Management styles affect workplace design trends

by Maria G. Hoover

SBJ Contributing Writer

Attitudes about office and workspace design are changing to accommodate current management styles, according to Tom Thomas, president of Thomas Brothers Office Furnishings.

Businesses are moving toward mobile workstations, which are more accessible for teamwork and for increasing individual work loads.

"Furniture manufacturers recognize that companies depend on individuals a lot more for more contributions, so they're designing furniture to accommodate that furniture with cognitive components which allow workers to keep all projects in sight," Thomas said.

Thomas said his company, which has been in Springfield for 25 years, deals primarily with the Haworth and Kimball lines of office furniture. One product targeted to office mobility is the Crossings selection designed by Haworth, which is being used by Thomas Brothers' client Noble and Associates.

Tami McCune, an interior designer with Grooms Office Systems, said there are other noticeable trends in office and workspace design.

"There's a movement toward an open plan environment" vs. cubicles. Within the open plan, there's more ability to adapt office furniture to the needs of individual users, which also helps with ergonomic issues, McCune said.

Annette Hardison, a National Council of Interior Design Qualifications-certified designer with Grooms, said the relationship between ergonomics and health is part of the impetus behind changes taking place in workspace and office design.

"Our customers are noticing that a lot of workers' health issues are based on office design. There are too many back and wrist injuries that may be preventable," she said.

Thomas agreed that workplace design is influenced a great deal by health issues, but added that it is also about increasing productivity.

"We try to help employers, through our design, to run their offices at peak performance. If one employee, at his or her workstation, is constantly nagged by poor lighting, an improper seat or an improper relationship between work peripherals, that employee is not going to be doing an efficient job," Thomas said.

Electronic and technological changes in the workplace are also important in designing office space, and Thomas said trends in furnishings will likely change with increasing use of technology. He said Haworth has already patented furniture designs that bring electricity to mobile workstations via a simple plug-in that moves with the unit. He added that Haworth plans to patent designs to make movement of voice and computer communications just as simple.

And moving toward the future, in terms of profit, is one reason companies may hire someone to make sure office and workstation design is the best it can be.

Mary Lynn Thomas is the procurement manager for M-D Pneumatics, a company that manufactures rotary positive blowers. She said the company is still using the same building it was housed in when it came to Springfield in 1969.

M-D Pneumatics chose to consult with designers at Grooms for a recent remodeling, she said. Prior to remodeling and renovation, M-D Pneumatics had an old-style layout with hallways and enclosed offices.

"We wanted to project a better, more aggressive image in our marketplace, because if you look outdated, it certainly doesn't convince customers that you're an aggressive company," Thomas said.

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