16/06/2021
The Guardian Newspaper today includes an interesting pull-out on the Future of Work with lots of articles to get you thinking about the return to the office. Click on the image above to read the full supplement. Scan the QR code in our advert on page 10 to find out how we can help you.
15/06/2021
We are delighted to share that Wellworking has been named as one of the finalists in the ‘Furniture Provider of the Year’ category at the prestigious 2021 Mixology Awards. The Mixology Awards from Mix Interiors celebrate the best projects, products and people in commercial interior design. There has not always been a lot to celebrate over the last twelve months and it’s not right to look at our achievements without pausing to reflect that 2020 was a very hard year for so many people. However, by entering this industry award... Read More
05/05/2021
No one could have predicted the scale of the Pandemic or the effect it was to have on the mental health of the country. When originally deciding upon the Samaritans for our chosen charity of the year in 2020, we could never have predicted just how appropriate our choice would be. Sadly, as it wasn’t really possible to conclude our efforts as we might have hoped last year, it was unanimously agreed to continue our support till the end of 2021. So, with that in mind, a group of staff... Read More
01/04/2021
If you remember the Chancellor’s “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme last summer, well the government has swapped meat and two veg for plant and machinery with a new super-deduction scheme which is forecast to save companies who invest in office furniture millions of pounds in tax over the next two years. From today (1 April 2021), under the new tax super-deduction scheme, which was announced in the Budget earlier this month, companies can claim 130% first year capital allowances on qualifying investments, until the end of March 2023. This... Read More
23/03/2021
It’s now twelve months since the UK entered its first lockdown as Covid-19 spread across the country. It has been a year of terrible loss and heartache, disruption and doubt. But in the workplace, it’s also been a year of transformation. Here are ten lessons we’ve learnt about how the pandemic has changed our working lives. 1. Working from home, works well There was often an uncertainty over remote working pre-pandemic as firms were unsure how workers’ performance could be properly managed. Yet when we were all forced to do... Read More
15/03/2021
Did you see us in The Sunday Times Magazine? We showcased the iconic Herman Miller Aeron chair. Not only is it a design classic, it has also had decades of design input into making it one of the best ergonomic chairs around. We are always willing to offer advice on the best chair for your needs so do contact us if you need any assistance. Wellworking has the Aeron in a range of specifications in stock and ready for delivery in 2-3 days.
01/03/2021
Wellworking are thrilled to welcome Adam Boyden to our team today as our Sales Director. With nine years previous experience in various roles at DAS Business Furniture, Adam joins us from renowned international furniture manufacturer Vitra. Over the past seven years he progressed from Dealer Sales Manager to their Sales Director, a role he held from the summer of 2018. As we start to see the route out of lockdown, there is an exciting opportunity around reimagining the purpose of the workplace. Adam’s previous experience within the office furniture industry... Read More
23/02/2021
In a bid to increase their environmental credentials, Norwegian furniture brand HAG are turning some uniquely nordic waste products into a limited edition chair. Just two hundred special Capisco Puls chairs made from recycled ‘snow plough markers’ are being released. The red and black plastic poles are used to mark the edges of snowy roads in Norway but once broken they are normally discarded. The Research and Development Team of manufacturer Flokk saw an opportunity to use this strong waste product while looking into new sustainable material sources. Approximately 1,230... Read More
19/02/2021
New this week to the Wellworking store is the elegant Humanscale Summa chair. This versatile conference chair with leather upholstery and an optional wood-wrapped back is just as suitable for the home as it is for the corner office or the boardroom. Its enveloping shape and luxurious sculpted materials give the user complete support throughout the working day. A singular discreet adjustment lever allows the chair to be personalised while it also has a weight-compensating recline mechanism for ergonomic support. The chrome-free leather upholstery is available in a range of... Read More
15/02/2021
Wellworking Managing Director Luke Munro has been sharing his thoughts on how workplaces might change in 2021 as we approach a year since Covid-19 first changed how we used ‘the office’. Read his opinion piece on page 11 of the latest edition of IN magazine from Workplace Insight which is dedicated to the latest workplace news, comments and information.
04/02/2021
A small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference. Today is Time To Talk Day and the Wellworking team took time out of our day to virtually catch-up with colleagues over a cuppa. Lockdown has been hard on everyone’s mental health but a small action can make a huge difference to someone’s day. What can you do to support someone you know? Why not send a text? Make a phone call? Send an email to someone you’ve not contacted in a while? There are more ideas of... Read More
23/12/2020
When the global pandemic first emerged, employers’ primary concern was making sure their workers were not exposed to Coronavirus. Those that could were hastily sent to work from home clutching monitors, keyboards and anything else they could from their rows of office desks. We all thought it would be for a matter of weeks but now there is a large army of people working from home, perhaps permanently. The challenge for employers is that they are not just guarding these people against Covid-19, or even physical complaints like muscular-skeletal problems... Read More
Wellworking are thrilled to have been awarded the Herman Miller Dealer Performance Cube for the seventh year running. After a challenging year for many retailers, we are delighted the hard work and adaptability from our team has been successful.
Like many firms, there is no Christmas night out for the Wellworking team this year. But never fear, we had some festive fun anyway with a Virtual Video-Call Quiz while taking part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day. Most of our team have been working from home for much of the year so this is as close as the Wellworking staff have got to being together. It’s now one of our office traditions to take part in the Christmas Jumper Day every year where everyone is invited to wear... Read More
The original Tip Ton chair from Vitra is already a design favourite due to its simple construction and its ability to be used in a variety of situations. Its unique skid base gives the user two different sitting positions without any mechanical parts – a normal position and titled forward nine degrees where it stays in place. This position straightens the pelvis and spine allowing for better blood circulation to the abdominal and back muscles. Designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby in 2011, it was already available in a... Read More
The Herman Miller Taper Chair has a minimalist, sophisticated look yet the brand’s extensive knowledge of ergonomics has still been a key part of this chair’s design. It was originally created for Geiger who are known for their finely crafted furnishings and attention to detail. Everything down to the smallest stitch is exactly where it needs to be to support the body and exemplify Geiger’s clean aesthetic. This executive chair is a collaboration between designer Mark Goetz and Herman Miller’s longtime seating advisor and PostureFit inventor Dr Brock Walker. Goetz... Read More
It is a classic that has graced homes and offices for over fifty years, yet the Eames Soft Pad Chair still exudes a modern sophistication. Its simple lines and comfortable, supportive cushions have made it a popular choice across the globe. The chair’s origins date back to 1958 when American design couple Charles and Ray Eames used a stretched mesh over an aluminium frame to create a new range of outdoor seating. Just over a decade later they added the plush, upholstered cushions and the Soft Pad Chair we know... Read More
Wellworking is proud to have been a Living Wage Employer for several years now. This means that all our employees, including those who clean our offices or drive our vans, are paid a fair wage. It’s calculated annually by the Living Wage Foundation and is based on the real cost of living. This week is Living Wage Week when the Foundation announces its new rate and celebrates the billions of workers who are able to support their families because of this commitment by their employers.
You may have purchased your own office chair for the first time or perhaps you’ve always been used to grabbing the first available chair in the office and never bothered adjusting it for your own requirements. You will likely spend a large proportion of your day in your chair, so it is important you are sitting comfortably to avoid muscle strains and other posture related problems. To help out, we will go through the most common adjustments you might find on a task chair and how best to set them... Read More
The numbers of people continuing to work at home remains high and several major firms are pushing their office re-opening dates further into the future. In this final article of our series on ‘Home Relations – The New HR’, we are examining whether this continuation of home working signals the end of the traditional office.
In the second of our current series ‘Home Relations – The New HR’, we look at how this new army of home workers can be protected and supported by their employers. Any parent will know how much easier it is to shield and encourage their offspring while they are within the four walls of the family home. The problems and risks multiply when they are released into the big, wide world. Managers have a similar problem where now their team, no matter how well connected digitally, are still operating away from the safety and security of the office. A number of issues need to be formally addressed, perhaps in some cases with the challenging job of re-writing contracts.
With Covid cases rising again and the change in advice on going to the office, it seems likely that many traditional office workers will continue to work from home for the foreseeable future. Indeed, a recent survey by the Institute of Directors found three-quarters of firms are likely to continue with the increase in home workers.
Across the UK, stress levels are no doubt rising again as new Covid restrictions come in. The Wellworking team took time out of our day this morning to not only create a little bit of calm, but also to get involved in National Fitness Day. Run by ukactive, the aim of the day is to get the nation moving and celebrate the fun side of fitness. At wellworking, we know the importance of keeping moving, even during the workday, so we joined with one of our partners Flokk for a... Read More
As we are once again advised to work from home, here at Wellworking, we can make sure your team has everything they need to do that comfortably, safely and productively. Our Home Working Solutions include a range of products for remote workers that can be delivered straight to their homes. We also do Virtual Home Assessments so you can be assured your staff have a suitable office set-up. Contact assessment@wellworking.co.uk for more information or download our brochure below.
Wellworking’s leading Workplace Ergonomics Consultant, Lee Jones, has put together his favourite chairs if you want comfortable and practical seating for working from home. He features products from Vitra, HAG, Profin and Herman Miller including the iconic Aeron chair. All of these chairs are available to buy from the Wellworking online store.
The latest edition of IN magazine from Workplace Insight features a spotlight on Wellworking’s Home Working Solutions products. We an help you get your employees working well at home with ergonomic seating, lighting and accessories. We can also carry out virtual assessments to make sure they are set up comfortably and to recommend suitable products. IN magazine is a thought-provoking collection of articles on a variety of workplace subjects and debates. Available as a printed magazine or you can read the digital version here:
Working from home is increasingly becoming long-term for more people. Yet just because you are setting up a home office, it doesn’t mean you can’t be productive and comfortable. Wellworking’s leading Workplace Ergonomics Consultant, Lee Jones, shares his top tips for working well at home.
If you have ever worked on a laptop for an extended period of time without using any kind of stand then you will most likely have felt the discomfort, and possibly pain, that comes with that. The Roost Laptop Stand is one of those products that can really help. This lightweight, collapsible stand enables you to raise your screen to eye level and avoid the hunched-over position that can cause backache and neck pain. Along with a separate keyboard and mouse, the stand helps create a healthier workstation setup. Roost... Read More
We have all adapted to life under the ‘new normal’ as we wait for a vaccine or treatment to become available for Covid-19, but what happens if this isn’t possible? New research confirms a large proportion of the population is ready to accept significant long-term changes such as choosing where they work. King’s College London has been monitoring attitudes to remote working since the pandemic began. Together with Ipsos MORI, they have surveyed over two-thousand people in the UK to find out just how happy they would be if this... Read More
When setting up a home office, as many of us have done over the last few months, a comfortable chair is high up on the shopping list. When all you have is a corner of the living room or bedroom though, the choice of chair becomes a little trickier if you want to complement the existing décor. This is where Vitra’s Rookie chair comes in. It’s smaller and simpler than your average office chair but still packs a punch when it comes to comfort and adjustability. This coupled with its... Read More
For several months we have lived by the mantra of ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ and our working habits have changed completely. The once bustling streets of London and other city centres have been almost deserted as millions of workers have converted dining tables and corners of their living rooms into home offices. We have got used to video conferencing and balancing work tasks with childcare. A fortnight ago, the Prime Minister changed his message and urged people to go back to work if they could in a bid to try... Read More
As well as being design classics and among the most comfortable ergonomic chairs on the market, some of Wellworking’s favourites are now even more environmentally friendly. Herman Miller have managed to increase the proportion of recycled material used in some of their best-selling products including the Aeron, Mirra 2 and Sayl task chairs. The Aeron is now made of 53% recycled content, an increase of 13% from before. Half of the Mirra 2 consists of recycled materials while the Sayl is now made from 35% recycled resources. Even better, not... Read More
When creating a home working environment, the first thing most people sort out is a comfortable chair to sit on. We shared some of our In Stock favourites last week that should help prevent common aches and pains. Now that you’re sitting better, what’s next to create a productive work area? We’ve picked some key items to complete your home office and make remote working an enjoyable experience: Cube Design RAW Sit-Stand Desk This electrically height adjustable desk allows you to vary your position while working to choose from either... Read More
Furniture is often one of those items that you have to wait several weeks for. Here at Wellworking we keep a selection of our most popular items in stock so we can get them to you in just 2-3 working days. If you are in need of a new office chair then these are three of our favourites, used throughout our own offices, and available to purchase now for delivery within 2-3 working days: Herman Miller Aeron Probably one of the most popular office chairs on the market, this iconic... Read More
Today marks exactly three months since lockdown in the UK began. While some of the restrictions are being lifted across different parts of the country, there has been little sign of a real return to traditional office-style working. Thousands of us are still commandeering one end of the dining room table while fighting over the home broadband. During 2019, fewer than 30% of workers had worked from home, according to the Office for National Statistics. Whereas, in the last three months, multiple surveys have put the number of home-workers as... Read More
It may look a little unconventional but the HAG Capisco task chair is a popular choice for those seeking to upgrade their home working experience now that more people are remote working. The iconic shape and unusual design by Peter Opsvik allow the Capsico to fit in with the home environment while still providing an ergonomic advantage. First launched in the 1980s by Norwegian seating manufacturer HAG, its innovative saddle seat was inspired by a horse rider’s active position while riding and allows those using it to easily change position.... Read More
For many, working from home used to be a rare occurrence caused by a snow day or car trouble. Your laptop would be propped up on a cushion on your knee while you sat on the bed, or perhaps it was in front of you on the coffee table. However, now that homeworking has become a full-time position for many people, what are the basics of a healthy and productive homeworking set-up? In a recent webinar, Workplace Specialist Bertie Van Wyk from Herman Miller, set out some important aspects to... Read More
Today we hit a milestone by achieving our 1500th review on Trustpilot, a service we find extremely useful to connect with our customers. We are incredibly grateful that so many people who have used our services are willing to take some time to give us feedback. As a business that has a large customer-facing element, independent reviews are enormously important to us. They offer a genuine insight into how well we are meeting our customers’ expectations, and the targets we have set for ourselves. The fact that our customers believe we are... Read More
With many firms slowly seeing workers returning to the office, here at Wellworking we have been testing some of the new products designed to help staff feel safer at work. In this post-COVID-19 landscape, there is a real need for fresh thinking on office design. BakkerElkhuisen’s Safety Screens are one solution to help employees feel shielded and assist in maintaining safe distancing. As Wellworking’s leading Workplace Ergonomics Consultant, I’ve been giving one a try. It was easy to install on my desk in minutes with the included clamps and creates the feeling... Read More
Later this week, the government will set out its thinking on getting people who work in offices back to their place of work. It’s a huge undertaking, for companies and for individuals, many of whom are very anxious about how they can work safely. First and foremost, it is about keeping colleagues safe. But if, in doing so, they have to create a hospital-style environment which is either impractical, or causes mental health issues for people and impacts upon their performance, is it worth it, or should the majority of... Read More
In front of our eyes, part of the workplace conversation is evolving, from workplace wellbeing to workplace belonging. This is in part a solution to a new question in the productivity puzzle. How can you keep your teams performing well when they are largely working at home, on their own? Now, more than ever, colleagues need to be inspired by the work they do, and clear about the value they bring to it. I’ve written before about the shift in our clients’ focus towards the mental health of their colleagues as a key... Read More
My kids are now back at school. By which I mean they’re sitting at home, back at school. And it reminded me of all those years ago, when for those first few days of term, you didn’t really get much done in class. You’re all getting still into the rhythm of it. Then, without really noticing it, you are into the full flow of lessons. That’s a bit like we’ve all experienced in recent weeks, for those of us fortunate enough to be working still. And it’s why, a few weeks into... Read More
I am not a philosopher. I sell home and office furniture. But I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how radically different things will be – both in how we work and how we live – once we get through this dreadful period of our lives. We have the opportunity to embrace a whole new way of working which recognises and gets the best out of all parts of our community. But get it wrong, and we could blur the boundaries between work and life, causing great harm to our... Read More
We want to update you on how we at Wellworking are handling the developing situation around the COVID-19 virus. Our first priority is the health of our customers, colleagues and suppliers. So we’re following closely the advice from the government, Public Health England, and the World Health Organisation. As a result, we are going to make a few temporary changes to the way we work and support you. Our delivery service will continue to deliver products, and they will arrange with customers to leave products at the front door, rather... Read More
It’s a rapidly developing situation currently around coronavirus, and we aren’t here to offer advice on this. But we did think it might be useful to share some of our experience for colleagues who find themselves suddenly working in a home environment, given how so many of our clients are asking for guidance around home working in the current crisis. Many of us already work from home some of the time, but might now be asked to do it for an extended period of time. We don’t have all the... Read More
When it comes to meeting the challenge of the sedentary workplace and its associated ills, few organisations are more relevant than ukactive, working tirelessly to get more people, more active, more often. Wellworking were proud to be a Breakout Sponsor at Westminster’s impressive Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre for their 2019 National Summit. Chaired ably by former Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, the summit’s key notes were launched passionately by the indefatigable Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Chair of ukactive. She announced a major piece of research for 2020 on... Read More
The human body is not designed to be static, yet we are able to maintain static postures for far longer than we should. We need to find ways of combating this sedentary work style we’ve become so good at. From the thousands of workplace assessments we’ve carried out, the number one answer for what makes us get out of the chair is thirst or hunger. Well, seeing as the brain struggles to tell the difference, our first tip is: #1 – Drink water during the day Drink at least 8 glasses... Read More
Wellworking and Flokk joined forces once again at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week for an insightful panel discussion around workplace acoustics. And given the quality of the panel, featuring some of the leading figures in the sector, one message came through loud and clear. Acoustics is a critical area when it comes to driving performance and improving workplace wellbeing. A stellar panel comprised of Michelle Wilkie from TP Bennett, Dr. Nigel Oseland from Workplace Unlimited, Joachim Schubert from Offecct, and Lee Jones from Wellworking. Mark Eltringham from Insight Publishing chaired the event at Flokk’s smartly refurbished showroom, and made the point that acoustics is now one of the single biggest area of interests for... Read More
A highlight of the calendar each year for the commercial design industry, NeoCon 2019 didn’t disappoint once again with its scale, positive energy and friendly enthusiasm. If anything, it seemed to run smoother this year, with circulation round the floors quicker, lifts organised more sleekly, and an abundance of breakout, touch down and collaboration space across all levels. The US giant’s showrooms on Floor 3 proved the main draw, with Steelcase, Hayworth and Herman Miller all giving considerable space over to recent acquisitions and partnerships. Orangebox were widely displayed within... Read More
This time last week the Wellworking team were taking on the best showrooms, exhibition stands and parties that EC1 could throw at us. The weather was in our favour, as it seems to be every year, and there was a real buzz in the air. One of my highlights was Herman Miller’s aeron hockey installation. Throughout my experience with CDW over the years, I’ve never seen anything quite like this, and although I didn’t participate in the games, I thoroughly enjoyed watching those braver folk than me who did… I... Read More
The 58th edition of Salone del Mobile proved to be as successful and interesting as ever, with 386,236 visitors over the 6 days, from 181 different countries. Comfortable shoes at the ready and armed unusually for this time of year in Milan with umbrellas, we sent our step count into overdrive trying to see all that Milan had on display. Our highlights include the following: – Herman Miller completely revamped their showroom for their All Together Now exhibition which celebrated the nearly endless design possibilities of the Herman Miller Group.... Read More
Wellworking were delighted recently to host many of our Clients and specifying colleagues at Chelsea Football Club in partnership with our friends at BakkerElkhuizen, leading ergonomic product suppliers whose focus is very much the same as ours, helping computer users work well. On the agenda was delving a little deeper into the current catch-all phrase, Workplace Wellbeing. In particular we wanted to understand more around cognitive performance, and how workplace design could better support this. We were fortunate indeed to have as our... Read More
With the Global Challenge now complete, some of our colleagues who took part in the 10,000 steps for 100 days share their overall thoughts. “Even though I’m active outside work, it gave me a target to reach each day and reaching that target gave me a sense of achievement for the day. I wasn’t expecting much to change but surprisingly I did feel better and more alert during work and in my personal life, whilst combining the GCC with a healthier diet” Martyn Travers ‘The GCC was a great way... Read More
Phil reveals how he completed a challenging spinning session of 201 miles. Deciding to revisit and effectively re-energise a previous Sportive endeavour on behalf of our charity of the year, Save the Children, isn’t always wise as very often, what makes the original effort so very special is the fact that as the original, it’s often very hard to top. However, good ideas don’t stop being good ideas just because they’re no longer original and besides, I felt there was something akin to unfinished business to deal with as regards... Read More
Paul Simons gives us an update on how he is finding the Global Challenge, doing 10,000 for 100 days. The Virgin Global Challenge has, in my case, lived up to it’s name – quite a challenge. To achieve the 10,000 steps per day has meant a few changes in my daily routine, as having a desk-based role there isn’t a lot of opportunities to get those vital extra steps in each day. So, I have had to get a little creative. This means every time I go to get a... Read More
Shriya Parmar shares her experience of attending London Design Festival 2017. Being fresh to the furniture industry, I was excited to get to the London Design Festival this year. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but I was eager to dive in and learn about the fascinating world of design. As soon as I stepped out of Kings Cross station, the buzz of Design Junction was apparent. The first thing to catch my eye was a colourful & vibrant gateway designed by Turkish Ceramics. This definitely set the tone... Read More
Philip Connolly shares his thoughts on his first Tough Mudder experience. We all have days which are soon quickly forgotten, lost in the ether that is the normality of mundane everyday life. Saturday 16 September 2017, however, was NOT such a day. It was a day when friends with varying history placed their trust in each other in pursuit of Team success rather than individual expediency and personal advantage. It was a day when multiple fears were faced and raw nerves touched. A day when collywobbles caused many a momentary... Read More
Philip Connolly shares his thoughts on Global Corporate Challenge 2016 and its long term effects. It’s fair to say that when I was first invited to take part in the Global Corporate Challenge, later to be renamed Mission Stepossible, I had absolutely no idea what I was letting myself in for. The GCC was suggested as part of Wellworking’s Workplace Wellbeing strategy, as a way of promoting activity within the Organisation, with the additional team building benefits we were sure to achieve. Here was an event that spanned 100 days... Read More
Luke Munro shares his experience from a recent visit to the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2017. Last week saw Wellworking visit the Stockholm Furniture Fair for the first time, and we left wondering why we had left it so long. The early morning flight proved a bit of shock to the system, reinforced by the bracing cold once we arrived in Stockholm, but all was forgiven once we arrived at the exhibition. The consistently high quality of manufacturers exhibiting and the correspondingly quality of their presentation was impressive, while the size... Read More
Luke Munro shares his findings from the recent NECE, held in Las Vegas. With thousands of attendees, hundreds of exhibitors and dozens of workshops and sessions, the National Ergonomics Conference and ErgoExpo bills itself as the Industry’s most important event. While the Event’s location itself was quite rightly described by one speaker as enticing “packaging”, the seminars in particular once again proved both educational and thought provoking. Highlights of the programme included a powerful keynote from Dr James Levine, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, about the need to... Read More
Amalie Ditlevsen shares her volunteering experience on refurbishing MIND’s Southall office on October 10th 2016 – World Mental Health Day. Wellworking recently redecorated and refurbished the MIND Lotus Centre in Southall. The centre runs daily activities, including classes in yoga, creative writing, gardening and healthy living classes for people who struggle with mental and social difficulties. After a meeting with the staff back in June we came up with a plan of donating stackable meeting chairs and a meeting table with canteen chairs, while Jennifer Newman kindly donated some of... Read More
Paul Simons is excited by the launch of new remastered Aeron chair by Herman Miller. After over 20 years, the Herman Miller Aeron chair has been Remastered. Available from early 2017, the Aeron has been developed to meet the needs of today’s work, workers, and work environments. Co-designer of the original Aeron, Don Chadwick, has once again worked with Herman Miller to incorporate latest research around the science of sitting so that the new Aeron works smarter than ever before. The new Aeron retains its original iconic looks with it’s mesh... Read More
Jayapriya Rathinam shares her experience of the London Design Biennale 2016. Designers and architects from 37 countries converged for the first edition of the London Design Biennale 2016 at Somerset House under the theme ‘Utopia by Design’, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Sir Thomas More’s classic, Utopia (1516). This theme has served as impetus for an eclectic treat of spectacular designs in the Biennale. One could derive a clear pattern in the event about the unanimous call for unity and inclusive and collective design that encourages collaboration to support... Read More
London Design Festival and 100% Design show how the office is transforming into something else entirely. If art holds a mirror up to nature, shouldn’t the design of the workplace hold a mirror up to the way we work? By definition, the things with which we surround ourselves should tell us something about the way we see ourselves and what we do. It should be possible to infer from the design of products what is changing in the workplace. The opportunity with shows like 100% Design, which took place at... Read More
Beata and Leanne share their experience about the 100 day challenge with ‘Get The World Moving’. We are writing this blog together as our experience mirrors each others. We had both made the personal decision to make a change to our lives to increase our wellbeing and improve our work life balance for the better, so jumped at the opportunity to join the GCC team. Encouragement is always welcome, as it is easy to fall back into old ways and to hit the tuck shop instead of walking out for... Read More
Justin Miller reports from Herman Miller’s newly refurbished showroom at the iconic Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The epicentre of the world’s office design industry is to be found on the banks of the Chicago River. It is home to one of Herman Miller’s flagship global showrooms, but unlike the firm’s rural, lakeside idyll to the North, it is to be found in downtown Chicago in a building so large that until recently it had its own zip code. This is the Merchandise Mart. It boasts four million square feet of... Read More
Magdalena O’Sullivan of Wellworking shares her experience of using the new Klöber Klimastuhl. The eternal debate in most offices; who is too hot and who is too cold. Because we each enjoy a different level of temperature to work at our best, the climate control sometimes becomes the most hotly contested piece of equipment in the office. Kloeber may have a solution, to create a micro-climate in the office with their brand new ‘Klimastuhl’. A chair that both cools and heats the seat pad according to the users individual requirements. ... Read More
Justin Miller of Wellworking reflects on a trip to the epicentre of modern workplace design, Herman Miller’s Design and Research facilities in Michigan. There is a place that has possibly done more than any other to influence the way we work and the design of the modern workplace. It is a place that was built on the foundations of mainstream modernist design thinking, that has pioneered new ways of working for decades, and remains steeped in the technological, social, cultural, legislative and economic forces that perpetually reinvent the workplace. But... Read More
One of the great things about an event as concentrated in one area as Clerkenwell Design Week is the chance to see what people are talking about and the forces that are inspiring the new generation of office designs. A number of themes were ubiquitous at this year’s show, reflecting both the things that occupiers talk about to their suppliers and also those the suppliers want to talk about to their customers. If you want to know what occupiers see as their main issues when it comes to office design,... Read More
Although it may not have Milan Design Week’s usually fine Spring weather and bella figura, when it comes to office design shows Clerkenwell has a distinctly more advantageous geography. Most of its firms fit nicely into a square mile of hothoused design talent that attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world each year to Clerkenwell Design Week’s showroom events, special pavilions and full seminar programme. You could even argue that Clerkenwell Design Week provides a better showcase both of products and ideas than any other exhibition in... Read More
Richard Patricio from Wellworking’s Workplace Wellbeing team describes our recent London Healthy Workplace Charter award. As part of Wellworking’s Workplace Wellbeing Services team I was thrilled to get the news this week that we have been awarded the London Healthy Workplace Charter at Commitment level. The Charter is a self-assessment framework that recognises and rewards employers for investing in workplace health and wellbeing. It’s a forward-sighted initiative delivered through the London Mayor’s offices at City Hall. At Wellworking our mission is everything about working well, so the charter is something... Read More
Justin Miller concludes his Milan visit by reporting on his 3rd day at the fair. The third and – for us – final day at Milan Design Week arrives along with a degree of design fatigue and the bleary eyes that are the inevitable result of the many miles covered each day. The bleary eyes are alleviated with a good breakfast and plenty of coffee, the fatigue lifted by the latest batch of current and future design classics that are the stock in trade of the event. There are few... Read More
Wellworking’s Sales Director, Justin Miller reports on his 2nd day at Milan Design Week 2016. The perils of combining trend and weather forecasting were in evidence last night. Just hours after we’d extolled the joys of Milanese Spring sunshine and the opportunities it offered to enjoy Milan Design Week in the outdoors, the heavens opened. Fortunately you’re never more than a quick sprint in the rain from a product launch or party and so no time is wasted. Highlight of the day was Arper, who have updated their classic Catifa... Read More
Justin Miller sheds light on Day 1 at Milan Design Week. There are few better places to be at this time of year than Milan. Tuesday arrived warm and sunny which always lifts the spirits of all involved, especially when so many of the events surrounding Milan Design Week take place either in the open air or at the showrooms of firms dotted around the city. A lot of your time is spent out and about rather than cooped up in an exhibition hall. This aspect of the show is... Read More
Paul Simons reflects on his recent trip to Copenhagen’s freshest furniture show. Copenhagen’s Trends & Traditions show is one of the new kids on the European Furniture Exhibitions block, and this year it reflected the overall philosophy of what makes Scandinavian design different – recycle, reuse and reinvent. The event was held for one day in late March in a former locomotive repair warehouse. The most striking feature of this show was the flood of natural light coming into the building. The shells and banners that normally demarcate each stand... Read More
Stuart Garside finds out more about Kloeber and their KlimaStuhl story. I was delighted to visit the Klöber Headquarters in Owingen, south west Germany, recently. On the shores of Lake Constance, I found their ecological sensitivity matched only by their desire to push the boundaries of what office seating can do for the office worker. Originally founded back in 1935 by Margarete Klöber, the release of their Polstergleich chair represented one of the earliest and most successful examples of active dynamic office seating to be put into full production. As... Read More
Wellworking’s Online Director Paul Simons on the 2016 Institute of Customer Service Awards – March 2016. It’s one of the first lessons in business. Look after your customers. So how do you measure your performance in this vital area, and how valuable is it to be scrutinised, evaluated and judged by experts in customer service, in front of many of the UK’s most successful customer-focused companies? Wellworking was shortlisted recently for the Morrison Utility Services Customer Focus Award, SME at the Institute of Customer Service Annual Awards 2016. Finals night... Read More
In 2012 RBM embarked on a project which took furniture design to new levels. RBM Noor is the result of a very different approach to the design process – the union of three well-known design studios: Norway’s StokkeAustad, Sweden’s FUWL and Denmark’s Grønlund Design. It quickly won the coveted Red Dot Best of the Best Award and was featured in interior and design magazines across Europe. In 2016 a brand new colour range curated by Swedish Design House, Form Us With Love (who also designed the Muuto ‘Unfold Light’), will... Read More
Lee Jones from Ergostation discusses the impact of reminder software in helping him to get the most out of his sit stand desking. Sitting for long periods of time isn’t good for you. We know that from a raft of compelling recent health studies. But if the argument about the health risks of sedentary behaviour has largely been won, the debate over the benefits of sit stand as an antidote rages on. And that’s partly because sit stand furniture, just like a stool, needs three legs in order for people... Read More
Luke Munro shares his experience of visiting Herman Miller’s new manufacturing and distribution hub, Portal Mill. We were delighted last week to visit Herman Miller’s recently opened Portal Mill facility, the 170,000 square foot development bringing together the company’s regional research and development, manufacturing, and logistics operations into one state of the art building. Cementing their position as one of the South West’s key Manufacturers, Herman Miller once again went back to the future with their choice of leading contemporary architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw to design Portal Mill. Grimshaw also... Read More
Justin Miller enjoyed visiting Herman Miller’s Dubai showroom. One of the great joys of working with global office furniture designers is the opportunity it offers to see how their products and ideas are interpreted in different countries. Concepts may be launched to a worldwide market, but each region has its own tastes, culture and legislation that means they must be adapted to local conditions. This is not just interesting in its own right, but can also freshen up perspectives on products that are useful back home. I was fortunate recently... Read More
Wellworking and Wellnomics look at the significance of sit stand workstations. We’ve focussed over the last few weeks along with our colleagues at Wellnomics on how to get the best out of sit stand, but like anything in life, can we have too much of a good thing? There is plenty of on-going research into the best ways to achieve optimal and sustainable utilization of sit-stand workstations by staff. Some of that early research is showing large-scale installations of sit stand aren’t necessarily resulting in the benefits associated with the... Read More
HAG commissioned a workshop called ‘Workplace Invaders’ with young Londoners to discover how Generation Z imagines their future workplace. They beamed with innovative ideas like handing pods, holograms on walls, interactive tablet desks, virtual reality rooms and communal vegetable allotments. The four key themes emerged from the workshop were: Health Some inspiring ideas include a health centre, gym and a doctor’s surgery with provisions to book appointments. The communal vegetable allotment provide not only greenery to the workspace but also fresh produce for lunch. Environment Ideas to tap solar energy... Read More
We at Wellworking are very much looking forward over the coming weeks to contributing along with our friends at Wellnomics towards the important debate around sit-stand workstations. Each week we will be adding a helpful tip to our blog so do keep coming back to find out more, and contact us or leave a comment below to give us your top tip! Tip # 1 Consider the design of the sit-stand workstation carefully The latest European standard recommends that sit/stand workstations support an adjustability range between 650-1250mm. The lower effort... Read More
Amalie Ditlevsen reports back on her annual health check at Wellbeing. As part of Wellworking’s ongoing Wellbeing programme we were all invited for a basic annual health check this Monday. Our friends from Healthy Performance came down to our office to do individual tests for all those who wanted to take part. We were given an online questionnaire about lifestyle before the actual tests where areas such as lifestyle and nutrition were assessed, and the results of the health check were a combination of both the online questionnaire responses and... Read More
Moving office is one of the best opportunities you’ll get to improve your organisation’s workplace wellbeing. So what did we do when it came to our own office relocation? Luke Munro, Wellworking’s Managing Director, explains. At Wellworking, after 15 successful years, we had outgrown our offices once again by 2015. Our team had more than doubled in size since the last move. Here’s the traditional challenge: More business needs more staff. More staff need more space. We are fortunate to have the team that we do, and we recognised that... Read More
Luke Munro, Managing Director of Wellworking Ltd, looks at a key lesson learnt from another successful National Ergonomics Conference & ErgoExpo – companies can no longer afford to let their colleagues sit still. It is said that Sir Isaac Newton was sitting down when gravity hit him in the form of an apple. One of the Eureka! moments at this year’s National Ergonomics Conference & ErgoExpo (NECE) for many people was that today’s workforce is increasingly taking on gravity by standing up. As someone who has attended NECE several times,... Read More
Wellworking are moving! From Monday August 10th we will be located in our new offices at Unit 7 Western Avenue Business Park, Mansfield Rd, London W3 0BZ. With our new ‘working showroom’ featuring products from Herman Miller, Vitra, Brunner, BuzziSpace, James Burleigh, Muuto and more launched in early September it’s going to look great and work well. Our new premises are more than double in size and will enable us to expand our range of products on fast delivery times. Contact numbers will be the same and stay tuned... Read More
The Mirra chair from Herman Miller was designed in 2003 by Studio 7.5 in Berlin, Germany. 2003 doesn’t seem so long ago, but to put that in perspective this was years before Twitter, YouTube and the social media revolution began! Now, some 12 years later, the Mirra chair is going out of production, being replaced by the sleeker, lighter and more intuitive Mirra 2 – a reflection of the more mobile, agile working world we find ourselves in. Perhaps this is the time to reflect on what made the Mirra... Read More
Three key messages from Clerkenwell Design Week The dust has now settled on Clerkenwell Design Week for another year and we are presented with the usual opportunity to take a step back and discern. Workplace Wellbeing It’s not so long ago that the prevailing themes of office design exhibitions would be focussed on coldly corporate objectives to do with things like space efficiency. Nowadays things are very different and the ideas that underpin many of the new products on display are far more likely to address the needs of the... Read More
It’s great that more is being done to protect iconic furniture designs, but the real work now begins It’s been a long time coming but the UK has finally set a deadline for the introduction of its new copyright protection law. From April 2020, it will be illegal to make or sell copies of mass produced designs. The new law also extends copyright protection for designs until 70 years after the death of the product’s designer bringing the law roughly into line with laws protecting the rights of other creative... Read More
Luke Munro shares his experience from his visit to the Vitra campus in Weil am Rhein. Time to reflect on a memorable visit to the remarkable Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein last week. While we may dream of collecting furniture, Vitra have been busy collecting buildings, and not just any old buildings. Works from the likes of Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid punctuate this enormous area, giving one of the most inspiring backdrops for furniture design one could find anywhere on earth. If, like with children, one shouldn’t have... Read More
CDW Preview Today marks the beginning of Clerkenwell Design Week. Now in its sixth year and running for three days, if you discount the hangovers and washing up on Friday, the event takes place in the creative heartland of the most vibrant city on Earth. As well as forming the epicentre of the UK’s workplace design industry, Clerkenwell is home to new media agencies, graphic and interactive design studios and more than 200 architectural practices; more per square mile than anywhere else on the planet. It’s no surprise that the... Read More
Digital presenteeism and the growing problem of eye strain. The consequences of presenteeism are not restricted to the number of hours we put in at the office as we strive to be (or appear to be) more productive. As digital presenteeism becomes more prevalent, with many of us spending more and more time glued to our screens, so the associated problems become more apparent. While a great deal of attention has been focussed on the consequences of sedentary work and the ergonomic implications of the way we use smartphones and... Read More
Why it pays to check the green credentials of office furniture manufacturers and their products. Cynics might argue that when companies talk about issues such as corporate social responsibility they are doing so because it helps them to achieve their business goals. However that does not explain why so many companies do more than they need to in order to meet their environmental obligations under law and in response to demands from customers. When it comes to office furniture, many manufacturers are develop a more sophisticated approach than meeting the... Read More
It’s wise never to underestimate the scale or importance of the annual Milan Salone De Mobile. 24 halls stretched out across more than a mile featuring the cream of European furniture manufacturers for both the residential and commercial markets. 2015 (its 54th edition) saw the continuing convergence of these markets with brands such as Danish manufacturer Carl Hansen displaying products under the banner ‘at home anywhere in the world’ that would not look out of place in either the office or home. The colour palette this year from the leading... Read More
One of the least remarked upon consequences of the digital revolution of the past two decades has been its impact on the world of exhibitions. Not so long ago, these were one of the few ways people had of finding out about new products, firms, services and technologies. Now we can find as much as we would like at any time, and so the exhibition has had to adopt a new role. In many ways, the changing role of shows has followed the same trajectory as that of offices. Far... Read More
We shouldn’t rely on narrow outmoded ideas to define what we mean by flexible working. One of the particular issues that raises its head in any debate about flexible working is what we mean by the term. We’ve been talking about new ways of working for a good quarter of a century now and what is generally understood about the practice has evolved as we have learned more about what the related practices mean both in theory and practice. The idea is inextricably tied up with the Internet and new... Read More
The Malcontents of Presenteeism and their Solutions One of the foundations for our success as a business is the partnership we have with the world’s most progressive and well-informed designers of office furniture. Not only does this allow us to offer customers the world’s best furniture products but also allows us to share with them the findings of research and know-how that goes hand-in-hand with them. The culture of both physical and technological presenteeism is no doubt a product of our modern working lives, but we have to take a... Read More
The psychological roots of good ergonomics and workplace productivity One of the most famous and illuminating experiments into workplace productivity is nearly one hundred years old, yet it continues to influence the way we think because it taps into an eternal truth about people. Namely that we are influenced as much by the attention of others as we are by their actions. The health and safety debate as we know it has its roots in research such as that carried out at the Hawthorne Works in Chicago in the 1920s.... Read More
A new generation of workplaces is helping to resolve the problem of office acoustics. If there is one subject that crops up more than any other in any contemporary debate about office design, it is acoustics. There are now lots of reasons why staff have difficulties coming to terms with the sounds that form the backdrop to their working day, especially if they work in open plan offices. The problem with these kind of working environments is particularly acute because most UK employees now work in open plan offices and... Read More
It’s the end of the year, so time to have a quick look back at our Top 5 most read news articles for 2014 – thanks to everyone who contributed and enjoyed them. Happy New Year from all of us at Wellworking. Number 5 From July – The UK’s Home Workers Need to Look After Themselves Too! Discussing the implications and requirements for those working at home with todays technology. Number 4 From April – Is Standing in an Office Really Better Than Sitting? Sometimes we swim against the tide of popular... Read More
Released at Orgatec 2014, Wellworking are pleased to offer the Cascando range of coat stands. Each design brings a unique look and feature that makes them stand out from the crowd making them both practical and visually interesting. These are now available to buy online from our Home and Office Accents section here or if you are looking to purchase for your next Commercial Project please contact our sales team on 020 3110 0610 for more details. Orgatec 2014 Bamboo Coat stands Cascando Twist Coat Stand
Wellworking would like to thank our clients, suppliers and colleagues for making 2014 such a fantastic year and look forward to seeing you all in 2015. Wellworking festive opening times; Dec 25 – Closed Dec 26 – Closed Dec 27 – Closed Dec 28 – Closed Dec 29 – Open 9am – 5.30pm Dec 30 – Open 9am – 5.30pm Dec 31 – Open 9am – 3pm Jan 1 – Closed Jan 2 – Closed Jan 3 – Closed Jan 4 – Closed
Great to see the Elite Evo modular sofa on The Apprentice this year – they looked and performed perfectly (guess even Lord Sugar can’t fire a sofa!) as the nervous contestants waited to find out their fate….
Feeling a little blue at this time of year? You’re not alone. Here we are in the depths of the British Winter and in spite of all of the Christmas cheer that goes along with it, most of us are just about ready for a break from work and the chance to recharge our batteries. There’s little doubt that this time of the year can get on top of people a little bit and that one of the most widely recognised causes of this is seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which... Read More
No surprise to hear that this year’s National Ergonomics Conference & Expo is all about movement. This year Wellworking are represented at this important global conference by leading Ergonomics Consultant Lee Jones, alongside our friends at Wellnomics, and the feedback is of increasing awareness of the importance of taking breaks and fighting sedentary workstyles. It’s great to see Suppliers such as Wellnomics, Bakker Elkhuizen, Contour, Humanscale, Interstuhl, and SB Seating at this Conference, working to promote Ergonomics not just as a label and a box ticked, but as a positive... Read More
The UK Government is very big on evidence based design these days and it is applying this approach in a number of new areas of policy, including wellbeing. Invariably the outcomes of its research and analysis are first refracted through a political prism on their way to becoming legislation, but the approach is very welcome and we should greet it without cynicism. At the end of October of this year The Cabinet Office announced the launch of The What Works Centre for Wellbeing including a dedicated website www.whatworkswellbeing.org. The centre... Read More
The latest person to contribute to the ongoing debate about standing at work and our changing relationship with mobile technology is Dr Kenneth Hansraj, chief of spine surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine. In a new study which has just been published in the academic journal Surgical Technology International, Dr Hansraj points the finger not only at human physiology and smartphones but also at gravity, which he claims doubles up with the new postures we now adopt as we view our handheld screens to exert unnatural forces... Read More
The leap in the number of MSDs in the UK is almost certainly down to mobile devices and flexible working. As we reported last week, the UK has witnessed a huge jump in the number of reported cases of musculoskeletal disorders associated with the nation’s workplaces. The numbers make for somewhat depressing reading and include a 20 percent hike over two years in the number of cases to more than half a million, 8.3 million lost working days and a sharp increase in the proportion of work-related illness associated with... Read More
Herman Miller are adding to their extensive catalogue with the newly released, in the UK, ‘Collection’ products. Mid-century classics from Ward Bennett (Sled & Envelope chairs) sit side by side with modern design stars such as BassamFellows (Tuxedo chair) & Sam Hecht and Kim Colin (Wireframe Sofa), but in an entirely cohesive manner! These are now available to order via the Wellworking store here.
While the UK remains one of the safest places to work in Europe, work related ill health continues to rise for British employees according to the latest data from the Health and Safety Executive. The HSE claims that there are some 28 million days lost each year, costing the economy over £14 billion. While the most dangerous professions continue to be construction, agriculture and manufacturing, the report found that over two thirds of days lost (20 million) and some £9 billion can be attributed to be the main causes; musculoskeletal... Read More
Watch this space. Five key workplace trends from Orgatec 2014 Old lags from the office furniture industry will always tell you that Orgatec isn’t what it was. Even allowing for their rose tinted hindsight, there is truth in this but primarily only in terms of its scale. Staged every two years in Cologne, Germany, it continues to offer a unique insight into the changing shape and function of the office. It is this that attracted 50,000 people to Orgatec this year, two-thirds from outside Germany. There are two reasons for... Read More
Wellworking will have a full review of Orgatec 2014 shortly, but here are a couple of photos from the show. The emphasis on collaborative spaces and acoustics were definitely at the front of a majority of manufacturers thinking this year, with some innovative and eye catching designs – more soon!
The next generation workplace. There is a well travelled international circuit for those interested in what office furniture design tells us about the way we work that has, for a number of years, taken in London, Milan, Chicago, Stockholm and Cologne as its main stopping off points. This week sees the launch of Orgatec, the longstanding biennial workplace festival in Cologne. One of the interesting features of Orgatec is that, because it takes place every two years, it offers snapshots of key developments in the market. It throws a spotlight... Read More
This week saw the return of Lord Alan Sugar and ‘The Apprentice’ to our screens via the BBC. This year will see twenty hopeful applicants put through their paces during the ever changing tasks as Lord Sugar whittles the applicants down to one winner who will receive a £250,000 injection into a business partnership. However what really interests us is the shows choice of furniture! First of all in the famous boardroom, you will find Lord Alan Sugar delivering his catch phrases while sitting on the brilliant Interstuhl Silver 362S... Read More
Orgatec 2014 is the bi-annual furniture show held in Cologne that is the ‘go to’ event for the office furniture industry. Starting on Tuesday 21st of October this year and running for 4 days, it showcases all the latest innovations and designs from manufacturers around the world. This year the theme is Modern Office & Facility. Asking the questions – how do we work and live? What requirements have to be fulfilled in order to provide ideal working conditions? The whole world of work (wherever the modern workplace is!) will... Read More
Big congratulations to Wellworking Health & Safety Advisor Magdalena Molecka for her recent excellent result in Site Management Safety which is part of her NEBOSH certificate. NEBOSH is a degree level qualification in Occupational Safety & Health which is one of the highest qualifications in this area in the UK. As part of the Wellworking Ergonomic Services team Magdalena can provide high level consulting & training to ensure your company is both compliant and strives toward best practice. To find out more about our Ergonomic Services please see here.
Client Services Executive at Wellworking, Phil Connolly, is is taking a big step to raise money for the Macmillan Cancer Research charity – by leaping out of a plane at 10,000ft (with a parachute!). Wellworking are backing Phil for his big leap on October 11th and wish him good luck (he may need it considering his fear of heights). Macmillian will not be contributing to the cost of this jump in anyway, all monies raised go directly to them via Justgiving.com Give what you can, even if that only translates... Read More
Wellworking offer a service called ‘Precision’ for customers who purchase Herman Miller products for delivery within 50 miles of London. We often thought about the best way to explain what the ‘Precision’ delivery service was, and decided that a short film would be perfect! So if you are thinking of getting a new Herman Miller chair, desk or bundle for your home or office why not find out more about a service that matches the quality of the product?
The Hag SoFi seating range has expanded, it now includes the Executive meeting chair that blends Scandinavian design elements with more traditional boardroom looks. With it’s ‘built in’ ergonomics and soft Antigo leather, meeting chairs can be now be both stylish and comfortable. To purchase online please visit the Wellworking Online Furniture store here.
Great to see the Nomique Coco Sofa supplied by Wellworking on Double Your House For Half The Money on Wednesday night (if you missed it check it on 4oD) – looks great on screen & in your home or office. Coco has an extravagant combination of fabrics, retro design and modern comfort that makes this sofa a truly signature piece.
One of the most underrated and least talked about aspects of a productive workplace is not only completely free; we enjoy a limitless supply of it. Daylight is very much an underrated commodity as an element of building design and new evidence from the University of Illinois proves just how important it is to our wellbeing. The study of two groups, one of which worked in artificially lit windowless offices, the other with access to windows, found that office workers with exposure to daylight slept longer, enjoyed better quality sleep,... Read More
Wellworking have added some great new products to our website this week. First up is the Boss Design Cuba Coffee Table – a glass top coffee table with polished frame that has great presence and looks great in the corporate environment. Also the Herman Miller Tato range – is it a ball or a seat or just decorative? We think they could be all of the above! Adding a touch of style to cafe or bar areas for both home & office is the Carl Hansen CH56/58 stool... Read More
Amongst all the talk about Generation Y and its impact on the world of work, it can be easy to miss the fact that the modern workplace is not defined by one particular generation, but a number of them. The multi-generational workplace has significant implications for the way we design and manage offices. While we must avoid the more obvious stereotypes about the needs of different age groups, we must still offer spaces that can meet a wide range of cultural, physical and technological needs if we are to create... Read More
This is a great video update on the new offices for News UK, good to see Wellworking furniture being used to help create new ways of working. Wellworking are delighted to be part of this impressive project and look forward to seeing more results soon.
A couple of interesting new products for the Wellworking Online Store this week – the Dynamobel Slat C task chair offering great value for a well specified mesh office task chair. The new Herman Miller Anywhere case takes the brand in an exciting new direction – the perfect product for the modern, flexible worker! More soon!!
The benefits of the sit-stand workstation and the business case for it are both pretty well developed, if not exactly widely appreciated in the UK. That is why we should embrace campaigns such as Get Britain Standing as it seeks to popularise a product that can have genuine and long-lasting beneficial effects for the people who use it. Office furniture makers including Herman Miller and Humanscale are also doing their bit to make these benefits more widely understood and so popularise sit-stand in the UK. To an extent, this is... Read More
As long ago as 1977, the then Health and Safety Commission’s annual report claimed that its ‘overriding concern is to stimulate awareness of risks and encourage the joint participation of workers and management in efforts to eliminate them.’ The world has changed dramatically since then, but the basic premise about the balance of managing risk still holds true. However, the changing nature of work, and in particular where it gets done means that the burden of risk assessment has shifted significantly from ‘management’ to ‘individuals’ over recent years. More and... Read More
The British have an enduring love affair with Scandinavia. From Norwegian Wood to Ikea, Abba to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the country’s love affair with everything Nordic shows no sign of abating any time soon. We have a particular affinity with Scandinavian design, which is both familiar to our shared Northern European sensibilities and exotic at the same time. Its influence extends way beyond Sundays spent assembling a Billy book case. Like all the best design, we love its simplicity and functionality, its order and attractiveness. The influence... Read More
The number of people who work from home in the UK is now officially so large that we should stop referring to this particular work practice as a ‘trend’ and simply see it as a perfectly normal way for people to work. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, published at the beginning of June, show that around 4.2 million people work from home at least some of the time, around 14 percent of the total workforce. Not only that, the numbers are rising rapidly with 1.3 million... Read More
Given the track record of people when it comes to making predictions about the future, it’s easy to grow cynical. But while we should be wary of more fanciful and long term thinking, any natural scepticism shouldn’t blind us to those predictions that we know will largely come true, especially those based on what we know is happening already. For example, recent research carried out by Cass Business School and Henley Business School and presented in the book Future Work: How Businesses Can Adapt and Thrive in the New World of... Read More
There has always been a certain degree of skepticism within the UK’s business community about the way the public sector goes about buying goods and services. Some of it is justified but some is unfair. The efforts of successive governments to address the problem demonstrates that there is always a will to improve things. So while a recent BBC Panorama documentary highlighted claims from one report that the NHS loses billions each year thanks to a range of errors and fraud in its procurement processes, we might also ask whether... Read More
The face of customer service has been changing for some time. Driven by the digital revolution, customers have often been one step ahead of businesses, using technologies in unexpected and advanced ways and so developing new expectations about the speed and quality of service they expect. The challenge for firms was laid out in a recent study from Deloitte called ‘Customer service in the digital age: Responding to digital disruption and rising customer expectations.’ According to the report’s authors: ‘In today’s digital world, customer expectations and the rules of customer... Read More
One of the most talked about office design trends right now is activity based working. The principle itself is pretty simple: it means work that is based on a range of specific activities which people do in a number of different and appropriate locations. Because it is something of an alternative to the tradition of personal workstations and because it allows people to work both in a traditional workplace (albeit in task specific zones) as well as other places, it is usually associated with the wider trend towards more flexible... Read More
This Summer sees not only the FIFA World Cup 2014 take place in Rio de Janerio but also, and perhaps just as importantly, the Wellworking 5 A–Side Cup. Run in partnership with Scandinavian Business Seating, this fun event also is raising money for charity. Take 4 leading architectural practices from the London area, give them a ball and pitch them against each other to see who will be crowned the best-of-the best (in the football stakes at least). We are raising money for the competing teams charities; MCM Architecture / The Benevolence Fund Pringle Brandon Perkins + Will / Article25... Read More
Another event in the design world has been and gone – Clerkenwell Design Week once again brought a festival atmosphere to one of the most world-renowned areas for design and architecture. We featured on a recent blog post what we were most looking forward to – but now that the event is over, it is good to look back and reflect on what we thought the highlights were. Firstly, the attraction which brought the most attention was the Russ + Henshaws Tile Mile. It was a re-interpretation of the arch... Read More
Every year Neocon forms a highlight of the US and Global office furniture calendar, and for Herman Miller in 2014 it provides the opportunity for them to build on their Living Office concept, unveiled in 2013. Running from June 9-11 in Chicago and attended by over 40,000 Architecture and Design professionals, Neocon remains the single most important industry event of the year. Wellworking recently had the opportunity to talk to Herman Miller’s Director of Global Marketing, Luke Dawson, as to what makes this Neocon important for them. Luke described... Read More
By common consent, the office is a little over 100 years old, with most commentators agreeing that the first true office as we now understand it was the Larkin Building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1904. Yet ninety years after this building ushered in the 20th Century workplace, there was another seismic shift in office furniture design that heralded the office for the 21st Century. In 1994, there was a great deal of excited talk about new ways of working, based on the growing use of mobile computers and... Read More
Clerkenwell Design Week runs from 20-22 May 2014 and is a showcase of leading UK and international individuals, brands and companies. 2013’s event brought over 50,000 registered attendees and over 250 exhibitors, so here at Wellworking we are excited to see what 2014 brings. Home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else worldwide, Clerkenwell is one of the most important design hubs in the world, so it makes sense to hold this independent design festival. Over 3 days, this small area of London attracts the... Read More
Originally designed in 1964, the trusty cubicle turns 50 this month. It was a bright idea, thought up by Robert Propst, who was working for Herman Miller. At the time, the company was focused on home furnishings, but now the brand is more known for office furniture, thanks to this invention. Robert Propst wanted to improve the office that he had grown up with – he had studied people and decided that the open-bullpen office was not the way to go. He decided that the “Action Office” was the way... Read More
It has been over twenty years since we first started talking seriously about flexible working. Interest in the subject was so intense at its peak during the mid 1990s that we were at times asked to consider nothing less than the death of the office itself. The world with which we were presented was one in which we could work from home if we wanted as an alternative to soul-sapping commuting, desk-bound grind and vending machine coffee in a traditional office. It was always a choice of one or the... Read More
We recently visited Milan Design Week and iSalone, but there are a number of other design shows and trade shows which exhibit and influence the current and future market trends of the design and furnishings world. Four of the most important events in addition to Milan are Neocon in Chicago, Stockholm Design Week, Furniture Fair and Northern Light Fair, 100% Design, and ORGATEC Cologne. Neocon is held every June, and this year, 2014, it is being held on June 9th – June 11th. It is the largest contract design expo... Read More
