SALES SUCCESS
FURNITURE
With many of their staff scattered, and working from their own homes, employers find themselves having to make sure they provide for the wellbeing of those staff within their own personal spaces – and a major element of this is their home office furniture
W
hile many flexible workers may have
and design manager at Dams. “This can be a big problem for
worked from home on previous
maintaining good posture and if your home office is in your
occasions, there’s a good chance they’ve
kitchen or living room it really doesn’t help you keep a neat
never invested in decent office furniture
dividing line between work and play. Investing in a proper
for their own living space. Not everyone
office chair is a better solution, so that you can select your
is fortunate enough to have the space
ideal seating position.
to do so, after all, or perhaps they can’t justify it if they
“Even when working from home, it’s not uncommon
normally work in an office. However, UK workers are now in a
for people to sit and work for long periods without regular
position where thousands of them have to work from home,
breaks, so it is imperative that home workers have a chair that
and had to make the shift at fairly short notice. This means
is comfortable and offers great functionality when sitting for
that businesses all over the country have their staff working
long periods, but without having to compromise on style.”
remotely using sub-standard office furniture, making this area an ideal one for dealers to get involved with.
“Whilst not wishing to appear an ‘ambulance chaser’ this trend has impacted significantly on our own businesses sales,” adds David Orr, head of strategy at Dynamic. “Onliners, in
SEATING
particular, are selling very successfully to consumers eager to set
Employers may not have considered the fact that they have
up instant offices at home – and that starts with a comfortable,
a duty of care towards their staff even when they’re working
legal and efficient desk, chair and storage scenario. Whether for
from home, and the furniture they use is a huge part of this.
a transformed extra bedroom, or a dedicated study space, the
When staff are, potentially, sitting down for 6-8 hours a day,
home office needs to achieve the same qualities any company
they must have functional and supportive equipment in their
office does, and employers have a legal obligation to ensure a
immediate area.
home office conforms to standards.”
Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone – and the
Seating in a home office should be supportive, adjustable
solution begins with seating. “Many people invest in a desk
and stylish, preferably with enough functionality to ensure
for their home office but still insist on using a kitchen chair,
that any chair can be adapted to any size or shape of user.
armchair or stool to sit on,” says Simon Howorth, marketing
For additional seating support, individual back rests can be
[26] MAY 2020
www.dealersupport.co.uk
