Furniture may be taken for granted in many offices but there is a quiet revolution going on in furniture design that aims to improve staff productivity and their sense of wellbeing.

At first glance, you might wonder how office furniture can have such an profound influence on office environments. Ignoring the importance of good furniture however can create the kind of environment that breeds hostility and discontentment.

Business owners can avoid this by investing in the latest innovations in office furniture that not only facilitate interaction amongst workers but also improve health and productivity. ‘Healthy furniture’ such as treadmill and sit stand desks could well become commonplace in the offices of the future.

Charging stations are also likely to become an important part of the contemporary office as more people work on portable IT equipment and need the freedom to move around different areas of offices to aid collaboration.

There are also signs that the traditional open plan office layout of recent decades is likely to be replaced by more separation. Rather than a return to compartmentalised offices, however, the emphasis is likely to be on separation within open spaces and good acoustics.