With so much talk about the changing face of the workplace, it's time to consider the actual changes that need to happen in the post-Covid world. Herman Miller leads the way in support and advice with products that will set the scene perfectly to ensure a safe and comfortable working environment in 2020.

As we find our way forward we are all slowly arriving back to a new future. Many companies have staff now working from the office while many more are planning the return of their employees and while there are other dimensions such as the way that we will continue to work, the home office and the ubiquitous zoom, our physical workplace is still a gathering point and an anchor to business. It’s just about finding a balance, this is the challenge, and Herman Miller is here beside you every step of the way.

Understanding requirement, providing a safe environment for staff and adhering to government advice are paramount to a smooth transition and with more than a century of experience in providing products and expertise to people in their rapidly evolving workplaces, Herman Miller is perfectly placed to help and support in the re-imagined workplace.

Once back into the office there will be some changes, such as the furniture plan of the floorplate and instituting distancing measures with more space between desks and people. According to the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC) social distancing rules of 4 square metres per person, desks separated by 1.5 metres, and 1.5 metres between the centrepoint of each chair are recommended. In line with these regulations and to help implement them, staggered or opposite direction orientations of workstations and systems as well as screens can provide support. In addition, meeting rooms can accommodate extra desking to help alleviate pressure on the open plan areas. As an expert in workplace culture and environment Herman Miller is poised to assist and advise.

Incorporating the correct office furniture with distancing rules, both the Atlas Office Landscape and the Catena Office landscape are ideal partners for the new workplace. To engender a sense of safety for workers the Catena Office Landscape is the first choice as a mobile partitioning system that can be configured as a physical barrier or demarcation device between workstations and people. Catena screening offers the user the opportunity to adapt a space as it is easily reconfigured from a rectangular to a honeycomb structure at a moments notice. Adaptability is one thing, but providing a sense of wellbeing is another, and here the Catena Landscape can contribute acoustic and visual privacy to promote secure, individual and quiet time working.

Along with Catena, the Atlas Office Landscape offers a height-adjustable workplace system with flexibility at its heart. The legs of Atlas can instantly be reconfigured to shift between rectilinear, 90-degree and Z-plan layouts. Important in these times is the ability for workstations to adhere to the NCCC guidelines and so Atlas can provide staggered workstations, five instead of six, side by side, and staggered desk arrangements with seat numbers from eight down to four, incorporating the required four metre per person distancing. Looking to the future, when distancing is no longer a requirement, the Atlas Office Landscape can change back to a collaborative workstation setting.

The Atlas Office Landscape in-conjunction with the Catena Office Landscape provides all that an efficient office requires in 2020 but more than this, through flexibility and adaptability, the two systems become a complete workplace in themselves that allow staff to work in safety and in comfort.

So instead of just talking about the next steps in the process of workplace reform, Herman Miller presents actual ideas, diagrams and information of change that can be implemented now through The Office, Transformed. Every architect, designer, business owner and worker should be planning for the future workplace and this tool has been devised to address today’s concerns just when we most need it.  At your fingertips is Herman Miller expertise and experience, read about The Office, Transformed here and view the video to gain more insight.

While many people will visit the office, it may not be to work the entire week. Instituting flexible and staggered office hours will see many working from home, as this has proven to be a valuable process to usual office process over the last months. But is the home adequately set up to assist with comfort and afford productive output? We have had time to realise that the home office needs to be re-assessed and items such as an office chair or acoustic screen are no longer a luxury but a necessity. Again, Herman Miller is at the forefront of the ‘work from home scenario’ with myriad products and an expansive range of chairs that promote wellbeing and suit every environment.

Take the Sayl chair for example. Made from stretchy elastomer that is easy to clean, Sayl’s suspension design and passive PostureFit system concurrently supports the body and allows freedom of movement.

Or perhaps the home office would be complete with a re-mastered Aeron chair – a classic and iconic Herman Miller product. Aeron provides maximum comfort through the different tension zones within the suspension backrest to facilitate and support freedom of movement, and of course cleaning is easy with the elastomeric back

New to the Herman Miller group of luxuriously comfortable working chairs is Cosm. This is the chair for those who would like to just sit and be perfectly comfortable without moving a muscle as Cosm automatically adjusts to body weight and movement. Studies have also shown that Cosm has helped reduce cognitive load and well we can all do with that!

 

Over the decades, Herman Miller have consistently inspired us to create a more productive work life; as well as providing a sense of comfort and support even in the most challenging times. Through the Catena and Atlas Landscape Office systems and a choice of task chairs, we can safely and comfortably work in the knowledge that our wellbeing and heath are sustained. We all need nurturing and Herman Miller is here to help guide us through the labyrinth of ideas that are the new workplace both now and in the future. Whatever is required for a work space, Herman Miller has the solution and that is one thing we can absolutely count on. Brilliant!

Need ideas for how to rethink workspaces in a post-pandemic world?

From the redesign of office floor plates to seating solutions that empower the shift to working from home, click here to access Herman Miller’s workplace strategies and design insights for Covid-19 and beyond. 

To watch The Office, Transformed video, click here.

Herman Miller

hermanmiller.com