Selecting startup office furniture is something of a balancing act. Brand new businesses need to attract excited, energized innovators who don’t mind putting in long hours at work. This means the office furniture really needs to be good quality. At the same time, funds may be a little tight. It doesn’t make financial sense to […]

How small is too small? Businesses used to assume that each worker needed 500 to 700 square feet of work space to be productive – but those days are long gone. Today, office managers assume that they need less than 200 feet per worker – and many make employees get by on much less than […]

Is it worth cost cutting when it comes to cubicles? There are many differences between cubicle manufacturers, and of course, you get what you pay for. As with any other type of office furniture, there’s a tremendous difference between an affordable cubicle and a cheap cubicle. By looking for affordable cubicles instead of just “cheap”, […]

As many workers have noticed and bemoaned the fact, the typical call center center cubicle is on the smaller side compared to other individual office workstations.  Since employees don’t generally have files or paperwork and really only “need” room for a phone headset and computer, companies tend to pack them in like sardines. There’s a […]

 According to recent research in Sydney, AU, roughly half of workers in open floor plan offices and nearly as many in small cubicles say noise is a problem, and makes their workday harder. Specifically, it’s “lack of sound privacy”, meaning employees constantly have to hear their neighbors’ chatter and don’t feel that they can have […]

Environmental psychologists study how people live in the physical world. They investigate the psychological implications of sensory experiences from how color influences mood to how furniture should be placed. What they tell us can help create a workspaces that make employees feel secure, calm, and capable —  so they can accomplish their best work. Here […]

If your budget is practically non-existent, even a set of deeply discounted used cubicles might be out of your grasp. In that situation, you need to get inventive and figure out a way to build your own really, really cheap office cubicles. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Cardboard This time honored […]

Does your office feature a graveyard section? More and more offices, hit with the recession, have become home to empty stretches of commercial square footage – barren corridors abandoned as employees clump together in different parts of the floor. There’s a silver lining to the phenomenon of the cubicle graveyard,however; as need to maximize floor […]

Cubicles were once a futuristic and positive idea, taking the chaos of open offices and turning it into an orderly universe with space for each worker to call their own, including expanded desk space, storage space, wall space and so on. Sadly, this utopia turned into a dystopia, as costs of office space rose and […]

The original cubicle came into being in the late 1960s, and at first office workers rebelled. For high level execs used to spacious offices they didn’t at first see the value of an enclosed workstation.  However, mid-level employees accepted the idea of their own space as a step up in many cases as cubicles improved.  […]

More and more companies are outsourcing their customer service to larger telecommunications firms and VoIP companies, and these in turn are searching for better ways to maintain employee morale and efficiency in an increasingly challenging field. When employees are exposed to excessive noise, they can’t concentrate, and when they are on the phone, excessive noise […]

If you are furnishing an office, you’ve probably already decided on a layout – whether it is an open design or full of tidy cubicles. But how do you know what office chairs will fit your – and your employees’ – needs? For workers who spend a huge amount of time in their cubicle or […]

Are you looking into purchasing refurbished cubicles for your office? Sometimes these can have a huge advantage over new or used cubicles. In most cases, cubicles that have been refurbished are much less costly than entirely new setups.  They are also typically not in as bad of shape as used ones. It’s the nice middle […]

Does your cubicle need a little brightening up? Most offices are not against a plant being brought in or even a small fish tank if properly maintained and cared for. Find out, then check out these ideas for refurbishing your cubicle space to be a little more interesting. Each item should be suited to cubicle […]

When choosing to go with cubicles as your office fallback, it’s important to think about the kind of working environment you are trying to engender with your new cubicle installation. Is your office full of creative types who work together as a team to complete tasks and brainstorm ideas? A low cubicle height of around […]

When going from a open office layout or blended layout to a new cubicle style office, there are certain things that will have to change in regard to office etiquette. The feel of an office that is filled with cubicles is much different than one that holds traditional offices or is an open plan, and […]

If your office is improperly lit, chances are you’re not working as productively as you could be. Office lighting and temperature can affect our brains, and even if you work in a large office beyond your control, there are things you can do to help make your cubicle more comfortable. First, understand that natural light […]

Working in a San Diego cubicle installation can do wonders for productivity – but could be rather hazardous to your employees’ health. Be a good office manager or CEO, and make sure your worker bees stay fit as well as focused with these tips! Make sure they move it, move it. Surprise – sitting in […]

There’s often a disconnect between space planners and actual users, and this is even more apparent when it comes to cubicles. While cubicle sharing seems like a no-brainer to planners and facility managers in cases with limited workstations, the workers who have to physically exist in the shared space can sometimes find it difficult. How […]

It’s interesting to note the ways that architecture and office cubicles mimic each other. In April, dezeen.com published an article about the construction underway in the central business district in Shanghai near the Hong Qiao Airport. The new edifices are described as having “optimized forms”. This means the designers have found the sweet spot between […]

At NeoCon 2013, systems furniture is really showing off its curves. We’re spotting this trend all over the place from full sized workstations to small occasional work areas. In a world where office footprints are all squares and rectangles, this isn’t the best way to fit the most people into the smallest possible area. However, […]

Last week, we gave the office furniture companies that design cubicles a bit of a hard time about lacking true imagination. Well, we take it back – at least partly. We forgot about this little BusinessWeek slideshow from way back that showcases some pretty sweet concept cubicles that various manufacturers created to give the cube […]

People are always griping about how ugly the cubicle is. What a boring design! They stifle creativity! Who would want to work in one? Can you believe some poor sods have to go sit in one of those day after day? Well, we agree that cubicle design, while functional, does often lack imagination. There are […]

Last week we partly debunked the idea that the average square footage per office worker is shrinking quite as fast as employers wish or assume. But it is still true that cubicles are getting smaller. Pam Huff writes for bizjournals.com about just this trend from the perspective of a Tampa Bay office furniture dealer. Kevin […]

These days, all the major office furniture manufacturers are trying to make their products easier on the planet. They use components that are made of pre or post-consumer recycled materials. They incorporate more recyclable materials. They use fewer components and fewer types of materials. They make their furniture easier to take apart. They use less […]

Kyle McCarthy at Smart Living Network draws an interesting parallel between the ubiquitous office cubicle and childhood memories of being put in “timeout”. He says working within the confines of those four foot tall partitions makes him feel trapped in perpetual stasis. He points out that the cube can make employees feel claustrophobic while stifling […]

As a manager or business owner, you have a vested interest in keeping employee morale high. But you also bear responsibility for keeping the office facilities and furniture in good condition. Allowing employees to eat at their desks can lead to a number of problems: Stained upholstery or cubicle panel fabrics from sticky spills and […]

The trend of executives moving out of offices and into cubicles is continuing apace in a world where every aspect of corporate culture is under scrutiny. Businesses that want to leave behind the traditional hierarchical approach to management (at least in appearance) are seeing what it’s like to live in a cube farm. The idea […]

Open plan office environments are all the rage right now. That’s supposed to be a good thing for space efficiency and collaboration. But doing away with cubicle panels can create an atmosphere where people feel that they have no privacy at all. Teknion has decided to remedy this situation with a screen that employees can […]

That sounds like the beginning of a riddle. But the answer is, “When it’s a Me Space”. That’s a fancy way of saying you get a cubicle that doesn’t share walls with any other cubes. Instead, each one is a free-standing mini-office. This British design from PearsonLloyd gives you the best of the cubicle world […]

Does it seem that the business environment is moving more and more toward wireless communication and away from standard cabling? The fact is that there’s still plenty of demand for panel systems that allow companies to incorporate traditional cabling and power distribution. But this doesn’t mean office owners are satisfied with just running wire through […]

It’s always fun to spot a brand new word in office design. The term “cubicle-scaping” is a good example. I first saw the term this week on Twitter by a user named Jenna from Michigan. She’s trying to landscape and decorate her cubicle with plant life. It’s a noble endeavor and one that more people […]

It’s unlikely they get quite as creative as one data manager in NC. Bill Taylor spends a few minutes each day over a period of about 6 weeks replicating famous paintings on a whiteboard in his cubicle. It’s good to know he’s not working on these for too long at a stretch. Otherwise, he might […]

It’s not just TV that gets Nielsen ratings. Cubicles get their turn in the spotlight as well. The Contract brand report awareness survey for November 2011 looks at office furniture through the eyes of design and architectural firms. The top 5 winners in the furniture systems category reads like a “who’s who” of the biggest […]

We’re headed across the country again in this second post on the NeoCon East office furniture show. This time, let’s take a journey through Inscape System. This “Inscape” workstation and panel solution is designed to help employers “Escape” from wasted space and confusing office furniture specification. Like many popular cubicle brands, the goal of this […]

Some of the best quality cubicles have wide raceways to accommodate data cables and electric wiring. But will the advent of wireless systems make systems furniture a thing of the past? Allsteel cosponsored a tech report on how going wireless impacts facility design and furnishing decisions. They determined that cubicle raceways will remain useful for […]

People still seem to assume that big businesses don’t listen to the little guy. That’s changing with the advent of social media. Huge cubicle manufacturing and design firms like Herman Miller have teams working hard to scour the internet for the latest industry news to share with their loyal blog readers. This level of online […]

Jen over at Arnolds Furniture has collected a series of photos depicting the “5 filthiest office cubes in the world”. It’s a harrowing sight, so only click through if you have a strong stomach. Jen categorizes the behaviors evident in the disarray of each cubicle. There’s the Hoarder who can’t let go of anything – […]

NeoCon is in full swing for 2011, and there are some interesting entries in the commercial interiors product category for the Best of NeoCon award (BON). Well known names like HON, Allsteel, and Teknion are prominently featured entrants for their innovative cubicle designs. But today let’s take a look at some of the contenders from […]

The Stride collection from Allsteel provides a highly flexible off-modular panel system to create workspaces that can be reconfigured again and again. By adding, removing, and rearranging components, the overall layout can be adapted as needed – and individual workstations can be customized to meet employee preferences. For example, you can specify a “sit to […]

Our culture has reached the point where eco-friendly options no longer place an extra strain on the average business owner’s budget. The relevant technology and manufacturing processes/supply chains have become mature enough that sustainable office furniture is now within the reach of every employer. Maxon’s Parallel cubicles are an example of value priced panel systems […]