Outdoor Furniture Pieces For Your Workplace
CDW 2018 just finished as summer reared its head over the Big Smoke, and fittingly so as many of the exhibitors showed outdoor furniture pieces suitable for the workplace.
As more and more employers are warming to the idea of worker wellness, they have also turned to reshaping previous sedentary office environments into spaces where employees can enjoy the benefits of a healthier lifestyle and even the perks of working outside.
Current workplace trends have seen a shift from deskbound employees with designated workspaces to offices where hot-desking is encouraged through the layout of the interior.
In a study done by KI, they found that a decade ago it was possible to estimate the breakdown of space to be on average 80/20. 80% of space dedicated to individual work, and 20% allocated to conference and meeting rooms. That balance has shifted dramatically for many companies in recent years. Today, a 50/50 division of space or even 40/60 is common, with the greater portion of square footage now dedicated to group space. More group space reflects a corporate desire for more collaboration, and a natural by-product of collaboration is more natural physical movement as employees transition between spaces.
These spaces are, however, not limited to the indoors.
The same study by KI asked workers whether their employers offered them a space to work outside. While only 15% of them answered positively, 69% of them said that they wished they had outside spaces to work from.
While many companies and offices do offer outside space, it has thus far been seen only as a place to take a walk, have something to eat or even take a smoke. Mark Hirons, director of Interior Design at Canon Design, says that employers should make the most of their real estate by adequately transforming outside spaces so that work can be done from there.
Modern technology has quite literally untethered us from our desks and being able to, at least when the British weather permits it, work outside can have a massive impact on our social wellbeing and mental as well as physical health.
One of the manufacturers we came across at CDW that offered a wide selection of outdoor furniture was Cane-line. A Danish design company with 30 years of experience, they focus on designing and manufacturing functional and comfortable furniture fit for the outdoors. While their outdoor collection is designed and manufactured with the purpose to have a comfortable outdoor living lifestyle, the pieces can withstand all weather and offer maximum comfort with minimal maintenance.
Have a look at some of their designs (we’ll be uploading them to our site soon):
But to get you started on assembling that idyllic rooftop workspace, we’ve got just the set of chairs for you.
Throw in some Ciak tables and you’re set.
