​ Few of us ever give a second thought to office furniture. Too often, it's drab, functional, utilitarian. Hardly the furniture we'd give another glance. After all, it's there to serve a purpose. To provide us with a place to work. ​ In reality, however, office furniture is so much more. ​ We spend much of our lives in the office: planning and discussing projects, reports, and more. Our desks, in particular, are the singular place where we spend most of our time – except our beds, of course. ​ So, why do we give these key areas such little attention? Why is office furniture treated as an afterthought? ​ American interior designer Albert Hadley once said, "design is coming to grips with one's real lifestyle, one's real place in the world. Rooms should not be put together for show but to nourish one's well-being." ​ Why can't that be true for office furniture? ​ Especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, we all need to set up home offices for an affordable price. But with at least 8 hours spent hunched at your desk, isn't it time we aimed for more. ​ Whether you're an employer thinking about employee wellbeing or a freelancer building your home office, you need office furniture with a difference. ​ Here at In the Office (ITO) Furniture, we design quality furniture at competitive prices, often manufactured here in South Africa. ​ But before you dive into our selection of office furniture on sale, here is the ultimate guide for furnishing an office. We've included everything from the basics through to long-term maintenance. ​ Let's get started. ​ What is office furniture and furnishing? The wrong answer: any furniture you put in an office. The right answer: office furniture is designed to meet employees' ergonomic and functional needs and help them fulfill their jobs. It could include desks, tables, chairs, bookshelves, filing cabinets, and more. Most common office furniture typically is modular, forming banks of desks with dividers in-between. It can be assembled rapidly or reconfigured to meet the changing needs of a team or department. Often referred to as “Benching or Clusters”. ​ That's often the hallmark of office furniture: adaptability. Any space, no matter the size, can be remodeled by moving a few desks and tables. Dividers can help demarcate the boundaries between teams. Meanwhile, large desks or prominent positions can indicate managerial positions. ​ What are office furniture examples? Probably the most famous example of office furniture is the office chair. There's no better example of ergonomic office design. Humans aren't built to sit down all day. We're supposed to hunt, roam, and gather before relaxing by a fire. The challenge then is to design a chair that perfectly sculpts the human body. ​ Indeed, if an employer fails to provide a decent office chair, they may be faced with a breakout of musculoskeletal pain. Sitting down for long periods strains our back ligaments and reduces tone in our muscles. The result: back pain, and lots of it. Exact figures on South Africa's back pain remain unknown – but it is still one of the commonest ailments seen by doctors. That can cost businesses thousands in missed work days due to sickness. It also demotivates staff – would you get much work done in chronic pain? ​ That's where the ergonomic office chair comes in. Sculpted to your back and with ample support, it reduces the incidence of back pain, thereby boosting any business. ​ And that's just one example of the benefits of office furniture. ​ What furniture does an office need? Not every company or person has thousands to spend on office furniture. We're all working within our budgets. So, what are the absolute essential bits of office furniture on sale? ​ Desk and chair. The building block of the office. Without a desk and chair, no one is getting any work done. But gone are the days of dividers. Today, offices are increasingly less structured. Think: hot desks, standing desks, and open-plan designs. Meeting room table and chairs. More tables and chairs! This time with a different purpose. Boardroom tables should be big enough to fit everyone around. But not too big – you don't want to be shouting your figures to Sarah in Accounting. Storage. Even as we transfer to a paperless environment, there are still old documents to file. That means filing cabinets and storage. Ideally, every employee should have a small set of drawers – you can opt for a desk height or mobile pedestal. Relaxation. We're not machines; we don't work every minute. Sometimes we need a break. Newer companies add couches, coffee tables, bookcases, even gaming areas to help their employees unwind. After all, employers see less employee turnover and can attract the best talent with higher job satisfaction. ​ Those are the basics: I bet you didn't realize office furniture mattered so much. Indeed, office furniture can make or break a company. Drab, dour offices are depressing places to work. In contrast, vibrant open-plan office furniture can create a collaborative, innovative environment where your employees want to work. ​ Even working from home, you'll still need the basics listed above. ​ How do I choose office furniture and equipment? Ergonomic. Ergonomic. Ergonomic. It's the kind of word used in corporate meetings, where no one ever knows the meaning. ​ Here's the definition: ​ "The applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort." - the Free Dictionary. ​ Little wonder it's considered the main factor in office furniture on sale. Therefore, to start selecting office furniture, you need to begin with a list of employees' responsibilities. Then, identify the office furniture required based on their demands. For instance, employees who spend only short periods in the office can suffice with a more affordable chair. However, a software developer sitting down for 8 hours or more per day will need the ultimate ergonomic design. ​ Design choices can also impact work life. Round tables foster collaboration, for example, where a longer table establishes a hierarchy. You'll also want to consider visitors to your office. Purchasing adequate seating is critical. But this also highlights the need for an attractive and pleasant office environment. Don't merely buy the cheapest office furniture on sale. Your office is the showroom for your business. If well-furnished, people want to work there, and customers will want to place an order. ​ Design matters. ​ What type of furniture is most desirable for an office? Once you've got what's needed, you can move on to those desirable pieces. ​ Number one on the list is a statement reception desk. Here, the design informs on your company's personality and ethos. Medical businesses are more likely to have a crisp white reception desk. In contrast, more traditional companies may opt for a darker wood. Think about the size of your space and the positioning of the desk. You want it to catch the eye. After all, it's a visitor's first port-of-call when they arrive. ​ Next is soft furnishings to decorate internal spaces. A leather sofa or wingback chair is a fantastic statement piece of office furniture. While still serving a useful purpose. ​ How do you maintain office furniture? Office furniture should be maintained with care and attention. Naturally, over time – and across several employees – things wear out. That doesn't mean you can't do anything about it. ​ First, implementing a clean desk policy is critical. It prevents the gradual accumulation of work, papers, dirt, food, and more on office furniture. It also improves productivity. You'll want to encourage employees to report any defects. The sooner a loose screw or desk joint is fixed, the less chance of further breakage. ​ Leather should also be regularly dusted and kept out of direct sunlight. Only specially designed cleaners should be used to buff it up. The same is true for wooden office furniture. Routinely ensure wood surfaces are wiped down and polished. If possible, encourage the use of coasters for drinks – no more ingrained coffee stains. ​ Why is furniture important in an office? If you were going to sit in a chair eight hours a day for several years, wouldn't you want a comfortable one? Wouldn't you want your office environment to be warm and pleasant? These are the questions employers need to ask themselves. ​ Here at ITO Furniture, we have a simple philosophy: make your workplace a happy space. ​ That's why we select the most comfortable and affordable office furniture on sale. But also, because we believe that office furniture shapes not just the space, but the business. It determines the culture and values employees will adopt. Cramped, uncomfortable, claustrophobic can no longer be the future of South African office furniture. What's needed is a workspace for the 21st century? ​ So, whether you're planning a big move to new premises or you just need to build a home office, browse our fabulous selection of office furniture. There's something for everyone.

A desk is not just a workspace. A chair is not just a place to sit. Furniture shapes our environment and the spaces where we interact with others. Too often, businesses treat office furniture as an afterthought. However, office furniture is the backbone of any business and if utilized correctly, can help lower costs, boost creativity and increase productivity. In The Office (ITO) is committed to using office furnishings to make your business thrive and feel like home for your employees. Why Is the Right Office Furniture Crucial? The most important benefit of choosing the right office furniture is that it will help create a healthy work environment. Health and Safety The modern office can pose health risks to workers. According to Franciscan Health, sitting for long periods can cause short-term health issues like back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, spinal disc hernias and other ailments. Long-term effects of sitting incorrectly include obesity, high blood pressure and slowed metabolism. When employees experience medical issues due to poor posture, inefficient office layout, or extended sitting, productivity and profits decrease. Employees also need to take more sick leave, and health insurance costs will skyrocket. A Positive Work Environment Physical discomfort and a displeasing work environment can also cause increased stress in the workplace. Unhappy workers can lead to higher turnover and decreased profits. Where We Come In ITO Furniture is committed to designing the perfect workspace to meet your business needs. Whether you work from home or in a large office, we’re here to assist you in making your business thrive. Our Solutions We use ergonomics or the process of designing a workspace with workers’ health and safety in mind, to make employees relaxed and happy in the office. According to ErgoPlus, ergonomics can benefit a workplace by reducing costs, increasing productivity, improving the quality of work and engagement, and creating a better safety culture. Happy Employees The right furniture and office layout make employees relaxed, content and productive. Workers will feel right at home with ITO’s office furniture. Overall, having the right furnishings drive innovation, creativity and productivity. Happy employees can make your business thrive! With ITO’s ergonomic approach to furniture, we assist you in making your business a success. Quality, Affordable Furniture ITO offers the highest quality office furniture in Johannesburg at unbeatable prices! Visit our showroom today to see what office furniture products we have in stock. In addition, we have a wide range of new and quality used office furniture. We also pride ourselves on delivering excellent customer service and are happy to provide a quote. No matter your budget, we can help meet your office needs! Great Prices and Convenience ITO has some of the lowest furniture prices in Johannesburg! What’s more, we provide convenience at a fraction of our competitors’ prices and we have a variety of special offers. We know how much time people put into running a business and your time is valuable. That’s why we offer delivery! Still not sure what you’re looking for? Let our excellent customer service team do the work for you! Contact us today to let us assist you in finding quality office furniture! Our Products We offer office desks, chairs, storage, accessories and everything else your office needs. Office Desks We offer a wide selection of office desks for all your needs. Whether you need a work-from-home desk, an L-shaped desk or have dual desking needs, we have it all! Our desks are designed with ergonomics in mind to reduce strain and fatigue and to help employees stay healthy and happy. Chairs According to the Mayo Clinic, a good office chair should support your spinal curves and have adjustable height and armrests. Employees' feet should also rest on the ground or a footrest. We understand the importance of a quality chair. ITO offers ergonomic chairs that have all these features at affordable prices. Chairs should provide sufficient support and comfort to create a relaxing and welcoming work environment. A chair should also decrease strain and the risk of health issues. ITO’s ergonomic chairs offer all of this and more! Not only are our chairs ergonomic but we have a wide selection to fit all your needs. We have high-end chairs, operator chairs, chairs for public seating, Eames chairs, and heavy-duty chairs. Call us today for our suggestions and or quote! Boardroom Our boardroom furniture offers a variety of quality and affordable desks and chairs with ergonomic support. Their layout is also essential for conducting business and streamlining in-person communication. Conversations and collaboration happen in boardrooms. You want to make sure your boardroom furniture can inspire and make employees bring out their creativity. Take a look at our range today and ask for a quote! Reception Reception is where clients come face to face with your business for the first time. It’s also often the first place where clients speak with a member of your team. You want to make sure it’s an inviting and professional space not only for clients but for your receptionist as well. Any receptionist in a strained and uncomfortable sitting position will not give a good first impression to potential clients. That’s why ITO Furniture is here to meet all your reception furniture needs! Ask for a quote today! ITO Furniture Means Business ITO Furniture understands how crucial it is to have a positive, stress-free work environment. Office furniture can make the difference between a stressful and unhealthy space and a space where employees can thrive in their work. In The Office (ITO) Furniture is committed to using office furnishings to make your business thrive and feel like home for your employees. No matter what services you specialize in, your employees deserve a space where they can work at their best. e can help your business succeed! We can work with any budget and we have a wide range of special offers! Give us a call today. We guarantee you’ll be satisfied with our services.

Whether you’re hunched over at home or spending hours in meetings, there are serious consequences from prolonged sitting. Indeed, many of us spend over 30 hours a week at our desks, just sitting. Slowly, that stresses our bodies, particularly our spines. The result: back pain, joint pain, and overall poor posture. What’s needed is an ergonomic chair shaped to our bodies. In Africa as a whole, back pain is common. In one study, back pain was reported in 50% of adults, with an average lifetime prevalence of 62%. One major cause is the office chairs we sit on – day in, day out. That doesn’t just mean pain for employees. It means days off, reduced productivity, and a distracted workforce. The ingenious solution is no ordinary office chair – ergo chairs not only feel great, but they also alleviate back pain. Want to know more? Here’s why you should invest in an ergonomic chair in South Africa – either for a home office or company workplace. What is an ergonomically correct chair? Sometimes it’s hard to tell a standard office chair and an ergonomic chair apart. The difference is in the details. Ergonomic chairs allow for seat height adjustment, back support adjustment, pan depth adjustment, and movement. In short: everything should be adjustable. Because none of our bodies are the same, the chair should be customisable to our body shape. Together, these features allow you to get into the optimum seated position: knees just lower than your hips, feet flat on the floor (no dangling), and a hand’s worth of space between your knee and the seat’s edge – to ensure blood flows freely. Are ergonomic chairs really better? Yes. You can feel the difference from the moment you sit down. Ergonomic chairs just conform to your body. With a few simple pulls of the levers and knobs, you’ll find yourself comfortably sitting; your head gently tilted down at your screen. There’s even the added bonus of a headrest. While most people won’t use it for day-to-day work, it’s a handy addition for most meetings. You know, the ones where you can sit back and take it all in. (Just no snoozing, alright!) But what does the research say? Well, a 2012 systematic review concluded there is a “consistent trend that supports the role of a chair intervention to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms among workers who are required to sit for prolonged periods.” Essentially, ergonomic chairs work and should be recommended to all employers. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all – ergonomics is the science of designing tools to maximise productivity by reducing fatigue and discomfort. That’s as true for ergo chairs as it is for pens, desks, or any other office appliance. Are ergonomic chairs bad? There’s one obvious downside to an ergonomic chair: price. With all their knobs, levers, and adjustable mechanisms, ergo chairs do cost more than your average, cheap run-of-the-mill office chair. For companies kitting out an office on a budget, investing in such high-quality ergo chairs may not seem viable. But hold up! While I could sing the praises of a comfortable staff, I know the bottom line is always the monetary line. Companies want their team to be happy, but they still need to make a profit – otherwise, there is no staff at all. So, is there an economic reason to invest in ergonomic chairs? Almost certainly. We know that prolonged sitting at “suboptimal workstations” causes musculoskeletal problems, including back pain, shoulder pain, and neck pain. That’s why investment in workstations often focuses on office chairs – as chairs directly impact posture. The consequences are millions – if not billions – of workdays lost to back pain worldwide. In the UK, for instance, 176,000 days were lost to back pain between 2019 and 2020. That accounts for billions in lost economic growth. For companies, a spate of office back pain troubles can be a disaster. Order completion declines; timelines are missed. After all, productivity takes a major hit if people are squirming in pain. Does an ergonomic chair make a difference? Despite being a little pricier, ergonomic chairs are perhaps the single greatest health intervention a business can make. It’s not just an investment in comfort. It’s a guarantee of better productivity and fewer office sick days. Indeed, estimates of the loss of productivity from musculoskeletal dysfunction rose to about $3.3 billion per year in Washington State, USA. Similar figures can be expected in South Africa. Now, with remote work becoming the new norm, the spectre of back pain once again looms. No longer do many people even have the luxury of an office chair. Instead, they’re cramped and hunched at kitchen tables, children’s bedrooms, or a small home office. As such, there’s never been a better time to invest in comfort. To buy yourself or your employees an Conclusion Ergonomic chairs in South Africa could make a huge economic difference. They’ll not only ensure a comfortable and happy workforce, but they’ll also increase staff retention and reduce sickness too. As musculoskeletal problems are a major issue around the world, it’s time we addressed the cause: awful office furniture. Here at In The Office Furniture, we’re committed to delivering the highest quality ergonomic chairs available on the market. As our motto says: ”There’s no better way to do so than investing in an ergonomic office chair today. Trust us – it’s a lifesaver!" Have a look at the Alya Executive Highback - Ergonomic Chair.

ITO Furniture has been running for little over four years now and I have (in my vast corporate years LOL!) realised that "a chair is indeed, not just a chair"! You know what I'm talking about... You start your career in a company at age 20 perhaps and you're given a desk and chair and you do your work. Your chair is there... It's something to lay your weary behind on and you're grateful you're not sitting like this guy! You climb the corporate ladder and perhaps you're lucky enough the company you work for now had the foresight to invest in a good chair. Only then do you realise that you're posture has improved, your backache has reduced slightly and you find yourself less exhausted at 5pm. Folks, let me give you the pros to having a "good chair". Below you can see how 80% of the population sits in front of their computer. According to Osteopathy Sports Massage (https://www.gdosteopathy.co.uk/enfield/good-posture/) "Poor posture indicates that your body is not aligned as it should be. The most common postural problem is called Forward Head Posture or (FHP). FHP is characterised by the forward displacement of your head, causing the shoulders to roll forward and your upper back to hunch. Over time this leads to a swaying forward of your hips and hollowing of your low back. When your body is misaligned, the functional and structural stresses put on the muscles, joints and organs can result in: muscle tension joint wear and tear disc degeneration reduced energy levels reduced respiratory output" What Makes a Good Chair? No one chair will fit every person. Different styles of chairs are available that meet the following criteria: • Height and depth should be adjustable to accommodate the various heights and leg lengths of people. • The tilt should also be adjustable to allow for various angles. • A Waterfall front seat (sloping slightly forward) is advised to reduce pinching and to improve blood flow. • Seats should be padded and rounded at the end. BACKREST The backrest should be able to lock in various positions. This can vary between 3 – 5 positions, depending on the make and model of your chair as well as the mechanism. The height should be adjustable in order to provide proper lumbar support for taller people. HEADREST Optional – but should be adjustable. ARMRESTS Properly designed armrests help support upper arms, back and neck. However, armrests are not recommended if they interfere with the desk height and prevent the person from getting close enough to the keyboard. If used, they should be of proper length and width so that the arms rest comfortably and perfectly. They can be padded in order to support the shoulders. Adjustable armrests move in various directions: up and down, forwards and backwards, sideways. 4D armrests can move outwards in order to accommodate more seating space. LUMBAR SUPPORT Generally speaking, a ‘lumbar support’ is anything that gives you additional support to the lumbar region or “lower back”. Lumbar support can be an adjustable cushion or simply a “curved” backrest. MECHANISM A basic mechanism only allow a swivel and tilt movement. It will unfortunately not allow the chair to function further. A syncro mechanism that allows the back and seat to move in a synchronized way. A Donati Mechanism (https://www.donati.eu/en/product/dynamic-plus-2/) is one of the best mechanisms to use on a chair. (Watch this space for posts on the different mechanisms and what they do) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS • Chair bases should have five points for stability. • Chair casters should be appropriate for the floor surface covering. • Adjustment controls should be sturdy and operable while seated. • Fabric should be permeable (allowing it to breathe) so as to encourage blood flow and to avoid build‐up of perspiration. • All users should receive “hands‐on” training on chair adjustments. • Even the best‐designed chair will not prevent back discomfort if used statically for prolonged periods of time. Here are some great Ergo Chairs we recommend. Visit our Ergonomical chair section to view more and download some specifications. https://www.itofurniture.co.za/ergonomical-chairs

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