The choice of desks for your office can have a huge impact on overall productivity. The right choice of desks should not only complement and complete your overall office design, but they should also facilitate effective collaboration and be comfortable for long periods of time.
Desk design has evolved over the decades to create innovative pieces of office furniture that maximise comfort and aid productivity while helping you to create attractive spaces in which to work.
A good desk is also a health and performance decision, not just a style one. The evidence below shows why the desk you pick shapes how people feel and work all day.
An office essential
Desks are one piece of furniture that every office needs. They’re available in a wide range of sizes, styles and designs. Contemporary office desks will often incorporate advanced ergonomics to aid staff comfort. For example, height-adjustable desks make it possible to vary your position and posture during your working day. These enable you to work sitting down or standing up, reducing back problems and countering muscle inactivity.
What the evidence says about sit-stand desks
Less sitting, less back pain
The case for height-adjustable desks is now backed by UK research. A controlled study found that staff given sit-stand desks plus simple coaching cut their daily sitting time and reported fewer musculoskeletal problems, less fatigue and better work engagement than colleagues on fixed desks. Workers in the trial also reported a positive effect on job performance and quality of life.
A duty, not just a nice-to-have
UK Display Screen Equipment (DSE) rules require employers to assess workstations and let staff change posture through the day. They do not mandate standing desks, but a desk that lets people move easily makes those duties simpler to meet.
Our office furniture service helps you specify desks that support comfort and good posture from the start.
New ways of working
As hybrid working becomes increasingly common the need for a permanent desk is decreasing. Instead, the office will become the hub with people switching between remote and in-office work.
Hot desks are becoming the norm with project tables that double as hot desks helping to support flexible collaboration. Depending on working patterns, a contemporary hybrid office may provide half and half provision between permanent desks and hot desks. To ensure a smooth transition between remote and in-office work, hot desks should have desktop power and smart charge facilities or multifunctional docking stations.
Hybrid is now the settled pattern, so desk planning has to match it. Around 28 per cent of UK workers were hybrid in early 2025, rising to 34 per cent of full-time staff, and two or three office days a week now cover most hybrid roles. That makes shared desks busier on peak days, so each one needs to suit several users in turn. Our 3D space planning service helps you set the right mix of permanent and shared desks before you commit.
How are your office desks used?
The first step in finding the perfect office desk is determining what the job of the user entails. Someone who is sitting at a computer all day will have different requirements from someone who has to complete lots of paperwork or who talks to clients or colleagues in person at their desk.
The amount of technology that will be hosted at the desk will also be a key determining factor, as will the number of people who may sit at the desk during the day.
How will it fit into the available space?
Finding the perfect desk in terms of ergonomics is no good if it doesn’t fit into the available space. Even if a desk does fit, there are still issues of office layout and movement to consider.
An office crammed with desks that people have to carefully navigate tends to become increasingly unproductive as well as uncomfortable as staff become reluctant to move unless it cannot be avoided.
A good office layout aids collaboration as well as comfort, and the right choice of desks and desk layout is an integral part of achieving this.
The right desk for your office design
The desks you choose will be a key factor in determining the overall look and feel of your office. Great office design is not only functional and aids productivity, but it should also be an attractive piece of furniture in its own right.
There is a growing understanding of how good aesthetics influence our mood and aid our productivity. Attractive, well-designed spaces that are comfortable as well as functional, support a healthy mood and make us more productive.
Desks don’t have to be boring. They can be colourful, standing, made from different materials, and multi-functional. The choice is almost limitless.
How we got desks right for Siddall Jones
For Birmingham property firm, Siddall Jones, we matched desk choice to a sharp, modern brand and to how teams actually work, from focused screen work to client conversations. The result is a workspace where the desks earn their place on both looks and comfort. See more of our case studies for examples across sectors.
Innovative office design from Flow Office
At Flow, our bespoke office furniture design service ensures that your furniture not only fits the space but also facilitates a better working environment for your staff.
To find out more about our office furniture and design services, call 01922 453 488 or email
sales@flowoffice.co.uk today.
