This statement is true to some extent as in businesses and employers don’t want their teams coming in, chatting and scrolling on their phones then going home without doing any work of course, but more and more companies are now seeing new ways in which teams can work and where/how they work.

Agile working and flexible working are names for this way of thinking, as well as the more recent term of social spaces. One description online says “A social space in the office is a place where people can relax and socialise. It can be a room, a dedicated corner with soft seating or even a bench table. Another term for a social space is a breakout area, or ‘a third space’ – a middle ground between work and home where one can carry out a job function as well as meet and interact with other like-minded people.”

To work and to be productive in most cases, as the pandemic proved, we don’t necessarily have to sat at a desk on a chair. We can be sat in an armchair, in a pod, in a booth, on a sofa or sat on a bench with others. And we can even stand!

Informality doesn’t have to mean unproductive. Sometimes the best ideas or conversations are had when away from the desk.

Most workplaces will have some form of social space such as a kitchen for making drinks and so on, but the needs and wants of staff and companies have moved up a gear. With less people in the office some days, you may more space or different space shall we say. Desks and chairs are of course still very much needed, but how else could the space be best utilised?

Breakout furniture? Find out more.

Booths?

Coffee tables and soft chairs?

Some companies even having running tracks, bars, games areas, areas for pets and more!

Other benefits aside from giving off a homely vibe, more comfort and aiding flexible ways to work, include having a focal point, making your particular office stand out and be talked about, enticing staff back in, attracting new talent/recruits and more, including wellbeing elements.

On average, we spend a third of our day at work, so it makes sense that our environment at work should be just as welcoming and inviting as our homes. Not only that, according to a survey done by Office Genie, a well-designed office can make you feel up to 33% happier…

Whether you work in an office, university, school, showroom, waiting room and any other workplace, having such areas is really seen as a benefit.

When choosing the furniture or type of breakout and social furniture that would best work for your workplace, consider things like space, usage, traffic and footfall, materials, colours, budgets, ranges and what bests compliment your current furniture and set up.