
• All other staff: Where appropriate, you should try to include your staff in the office makeover; it's a fun way to boost morale and create stronger bonds within teams. Get them to search for corporate or professional office ideas on Pinterest and create boards with their favourite ideas. Later on, you and your team can go through and get an idea of what your staff would like to see in their new workspace.

When?

• Do you have a deadline for completion?
• Does your timing suit the finance department?
• Will the time of year affect how long the project might take - for example around Christmas or school summer holidays?

Source a Refurbishment Company:

Once you have identified your reasons for a refurbishment and have a rough budget and goal in mind, start your search for a refurbishment company. Office fit out experts can help you in designing your office space with a layout that works for you and at an affordable price. They also help to ensure that your project has a professional finish and meets all laws and regulations. You can also receive quality advice on new office furniture and ergonomics and enjoy warranties and after sales care.

What Furniture Do You Need?

• Are you keeping some of your old furniture or will everything be brand new?
• Are you looking for ergonomic pieces to improve the well-being of your employees?
• Do you require furniture for more than one area of your work place?

Satisfaction:

• Are all necessary people catered for within your refurbishment plans?
• Have you listened to and tried to incorporate staff input into your designs?

  Try to break your project down with the help of the above list. It should help you to segment your tasks and liaise with the right people and departments and help you to ensure your project runs as smoothly as possible.     [yikes-mailchimp form="1" title="1" description="1" submit="Sign Up"]

Desk dividers are often overlooked when it comes to re-furnishing offices. However, there are many benefits of installing partition screens that you may not be aware of.

  Define Work Spaces: Ideal for separating work surfaces, especially within open plan offices, desk dividers can help to provide each employee with a sense of ownership and responsibility over their work area. This can encourage organisation and tidiness, as well as helping individuals to feel valued. It can also help to prevent the loss of files and important notes as they are easier to keep track of in clearly defined areas. Staff can also personalise their own work space to their own taste and add individual touches which has been shown to improve well-being.   Branding, Design and Use of Colour: Office screens can also be used to liven up the work space or express your brand's personality and values. Use brand colours or have your logo applied to screens to bring your branding into the office.   Security: Strategically placed screens can help to protect sensitive information in open plan and shared offices. You can also opt to install acoustic screens which can help to block out noise pollution from the rest of the office and prevent your employee's voices from traveling when private phone calls are held.   Break Up the Space: Open plan offices can seem particularly boring, characterless and endless. Desk dividers are a simple way to break up the space and inject some colour. You can also define departments within the office by colour coding the screens.   Practicality: An often overlooked benefit of desk screens is their storage and organisation capabilities. They can also provide employees with increased desk space by holding and storing a number of desk accessories. Choose desk partitions with tool rails to store stationery and files. You can also attach a monitor arm to these rails to lift computer screens off of the desk - this also has ergonomic benefits. A pinnable screen can also help employees to organise memos, calendars and even add photos for a personal touch.       [yikes-mailchimp form="1" title="1" description="1" submit="Sign Up"]

Finding it difficult to get through your workload without losing concentration or feeling overwhelmed? Try using this technique to help you break your task list down.

The Pomodoro Technique (so called due to the tomato shaped timer used to create the technique) was created by Franceso Cirillo in the 1980's and helps you to divide your work day into manageable chunks. It blocks your working time into 25 minute segments followed by a short, five minute break.

How and Why It Works

Great for helping the mind to stay focused and productive, the Pomodoro Technique helps you to take advantage of the average 25 minute attention span that most people possess. The five minute break helps the mind to stay refreshed and avoid burn-out and fatigue. The break also helps to improve concentration and productivity during the 25 minute working segment. You can use the Pomodoro Technique to maximise your performance on both short and long task lists. Shorter Tasks and Lists - A long to-do list of short jobs can seem overwhelming and finding the motivation to organise the list and start work can cause feelings of frustration or overwhelm. Breaking the list down into manageable 25 minute chunks can make the list seem less daunting and help you to start making progress. You will also work faster as you will want to avoid carrying a piece of work over into your next 25 minute block if you can help it. Great for stopping procrastination! Longer Tasks and Lists - Avoid boredom, frustration and lack of concentration by dividing your list up. Breaking the list down into 25 minute work blocks can keep stress at bay and improve the quality of your work.

How to Put This Technique Into Practice

Find a timer - Either a physical timer or a phone timer will work. A phone timer can be better if you are working in an office with other people as you can set it to vibrate to avoid distracting others. Use your five minute break wisely - Use this time to look away from your screen to help avoid tired eyes. Get a drink, stretch and try to move around. Keeping hydrated and keeping your blood flowing will also help to keep you refreshed and able to concentrate. Take a 15 minute break after four timed working segments. Clear your head by going for a brisk walk or chatting to a colleague.   Try applying this technique next time your workload begins to overwhelm you and see how the results help you.     [yikes-mailchimp form="1" title="1" description="1" submit="Sign Up"]

Struggling to get through the day? You're not alone. Constant fatigue among UK workers is much more common than you might think. So how can we combat it?

  Keep Hydrated: Aim to try and drink 2 litres of water per day. This sounds like a lot but can easily be achieved by keeping a bottle of water close by to sip regularly throughout the day. If you're not used to drinking this much, set yourself small goals over a few weeks, slowly building your intake up. You can also try alternating each tea or coffee with a glass of water. This will not only help you to achieve your two litre goal, but also aids in offsetting the diuretic affects of tea and coffee. Watch Your Caffeine Intake: Try not to drink caffeinated drinks after lunchtime as afternoon consumption can still affect you into the evening and disturb your sleep. If you enjoy hot drinks at work, try to swap to decaffeinated drinks or herbal teas and see if this change helps you to nod off easier in the evening. Try to Keep Moving Throughout the Day: Movement and physical activity keep your blood flowing which helps to improve concentration and relieves stress and anxiety. Simple activities such as stretching, taking the stairs and walking over to chat to a colleague instead of sending an email, can all help you to keep active over the day. Snack Regularly: Keep energy levels up and blood sugar balanced by regularly snacking on healthy foods, rather than leaving yourself hungry until your next meal. If you are less hungry at lunch time, you will likely have a lighter lunch, which will combat the post-lunch slump. Nuts and fruit are good options to reach for when you begin to feel peckish as they are full of fibre and omegas to aid digestion and help concentration. Try to avoid sugary treats as the initial energy boost wears off quickly and the sugar crash can end up making you feel worse. Use The Pomodoro Technique: This technique helps you to break your workload down into manageable chunks and allows you a five minute refresher break for every 25 minutes of work completed. This can help to improve concentration and productivity and avoid mental fatigue. Watch Your Posture: Bad posture can lead to pain in the neck, back, shoulders and hips. Pains and aches can cause fatigue and bad posture can affect your concentration and productivity. If you need help to achieve a better posture, take a look at an ergonomic chair to help you into the correct sitting position.   Try incorporating some or all of these tips into your work day and see how much improvement is made to your levels of fatigue.     [yikes-mailchimp form="1" title="1" description="1" submit="Sign up"]

Can having too many personal items on your desk be a distraction, or can it improve productivity and wellbeing?

Allowing your employees to add some personal touches to their desk and general work area can encourage ownership over the work space and improve organisation and cleanliness. It can also provide employees with a sense of individuality and make them feel valued. The use of colour in the workplace is known to have a positive effect on productivity and mood. Encouraging staff to use their favourite colours around their desk can bring comfort and a chance to display their personality within the working environment. It can also help to make the workplace somewhere that employees will want to spend time in. Photos and other small items can also help to improve productivity, as well as creating a sense of pride and homeliness around the desk space. You could also consider allowing staff the chance to choose their own furniture and chairs to suit individual needs and preferences. Even simple choices such as the colour of a desk divider can make employees feel involved and valued. Next time you plan a refurbishment or require new furniture, why not talk to your employees and find out what they would like from their own personal work spaces, create a plan to try and fulfill their wishes and see for yourself the improvement a simple touch can make.     [yikes-mailchimp form="1" title="1" description="1" submit="Sign Up"]