Top 5 Essential Office Supplies

July 21, 2011 · a bit of fun, office furniture, office supplies · Comments Off

Aside from the basic stationery resources; pens, pencils and paper, there are a range of office supplies available which serve many different purposes. Some are to assist productivity and others are to lighten the mood. Some can also improve communication between colleagues in the office and ensure important messages are easily accessible to different people.

Display board/ notice board

Display and notice boards are an excellent means of communication between certain groups of office workers. They can be easily assembled using glue guns and allow for notices to be pinned to them. Company news and progress can be displayed on them along with targets and achievements. They can also be used as a community board, alerting employees of future charity events and job opportunities.

Notice board

Appropriate use: They are extremely convenient for larger firms whose employees’ may not all be in the same office at the same time.

Inappropriate use: Display boards and colleagues should be treated with respect, pinning a picture of you baring your behind at the Christmas party is something your colleagues could probably live without.

Post-it notes

Sticky notes are another convenient method of communication between few individuals rather than a large group or department. They’re very handy for jotting contact details down on and reminding yourself or others of an important task that needs finishing. The adhesive which is created using glue sticks makes them easy to stick anywhere.

post-it notes

Appropriate use: Giving your colleague details of someone they need to contact, along with a reminder.

Inappropriate use: Writing your phone number and sticking it in various places around the office in a desperate bid to get yourself a date isn’t attractive. Writing “hottie” as the name of contact won’t help either.

Desktop friends

For those who have made themselves increasingly unpopular over the years a desktop friend may be the last resort of social interaction. Placing a soft toy or action hero on your desk can make your work space feel more personal.

super hero

Appropriate use: Having a superhero on desk will make you feel invincible and ready to tackle any workload.

Inappropriate use: A blow-up doll will probably result in a letter of dismissal heading your way.

Water cooler

water cooler

Although water coolers may appear to function solely as a meeting point for gossip queens, drinking water throughout the day can improve productivity levels and brain function. Staring at a computer screen all day can result in mid-afternoon headaches, keeping replenished on water can help to keep you hydrated and reduce headaches.

Appropriate use: Replenishing water supplies to remain hydrated, they’re also a great excuse to stretch your legs.

Inappropriate use: “Accidentally” spilling a glass of water over female colleagues so their top becomes translucent. You will be deemed as the office creep.

Kettle

kettle

Productivity levels wouldn’t be the same without regular caffeine fixes. You may notice employee numbers will diminish without the presence of a kettle; it’s definitely one of the most essential office products.

Appropriate use: Making a cheeky pot noodle when the canteen is a few too many strides away.

Inappropriate use: Overfilling the kettle so it overflows onto a plug socket in an attempt to be sent home for the day. You may end up footing the repairman’s bill.

How To Stay Fit And Healthy In The Office

May 12, 2011 · office environment, office furniture, office supplies · Comments Off

How To Stay Fit & Healthy At The Computer Screen

Working in an office can often entail high pressure, time consuming projects. In this time, office workers can often let their health take a back seat in order to focus on being successful. Instead of neglecting their health they should ensure; a comfortable working environment, balanced diet and exercise are all incorporated into their life along with their employment.

Office work tends to involve lots of sitting and staring at a computer monitor with minimal movement and human interaction. This can cause office workers to become unsociable, unfit and unhealthy leading to stress and even depression. It’s important for office workers to remain active and maintain their health, as the effects of sitting at a computer all day can be worse than labouring on a construction site.

Working in an office can have negatives effects on the body’s health, many workers let their health and fitness slide by the wayside, resulting in health problems later in life. Others sacrifice human interaction in exchange for emailing and instant messaging; this can have a tiring effect on the mind, as people require human interaction to maintain happiness.

Eating habits can deteriorate whilst working in an office. Boredom and frustration can lead to comfort eating. Others skip meals in order to meet deadlines and attend meetings. Both have negative effects on the body, causing weight gain which could lead to obesity. Unhealthy snacks should be substituted with fruit, nuts or low fat yogurts. Healthy, nutritious snacks containing low fat and high protein can help prevent hunger pangs and further snacking.

Comfort is paramount in the workplace. Ensuring workers have the correct office furniture to cater for their height and weight can prevent muscle strains. Computer chairs should be height adjustable so workers can comfortable reach the keyboard, mouse and floor. Computer monitors should also be at eye level to prevent neck pains. To prevent pains in the wrist and hand whilst using a computer, special mouse mats the have a hand rest can be purchased. When purchasing office supplies, it is equally important to purchase the correct furniture to suit each individual.

One of the most aggravating factors of office life is the lack of exercise workers engage in during the day. This makes it even more important to put time aside for exercise after or before work. Many people believe exercising only refers to cardiovascular activities which increase the heartbeat. When in actual fact, exercise can refer to 30 minutes walking the dog at a brisk pace. For those who don’t have much spare time on their hands yoga is a great form of exercise. Even a 10-20 minute yoga session daily can improve fitness, relieve stress and reduce muscle tension.

Maintaining health whilst being an office worker is the key to a healthy lifestyle and happiness. Even minimal changes to lifestyle including; gentle exercise, improvement of diet and ensuring suitable office equipment is available can improve health, fitness and happiness. This in turn, should improve work performance!

healthy happy office

Lower Your Stress – Ditch Your Mess

May 3, 2011 · office environment, office furniture, office supplies, stationery · Comments Off

Organisation is essential in the office. Different projects that cross-over, combined with personal and legal documents can wreak havoc on a worker’s desk. Clutter can cause hard work to get lost in the midst of newspapers and useless printouts. If you look around in your office and see stacks of miss-matched paperwork, broken/chewed stationery all mixed in with lettuce off yesterday’s sandwich it could be time to invest in some equipment to bring a considerable amount of organisation back to your desk.

Lack of organisation is common in office workers. Although organising your possessions may seem like a tedious task, it could save you heaps of valuable time. Being organised is all about maintaining desk tidiness and ensuring it’s a work friendly surface, as opposed to one big clear up when you realise you’ve lost half of your paperwork. If you are organised from your first day of work it will save you so much time in the long run (however, if your desk is already resembling Aladdin’s Cave all is not lost).

Some particular office stationery and furniture can really change your organisational skills with minimal effort:

Ring Binders Ring binders and lever arch files are perfect for storing paperwork, whose sole purpose has become a coaster for your coffee cups. Keeping documents in a safe place is paramount to being a successful office worker, workers who have an untidy desk are less likely to feel at ease and work effectively. Buying packs of folders is the perfect solution so you have different categories which are easily accessible and know exactly where your documents are at all times.

Note: Don’t forget you will also need to invest in a hole punch if using ringbinders, so there’s no excuse for ripped papers.

Once folders start getting filled with paper work it’s definitely time to purchase some dividers. Sub-categorising really speeds up the process of locating a piece of paperwork so it’s worth separating them into sections by topic or date.

Many people use their desk top only, rather than the drawers a desk often possesses. All stationery should be stored in a drawer rather than scattered on the desk. As well as keeping the desk tidy, there’s no excuse for your pens “accidentally” appearing on your colleague’s desk…

Note: It’s definitely worth designating one of your drawers for personal possessions. That way there’s less chance of them getting lost, stolen or mixed up with work equipment.

These small, seemingly tedious tasks can really help the organisation and tidiness of your working environment. Ordering your paperwork can save time and ink by requiring less reprints of lost documents. By making a few subtle changes and maintaining your tidiness you can really kick bad organisation habits. Remember mess = stress!

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

September 10, 2010 · office environment, office furniture · (No comments)

Office furniture is one of those dull topics that rarely comes up in conversation, but the importance of good furniture shouldn’t be so lightly dismissed. There are two main types of office- those that are used as a public facing office and those that are a base for employees to work from; having the correct set up, both aesthetically and comfortably is of paramount importance for both. Starting with customer facing offices, it is stating the obvious to say that when members of the public are going to be visiting, a neat corporate image is required. Shabby mismatched and broken office furniture does not leave customers feeling that the company is going to offer a good level of service with first rate products. It does not instill that all important confidence that is so vital. Customer confidence brings repeat trade, but also leads to personal recommendation to friends and family which in turn brings new custom.

Having a back office set up does not mean that these issues do not apply, although customers will not be seeing the working environment, the employees will. Morale is an important issue in work, and whilst it is understood that budget constraints must be adhered to, where possible provision should still be made to have proper fit for purpose workstations set up for each employee. Battered old desks actually leave the overall feel of the office in a somewhat negative place, and suggests that an employer does not place employee care very highly on their list. Even if the budget does not allow a whole new suite for the office, a rolling program of replacement could be looked into; this will at least reassure employees that their presence is valued.

Chairs are just as important as desks, as the wrong chair can lead to backache, and potentially sick leave if the suffering gets too much. There is an excellent range of chairs that have been ergonomically designed to ensure that comfort is achieved, and with a massive array of items on offer getting one to suit the budget is less challenging. Having chairs that can be adjusted in terms of height and back position allows all employees to find the optimum position to work, which in turn is going to boost rather than dent morale, no one wants to work day after day in discomfort.

The excellent thing about seating for offices is the amount of choice especially when it comes to back care. Some offices have invested in kneeling type chairs, which are promoted by osteopaths, as are the gym balls, however this is too radical for a lot of offices – some do try it though and employees report being happy with the concept. Chairs with arm rests, chairs without, chairs on wheels, the list goes on, and at the end of the day it comes down to getting the best for the individual, fit for purpose and the correct height for the desks whilst at the same time remembering corporate image and colour scheme. The overall result is the creation of that perfect office environment.

Written by Jamie Lyons for DG Office Supplies

The Copyboard

August 4, 2010 · office environment, office furniture, office supplies · (No comments)

Many of us have grown up with the trusty whiteboard making an impact at various stages of our lives. A little dramatic you may say, however I remember going to secondary school and being introduced to the white board for the first time. Primary school was full of blackboards, chalk, the inevitable chalk dust and the naughty child who liked to stamp you on the back with the board cleaner. Then when secondary school came, the white board made everything seem so grown up and sophisticated. The bright white board invited me to learn – well, more play than learn. The rainbow of colours that where available on a white board – colours that didn’t have a dust grey hue to them – were so exciting.

Extending consideration beyond the classroom, the whiteboard has become an office staple. No meeting room or brainstorming session would be complete without someone frantically scribing away at the white board to jot down all of the ideas. This job is far from enviable to the majority of us, firstly there will always be someone complaining that the handwriting is too small to be seen from the back of the room. Then there is the spelling battle- where you risk displaying to your whole office that you regularly rely on spell check to verify your work. There are however people who love the responsibility of writing on the white board, it makes them feel powerful – but who are we to mock. Bless those souls, we all need them. Without these enthusiasts, there would be no volunteers for anything which would leave us all prime for the picking and potential subsequent embarrassment.

Once the meeting is over however, some poor soul is always left with the painstakingly boring task of writing everything down on a piece of paper before the white board is wiped clean ready to use again. Enter the Copyboard. The copyboard is a white board with a twist, from first glance it looks like a regular white board apart from the addition of feint grey grid marks. ‘Useful for drawing diagrams and writing on straight lines’ I hear you say. Well that’s not all, this clever little invention prints out anything you’ve written on its surface via a little printer attached to the base of the board. What’s more, you can connect the copy board to a pc, allowing the contents of the board to be saved to your hard drive to be emailed and faxed to all who need it. By saving your work to a computer, you can ensure that your hard brainstorming data is never lost due to a plucky employee who decides to ‘helpfully’ clean the board as soon as you leave the room. The Copyboard is without doubt at the forefront of the technological office supplies revolution.

A Guide to Buying the Right Office Desk

July 6, 2010 · office environment, office furniture · (No comments)


Buying an office desk? Whether you’re a motoring offence solicitor or fitter of ear defenders; you will be fascinated by the sheer variations of the types and varieties that are on the market right now. The office itself should be a functional and organised place, and businesses put plenty of importance and time on buying the most suitable desk, or indeed any office furniture.

We put together this quick guide to buying an office desk; hopefully it will help you avoid buying inferior furniture or overspending!

So what good is an office without a desk? Employees and colleagues would not expect to work all day standing up but its essential to find desks that fit within the office budget, furnish the space well and of course is functional. Buying the most suitable office desk for the user is important, but its also a feature of the office and if style is also important to you then you may want to look at the different materials that desks are built with and the alternative designs they are available in.

Stepping into the world of shopping for the office desk/s you will see that you’re given plenty of opportunity to research how the desk best fits the businesses needs. Considering whether the durability of the desk will perform well for the next ten years and whether or not the design and style fit in smoothly with the office décor will help make a positive decision, but do not neglect the cost over style and functionality – colleagues will appreciate a good comfortable working desk more than they will be impressed you blew the budget on a designer price tag.

Pick up brochures from speciality office suppliers as well as visiting the larger high street stores to compare prices. These will usually give you a good range of options as well as a good range of prices, if you are on a budget then set a price and stick to it – it may take more time to find something that is right for the business, but the boss will be happy to save the money as its more feasible.

Getting value for money these days can be much easier by looking at different brands, and just because you might be looking for glass or solid wood it doesn’t mean the desk is going to be expensive and shopping around will give you the information you need to make a decision. Don’t be taken in by a cheap price – remember that most office suppliers will be happy to negotiate, especially on bulk orders, so trying to get a discount once you have chosen the most appropriate product is a good move. However, even if you decide to select a cheaper option, try to avoid making the mistake of buying a badly shaped desk or one of poor quality. Buying an office desk or desks may this time be your first so have a think about your surroundings and the colleagues who will be sitting at it each day.

Ergonomic Office Seating

July 1, 2010 · office furniture · (No comments)


When it comes to seating in the office, chairs are particularly important where people will be spending plenty of time. The board room may benefit too, although it may not be a room used on a daily basis it may well be that employees spend a days at a time in the board room for training and meetings etc. so worth considering comfort all around the office.

Office or desk chairs are made for use at a desk whilst swivelling 360 degrees to cater for easy access and exit from the work space. The office chair sometimes has arms to support the shoulders, however is a basically designed piece of seating intended to be used whilst working at a workstation or desk making it easier for the employee to manoeuvre.

The strategic original design was to help people working in the office environment to conduct their work more efficiently whilst not having to stand up all day, today office seating really has come on leaps and bounds although those that are aware make sure they research and purchase chairs that are less likely to cause strain or injury to colleagues.

The lower back area can suffer hugely in people that site for lengths of time with no support. Back supports do assist employees to sit comfortably, and it is important to consider chairs that not only have back support, but are height adjustable as well as having arm rests and being able to swivel easily.

Ergonomic chairs are somewhat used as a main piece of furniture in offices today. They are both useful and helpful to those sitting at the work space for long periods. They are intended to support the legs, back, neck and shoulders – the upper torso – to help prevent repetitive strain injury or RSI.

These ergonomic chairs are popular and can be identified as follows:

– 5-point casters with wheels
– foam padded or spring coiled shaped seat
– backrest for lumbar (lower back support)
– hydraulic seat height adjustment
– arm rests
– back and height angle adjustment

Whilst being considered expensive, they are possibly one of the best ideas for those employers wishing to offer comfort. For those working full time, and sitting down at work for 6 hours of the day that’s over 1400 hours a year sat on a chair so it is worth investing in comfort rather than improper and unsuitable solid chairs with no support areas.

Written by Mark Farrell of DGOS Office Supplies Bolton

Tips for Furnishing an Office

July 1, 2010 · Uncategorized, office environment, office furniture · (No comments)

Perhaps its time to buy new office furniture and it’s a large environment where many people are working together. Research your environment and the space, furnishing an office should be considered seriously and long term.

Considering the amount of time that colleagues are sitting at their desks is all too important and should in some cases come above spending less. Looking at employees who are working overtime and spending a huge amount of their working day in their seats staring at the desktop will help when it comes to the bigger purchases, spending more time now could save money in the longer term. Employees want to be comfortable at work, think less complaints and a more productive team and it becomes clear as to why furnishing an office should be researched before purchasing.

Even when shopping for furniture for a small home office, the considerations should be the same. Consider injury that can come with use of furnishings that are uncomfortable, not suitable for the job or simply wrong for the purpose it was intended for. Chairs may have built in back support, some colleagues may need foot pads to rest their feet on, desks may need paper stands and computers may need anti-glare covers. Reducing the amount of strain on employee’s bodies at this stage will help avoid potential injuries and assist longer term in keeping colleagues comfortable at work.

A business nearly always has a reception area where a functional, accessible and well equipped desk is required. Office furnishings around this area will also include items like good filing cabinets, audio and communications systems as well as being clear of loose wires and having good lighting. Efficient and proper systems that help with organising and communicating will mean the person working in this area is comfortable and will help reduce the chances of repetitive strain through use of a comfortable chair and a useful easy-to-manoeuvre around desk.

The reception are may also involve an area where clients can wait. This requires a safe environment that is light and free from potential hazards. It is usually an area on which a business allows themselves to spend a little more on as the reception area is the first point that any client will see of the company. Cutting costs in this area is not advisable as buying low quality seating and furniture that does not match a companies reputation may put clients off as they form their opinions whilst waiting.

Although it is difficult to pay for high end office furnishings when a business may be struggling in other areas, considering comfort over price can truly make a difference when looking at the time being spent at work.

Tips for Saving Money on Office Supplies

June 30, 2010 · office furniture, office supplies · (No comments)

Many of todays businesses and home offices are in the market for buying a wide range of products to furnish and make use of every day. No matter which type of facility you are working in, a large open space office surrounded by colleagues or a cosy  there are huge savings to be made by shopping around and seeking out the best discounts and offers available. Here are some tips for saving money on office supplies both short term and long term:

Quality versus Price

You and your colleagues will be spending most of the working day sitting on chairs, piling up files and folders on the desks and using telephones, computers, shredders etc throughout the time they spend at work so quality counts over price.

That doesn’t mean however that anyone should pay over the odds for office furniture but it does mean that considering buying larger items in bulk will help you gain discounts on quality furniture that is considered quite expensive but helps avoid injury in the future – no business likes the amount of man hours that are lost from accidents, injuries (repetitive strain injury and others) and sick days.

Buying sensibly will help avoid these and ensuring that you do not buy the same chair for everyone will matter – not everyone will be comfortable in the same chair or looking at the same screen as their neighbour.

Visiting an office supplies specialist that can offer a variety of different designs will help. Making sure that lots of thought is put into buying new equipment and assessing the needs of the business will help save money in the long run and avoid having to buy replacements later on.

Shipping

If you are planning to buy many bits of furniture then consider finding a company that can offer free shipping or delivery to your office.

As well as offering discount on bulk buys, many companies might be able to offer free shipping too in order to get your business. Whether you are furnishing a board room or dining area to cater for teams of colleagues, or indeed if you are decking out a new garden office you should be able to find a company that has free shipping for orders over a certain value.

It makes sense to think that your delivery will cost £20 because its £5 under a £300 threshold, have a think about other products that you will always use such as printer paper, pens and other small stationery – it soon adds up and may mean the difference between losing twenty quid or spending it on items you will always use.