Nowadays, office chairs can be adjusted in just about every
way imaginable – the backs, the feet, the height, the cushions are all
adjustable and chairs come with a plethora of pedals and buttons to allow their
users to feel comfortable at work, and to minimise postural damage.
But while there is good reason for office chairs to be
comfortable (it often feels like we spend most of our lives sitting in them),
do modern offices really need comforts such as coffee bars, bean bags, sofas
and the like?
There was a time when executive office furniture consisted
of a big, clearly boss-like chair and a desk. Everyone else had the same,
except their chair was less boss-like. But now office furniture extends way
beyond the desks, and many blue chip companies in particular use their office
space as an incentive to lure top professionals.
Google, for example, has made newspaper headlines by
installing slides as an alternative to stairs (on the way down, at least), and
numerous big firms have subsidised coffee bars, gyms and even doctors on site,
topped off with ‘break-out’ areas with bean bags and even table tennis tables.
Some argue that this makes the working environment far too
casual, and that there’s no need for such lavish office furniture. The firms
themselves will spin a line about creativity – and how having a discussion when
sat on bean bags, or drinking latte in the coffee bar, will be far more
creative than it could possibly be around a plain old boardroom table.
The reality is though those employers want their employees
to feel comfortable at the office so that they’re happy to hang around. The
reason big city law firms have doctors on site and subsidised restaurants is
simple – they work in an industry that demands long hours, and – as well as to
stop them from feeling guilty – they know they need to keep their top workers
happy in the office.
Do an online search for cool offices or similar and you’ll
be presented with dozens of newspaper features on where the coolest places to
work are. Clearly having gyms, restaurants, slides and other excessively
comfortable office furniture is not purely about keeping the staff happy, but
it’s also a great PR opportunity for the company as a whole.
