The Seat(ing) of Power, Gunlocke at Workspace Solutions

Here at Workspace Solutions, we’re proud to handle many fine lines of office chairs. Some, like La-Z-Boy are very well known, while others, like Gunlocke may be more famous for who’s used them. Every U.S. President from Woodrow Wilson to Jimmy Carter chose a Gunlocke chair for the Oval Office.

Truly successful workspace solutions also deliver long-term satisfaction and ongoing performance. That means building for the customer’s needs, today as well as tomorrow.
Not just anyone can make good on this promise. Delivering it requires a company that demands excellence at every level. Why settle for anything less than a furniture manufacturer who’s continually setting a higher standard on your behalf?

Since the 1920’s, Gunlocke has stayed focused on everything an office client needs to succeed: design, functionality, delivery, quality and value.
Workspace Solutions is proud to be a Gunlocke Dealer for Northern Indiana. Come see Gunlocke Quality for yourself in our downtown showroom at the corner of Main and Webster in Fort Wayne, IN

Which type of Worker is most likely to Develop Chronic Back Pain from Work?

Which of these two people are most likely to develop chronic back pain later in life?

A. Lumberjack

B. A Secretary in a modern office

The answer, of course, is B.  An office secretary, or business executive, or anyone who spends most of his or her time at work sitting, is far more likely to develop back and neck pain than a physically active worker.

Here are three of the major workplace contributors to back pain:

  • Slouching forward in your chair
  • Holding your telephone between your ear and your shoulder
  • Lack of movement during the work day

So, why are you still just sitting there. Get active now!  Here are some ideas from San Francisco State University’s Dr. Erik Peper

1.)   Support the natural curve of your spine! Office chairs should have lumbar support, a natural forward curve at belly button level. You can also put a pillow or rolled up towel behind your back to achieve this effect.

2.)   Adjust the height of your chair so you can keep your feet flat on the floor and your knees at 90-degree angles. You can also rest your feet on a prop, like a footrest or even a phone book, for extra support. Crossing your legs tightly reduces circulation in your legs and causes varicose veins, which look dark blue on your skin!

3.)   Remove or lower the armrests so your arms are at 90-degree angles. This will encourage you to hold your shoulders low, which your good for your upper back.

4.)   Keep your monitor about an arms length away and at or slightly below eye level. This will encourage you to sit back, instead of lean forward and reduces neck strain.

Stand Up and move around

Sitting (or even standing) in one position for an 8 hour workday can be very hard on your body!

1.)   Take short breaks, once every hour to use the restroom, get a glass of water, walk down the hallway, or just stretch. Sitting for long periods of time will weaken the muscles in your back. Stretching for just 60 seconds will counter the bad effects of long periods of just sitting.

2.)   Research suggests that about half your hours at work should be spent standing up. If you have a sit-stand workstation, alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day.

3.)   Strengthening your core muscles with exercise, such as yoga, pilates or sit-ups works  your stomach as well your back, which naturally improves your posture and reduces pain.

Workspace Solutions in Fort Wayne, IN, has ergonomic chairs, workstations and office desks that can help keep office workers healthy and happy.  Contact us to discuss how we can help your employees avoid the long term health issues that come from sitting all day long at work.

What ideas do you have for keeping active and not just sitting at your desk eight hours every day?

Creating an Office Space for Collaboration with Hon’s new Flock Collaborative Solutions

Everyone today is talking about collaboration, bringing employees together to share and discuss their ideas.  It improves communications, cuts down on paperwork, and helps spark new ideas.  Collaboration is likely to happen anywhere, or not at all, depending on the layout of your work place.  It is more likely to happen if you encourage it with proper office design and layout.  Since collaboration is still a new concept for many, the nations’s top office furniture companies are just starting to offer specific products that they have designed and tested to increase the collaboration process in your office space.

The Hon Company, sold inFort  Wayne and Northern Indiana by Workspace Solutions,  has a new line entirely dedicated to collaboration.  It’s called Flock Collaborative Solutions because the idea is that workers will flock to these areas to share their best ideas.  In the same way as cubicles naturally keep people apart, collaborative areas must lure people into their spaces.  They must also facilitate the needs of the collaborators, or the desired collaboration won’t take place.  Companies like Hon, and office designers like Workspace Solutions, have been carefully studying what type of furnishings and designs not only bring people together, but help them work together to create the desired results.  At the same time, they are aware that such spaces must still fit the décor and decorum of your office.  Many companies have learned that their collaboration area is useful as a recruitment tool, since perspective employees are excited about the prospect of a strong collaborative environment, and are even already experienced these in college.

So the bottom line is, it must function properly, and it must look great, or it just won’t work at all.

With the incredible rate of change driven by technology, it shouldn’t’ be surprising to find our workspaces are changing as well.   Hon’s new Flock Collaborative Solutions, from Workspace Solutions shows how we continue to innovate to keep your work space up to date and running at maximum efficiency.

What if you designed furniture with the goal of keeping just the essential elements of function and form? You’d probably wind up with the Clarity seating series from AllSteel. Nothing extra, just what you need. The result is a chair that adapts to any space you put it into, and any type of work you are doing.

Workspace Solutions is proud to be an AllSteel dealer for Fort Wayne, South Bend, Indianapolis and most of Northern Indiana. AllSteel has been quality, innovative office furniture now for almost one hundred years.

 

When you sit on the Clarity chair, the mesh seat and back adjust immediately to you, providing instant comfort that actually anticipates your posture. Your comfortable at your desk, or anywhere you sit, and no matter which office task you are performing.

Contact us and learn more about the latest in seating, the Clarity Series Chairs from AllSteel and Workspace Solutions.

 

Google’s new London Office Offers us a Sneak Peak at the Future

Google has been  a trend setter in style and management over the past several years. So, when Google builds a new office (this time in London), the rest of us check it out to see if there’s any great new ideas we need to borrow, or at least to see what our office might look like in another ten years or so.  If Google’s London office is any clue, we’ll be seeing more padding on the walls, and a continuation of the trend to encourage employees to collaborate and work from many different parts of the office, technology freeing us from being tethered to our desks.

For fun, anyway, take a look at Google’s new London office in this web article by the website, digital trends.  Click here

What Google ideas would you like to see in your office?

 

National goes Green

It’s not enough today to simply buy office furniture that looks great, works hard, and comes in at a good price point.  Businesses today are also concerned about their carbon footprint, making sure they’re running green facilities as well as purchasing products that are gentle on the environment.

 

Workspace Solutions is proud to work with many suppliers who are leaders in green technology.  Their latest is an Indiana Company, National Office Furniture, a brand unit of Kimball International, Inc.  Their caseboods and tables manufacturing facility in Santa Claus, IN has just been awarded the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver) for Exisiting Buildings by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).  This makes National’s Santa Clause facility the first LEED-certified office furniture manufacturing facility in Inaiana, and only the 11th location in the state to earn a LEED certification in the industrial manufacturing category.  What all this means is that whenever National builds a piece of office furniture here in Indiana, it has used less energy, and recycled more leftover material than it used to before the LEED certification.

For you, it means that when you buy National Office furniture from Workspace Solution,you’ve minimized the environmental impact of that purchase, and that’s good for our planet.

“National Office Furniture has proved their leadership in the manufacturing sector through their LEED Silver certification,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “By targeting sustainability, National has raised the bar for manufacturing facilities everywhere. We commend them on this great achievement.”

“At National, we are never satisfied when it comes to safety, quality and sustainability. Our Santa Claus facility earned previous sustainable accolades, but we knew we could improve, and we did in achieving LEED Silver. We’re very proud to be a good corporate neighbor and operate a high-caliber, green certified facility in the community,” said Mendy Claridge, Director of Sustainability, LEED AP ID+C, National Office Furniture.

Extreme Offices

The Bill and Melinda Gatets Foundation built a half billion dollar office facility in Seattle where they hope to solve some of the world’s toughest problems.  The first problem they tackled was how to better utilize office space to use less of it per employee, while increasing collaboration.  The way they accomplished this is strongly influencing new furniture design and office layouts.

 

To read the whole story, click here

Collaborate with Allsteel’s new Involve

Cubicles divide office space into private spaces all with the same function.  That’s great as long as everyone performs the same tasks and you never have the need for collaboration.

Involve, from Allsteel, was developed to support collaboration spontaneously at each individual workstation.  This makes work areas far more productive and efficient.   The collection incorporates soft seating to encourage spontaneous interaction, laminate storage options that support active work, and screens that define space and create varied separation. One unique solution supports all the ways work happens.

You can download the brochure by clicking here.

Workspace Solutions is your AllSteel dealer for Fort Wayne, South Bend and Indianapolis, providing you with 21st Century ideas for designing your office for maximum efficiency.  To find out how you can use new ideas in office design, contact us today at Workspace Solutions.

More Affordable Seating from Lesro

Local hospitals have been excited about our new chair line from Lesro. This is a company that specializes in solid wood and metal reception area and conference room furniture. The best part, however, is the affordable price. Any time you can combine high quality with a lower price, you’ve got a winner.
You can learn more about them on their website by clicking here, or visit our showroom.