There are several ways to ensure that your team performs to the best of their abilities. This means a comfortable office space and seating arrangements that allow all the employees to perform at their best. A good office layout is essential and you can make the most of your workplace and facilitate maximum productivity by ensuring that your office has been arranged collaboratively.

Teams that rely on innovation and creativity need to consider their office arrangements. Members might need to frequently bounce ideas off each other, so collaborative furniture designs and arrangements are essential for creative workplaces, informal meetings, and spontaneous brainstorming sessions.

This type of collaborative office seating has been around for a long time and more companies, in search of operational excellence, are considering this kind of seating arrangement. They create a sense of community and learning in the workplace and so having proper office arrangements is essential.

Collaborative seating’s beneficial selling point is that it fosters employee interaction – enhancing collaboration between employees and, in turn, innovative ideas.

Office designs are continually changing and companies are now moving towards user experience (UX). Many are rethinking their office layouts in an attempt to boost employee happiness and engagement. The work environment is moving to a place where the focus is on employee satisfaction. Offices are moving towards being less institutional and more human-centered!

 

Collaborative seating

Open-plan spaces, shared tables, and sitting all foster communication and a spirit collaboration between a team. Research has also shown a spillover effect when highly productive employees sit next to less productive employees.

You might need to include areas of comfort in the workplace as these foster small talk between employees. Collaborative seating for this type of employee engagement could include bean bags, ottomans, and couches.

The days of cubicles and c-class suites have thankfully passed and offices have made a move to open-plan office spaces. However, if these spaces are not properly configured they can hurt employee collaboration instead of boosting it.

According to a 2018 Harvard University study, when boundaries between employees are removed, individuals feel more physically proximate. The research suggests that complete open plan sitting arrangements may harm a team’s collaboration if not arranged properly.

Collaborative seating spaces encourage collective intelligence—a form of distributed intelligence that arises from individuals’ social interaction.

 

What is a collaborative office seating?

Collaborative office seating is the arrangement of the work environment in a way that allows for comfortable working. This type of seating allows for idea sharing and spontaneous information sharing sessions. They are more open, welcoming, and do not have an institutional feel. This 21st-century arrangement has been said to contribute towards maximizing productivity and the overall morality of employees. Collaborative seating arrangements take face to face meetings to an advanced normal.

 

Which chairs are the best for collaborative workspaces?

Designing your space can be fun! Which furniture pieces should you consider? You might need chairs that provide your workspace with a relaxed sensibility. Ottomans can be an affordable and fun option. They can be moved around to accommodate a flexible team. Sofas and benches can also allow for joint sitting, remember, innovative ideas are not only conceived in the boardroom. Comfortable supporting chairs and furniture arrangements can also ensure a collaborative working space.

Advocates of happiness by design, Chairclub have a range of office ottomans and high-performance office chairs that allow for joint sitting. These are flexible to the needs of your team come in a variety of colours and shapes. Chairclub has office pieces that can serve many purposes, that is playful and informal.

For more information on these furniture pieces and more contact Chairclub on 010 035 4400 or [email protected]