A desk is never just a desk. Oh no! A desk is a place that an office employee spends a huge amount of his or her time. For that reason, office desks need to be a home away from home in many ways, and they certainly need to be comfortable, yet functional, at the same time.
If an employee isn’t comfortable at their desk, they’re not going to be the most productive person on the planet. Put yourself in that position and try to picture the length of the day before you, when your back is hurting, the desk is too small, you don’t have space, and you’re constantly having to hunt around for things, because you simply can’t be organised.
No, a badly designed and badly chosen office desk is not the most productive item of office furniture to have in your office.
For that reason, we’re going to give you the 101 on everything to do with office desks, to help you make your decision.
From luxury office desk choices to glass desks, we’ve got it covered!
The Main Types of Office Desks
Just as with chairs, there are several types of office desks around too, and it’s vital to pick the right one for your needs, in order to boost comfort, productivity, and overall morale for your staff. A happy employee is a successful and productive one!
The main types of office desks to think about are:
• Wave desks/curved
• Bench desks
• Reception desks
• Meeting desks/tables
Of course, there are a few other anomalies in there too, but overall, those are the main choices you have before you. Let’s take a brief look at each on in turn.
Wave Desks/Curved Desks
These types of desks were originally designed when larger desktop computers were still the main office technological option of choice, and you will find a curve in the middle for the main computer to sit. You’ll also find this is the largest and widest point of the desk, because the computer monitors used to be so large! These days, you can still make use of these whether you’re opting for a laptop, tablet, or a computer, and they give you a lot of space on either side.
A desk such as this has a shorter edge, usually to the left hand side, and then a longer length to the other side, with the curve we just mentioned in the middle. The office chair is designed to sit snugly into the curve, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit in that position, so you’re getting flexibility here, as well as ample space. The best way to describe this type of desk is an in L shape, and that’s what you’ll sometimes hear them called on the market.
Advantages:
• More space
• Plenty of room underneath for storage units
• Flexible
Disadvantages:
• Quite large, so will take up a lot of space
• May be too large if you’re simply using a laptop or tablet
Bench Desks
These are the traditional, long desks which are designed like a table. Generally speaking, these are placed in office design almost in lines, which means you can fit a lot of desks into a smaller space, which isn’t possible with curved desks. These types of desks have been around forever, but they are more popular than ever nowadays, because we don’t need as much space for technology as we did a few years ago. A laptop or tablet doesn’t take up much space at all, so a huge desk isn’t required for many employees.
For employers the main attraction of bench desks is the cost and space effectiveness, as well as the versatility, as these types of desks can be moved from room to room and also be used as meeting room tables too.
Advantages:
Versatile and useful for many different requirements
Space effective
Cost effective
Disadvantages:
Not as much storage space available
Can look bland
Reception Desks and Meeting Desks/Tables
We’ll bunch these two together as they’re not so much a choice you’ll need to make for your regular office employees, but two desk options which you should have in some guise or another. A large reception desk is a must, as this will give your receptionist plenty of space, and therefore avoid the reception area looking cluttered or messy. This also gives your receptionist a barrier between guests and him or herself, which is required for safety reasons. You could for example opt for a height adjustable desk here (however, more common in the main office area), or you could go for a regular reception desk, which is normally the curved or L shaped variety.
Meeting tables and desks are usually the bench style, and basically give your meeting delegates somewhere to sit and rest against whilst in discussion.
Considerations When Choosing an Office Desk
We’ve talked about the types of office desks and we’ve given you advantages and disadvantages of each one. You should probably now have a general idea in your mind on which one to go for, but there are other things to take into account too. For instance, what is your budget? How much space do you realistically have?
The following are some considerations you need to bear in mind when choosing your ideal office desks.
• Budget - How much do you realistically have to spend, and also think about how many desks you need within that. It’s no good opting for expensive height adjustable desks, if you need a large amount of them.
• Space - How much space do you realistically have? Again, large desks are going to take up a large amount of space, and L shaped or curved desks aren’t the best option for smaller rooms, because they don’t fit naturally into a space like a bench desk would. In this case, there is a lot of surplus space, which you could use more effectively. Bench desks can be placed in rows, but they are also designed to be placed against walls.
• What type of work is going to be done at the desk? - Are you going to have one desk per employee? Are you going to use a hot-desking technique? Do you need larger desks for certain tasks and smaller ones for other tasks? Give careful thought to the type of work which is going to be done at each desk, and tailor your choice accordingly.
• What appearance and theme are you going for? - It’s likely that your office has a certain look or theme, and in that case you want your desks to fit in with that. For instance, if you have a very modern, sleek look to your office, glass desks will fit right in. On the other hand, if you’ve gone for a more traditional, natural look, wooden bench desks will complement the overall vibe. You should also give plenty of thought to colour, as you don’t have to go for the regular shades if you don’t want to! These days you’ll find many funky, coloured desks, just as easily as regular wooden, black, or white desks. Again, it’s down to the look of your office, which fits in with your overall brand.
• How much storage do you need? - We talked about the fact that curved or L shaped desks have a lot of storage space underneath them, and you’ll find smaller storage cabins which are designed to sit underneath, at the right height. You don’t have this option quite so freely with bench desks, although it isn’t impossible. Think about how much storage you will need, and then make your decision based on that. Remember, you can always go for centralised storage, e.g. a large bookcase in one corner of the office, rather than individual cabinets. It really depends on your office and it’s individual needs.
• Your future needs - Are you likely to undergo a renovation of your office in the future? Do you see your needs changing? If that is the case, bear in mind what those changing needs may be in relation to the types of desks you should purchase. If you are planning to expand your workforce, large curved desks might not be the greatest option. In this case, bench desks offer you a more flexible option.
A Big Decision
If you originally thought that choosing an office desk would be easy, you should now be clued up on the various things you need to consider carefully. It isn’t as easy as you first thought, right? We have a huge range of different desks for your various needs, and as with large office furniture stores, we have different colours, shapes, sizes, materials, and everything else you can think of! So, if you’re looking for office furniture in Bromley, or anywhere else for that matter, browse our selection before making your final choice.
Have you recently had to search for new desks? Are you thinking about making changes to your office in the near future? What are your thoughts about the must haves for a comfortable and functional office desk? Drop us a line on our ‘contact us’ page, and let’s start a discussion, to help everyone choose the right style for his or her individual needs.