How to Choose a Hybrid Office Chair for Your Hybrid Workspace

The era of the hybrid work model is now here. Knowing how to organize your workspace efficiently could be the difference between success and failure. There are several pieces of furniture that you need to help you achieve an efficient hybrid workplace. 

One of these is an ergonomic hybrid office chair that is flexible enough to meet the needs of several employees. Here is a helpful guide on how to choose a hybrid office chair for your hybrid workspace. 

What is Hot Desking?

Before we begin discussing the right hybrid workspace chair, it is worth talking about why we need a hybrid workspace in the first place. 

In large organizations, it is easy for the number of employees to exceed the number of desks. As employers add desk space to accommodate for an increased number of employees, operational expenses grow.

Employing a hybrid work arrangement can help mitigate these costs. Given the growing pandemic, employers are using the hybrid work model to assist with the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. 

Multiple workers sharing a single physical workstation or surface during different periods is known as hot desking. The term is supposed to have come from the term "hot racking". This term was often used to describe the practice of the sharing of bunks amongst sailors on ships. 

The aim of hot desking is to maximize efficiency, and to reduce the amount of workspace needed. However, it has become a highly debated topic, and many have argued that it is not as beneficial as once believed. 

The Pros and Cons of Hot Desking

To properly understand the concept of this method of office space organization, we must first explore the pros and cons of hot desking. 

What are the advantages of Hot Desking?

It is Well Suited to the Hybrid Workforce.

The way businesses function today has been influenced by technology, demographics, and globalization. Furthermore, the rise in service, and knowledge-intensive industries, and the widespread usage of tablets, computers, mobile phones, and software, have allowed employees the freedom to work outside of the office. 

Employers might make better use of empty desk spaces by turning them into additional conference rooms or casual breakout areas. This not only saves space but also allows employees to work in a more relaxed atmosphere. Desktop computers are no longer as necessary as they once were, thanks to cloud storage and backup services like Dropbox.

It Saves Businesses Money.

Hot desking can lead to cost-saving. Operational expenses can be reduced by up to 30 percent when businesses opt to employ the method of hot-desking. You can save on furniture, but also computer hardware and software, and office space. 

Hot Desking Encourages Socialization.

When employees are assigned cubicles, they tend to work on their own, but when having to share desk space, a social culture begins to develop among workers. Hot desking etiquette cultivated in this manner can help to build a more productive team. 

Assigning more space for use as meeting venues, and break rooms further contributes to socialism amongst hybrid workforces. 

Minimalistic Office Space.

Tidiness in shared spaces should form part of your hybrid work policy, and it can have multiple benefits. Staff should leave their desks presentable for the next user if a clean desk policy is implemented. 

When it comes to preserving confidential information, having a clear desk policy is an obvious advantage. Offices that are clutter-free and well-organized also give the correct image to potential clients. 

Hot Desking Promotes a Culture of Equality.

When an office space is shared, there is less focus on superiority that can cause dissensions among workers. The result is a culture of equality that can be fostered through this method of office space distribution. 

Some disadvantages of Hot Desking

Employees Can Grow to Miss Their Personal Office Space.

Although mildly concerning, this may not be a disadvantage when implementing a hybrid work model, as employees still have access to the personal workspace when they work remotely. 

Health and Safety Concerns.

It may be hard to find a one-size-fits-all approach to hot desking, but it is certainly not impossible. Autonomous has a fantastic range of products that cater to a wide range of employee needs, to ensure that no employee has to compromise their health while sharing desk space. 

Despite the disadvantages of hot-desking, it is an ideal option for businesses that have employed a hybrid work arrangement.

How to Choose a Hybrid Office Chair

Unlike a regular ergonomic chair for a hybrid office that must accommodate a single employee well without causing harm to the health, a chair for hybrid working must meet the needs of several employees without compromising their health or safety. 

What do you need to then look for when selecting an ergonomic chair for a hybrid office?

A Good Height Range Adjustability

The perfect hybrid workspace chair has a good height range. It must also be easily adjustable up and down, and these height adjustments should be lockable, to prevent an employee from falling off their chair and hurting themselves. 

Adjustable Armrests

There are numerous benefits to having adjustable armrests on a hybrid office chair. They take the strain off your lower and upper back, shoulders, arms, and wrists. It is important that the armrests move up and down and left to right. This ensures that maximum comfort and support can be attained. 

A hybrid workspace chair with armrests should also have lockable positions and be made from durable material that does not cause discomfort to the user or wear away easily with prolonged use. 

Lumbar Support

The best way to ruin your back is to make use of a hybrid workspace chair regularly that does not have lumbar support. The lumbar area, or the lowest part of your spine, slopes inwards. This curvature is supported by the correct office chair, which includes lumbar support. 

The right ergonomic chair for a hybrid office can provide good lumbar support to a range of individuals on your team. This office chair lumbar support must be durable and flexible to cater to the individual needs of your workforce.

Good Upholstery

An excellent office chair for hybrid working is built of breathable, robust, and long-lasting material. Employees sweat, which necessitates the use of permeable material. Sitting in a chair that is not ventilated for an extended period can cause the chair to develop a foul odor. 

The sort of material used to construct the hybrid office chair influences how it feels against the skin. An office chair made of low-cost materials may be uncomfortable for your staff to sit in, and may require frequent replacement, increasing operational costs. 

Durability

Buying a cheap hybrid workspace chair can work temporarily but may result in health-related issues in your teams later. They may also need regular replacement, which only hurts your business revenue. Investing in a high-quality, highly durable ergonomic chair for a hybrid office is essential in creating a workspace that lasts for a long time. 

Weight or Load Capacity

The truth is that not all employees are the same. Some are small, while others are large. Your chair for hybrid working must have a high weight capacity to be able to deal with all kinds of employees. 

A Supportive Headrest

While working, tilting the head back to take a short break might help reduce strain on the head and neck. It is critical to provide employees with a chair for hybrid working that allows them to adjust the headrest. Employees' energy levels and productivity can be boosted by taking short breaks throughout the day to relax their heads and necks. 

The Best Hybrid Office Chairs for Your Hybrid Workspace

With so many requirements, finding a trustworthy hybrid workspace chair to suit your hybrid work arrangement may be tough. However, Autonomous has office chairs that meet all the criteria mentioned above. These chairs are its bestsellers, and for a good reason. Without further ado, here are the best chairs for hybrid working. 

1. The ErgoChair Pro

The ErgoChair Pro is an excellent choice for a versatile office chair for hybrid working that can accommodate many employees. It has a backrest that allows you to lean back at a 22-degree recline and has five lockable positions. It also provides crucial lumbar support, and can sustain up to 300 pounds, or 136 kilograms.

The great thing about this chair is that its lumbar support is flexible enough to support a wide range of people, and you can try it out for 30 days. Adjustable height, armrests, and seat inclination are all standard features of this hybrid office chair, and it is made from a comfortable, breathable mesh material. 

You get all these great features without having to compromise on aesthetics, as the ErgoChair Pro has a modern, sleek design that adds beauty to any hybrid workspace. This durable chair comes in six different colors, with a two-year warranty, and is guaranteed to provide the correct support and flexibility that is needed for a hybrid workplace. 

2. The ErgoChair Ultra

The ErgoChair Ultra is the answer if you want even more adjustability and durability than the ErgoChair Pro. The ErgoChair Ultra accommodates 300 pounds, and is composed of breathable material, just as the ErgoChair Pro. It has 11 lockable positions, and a backrest that reclines 25 degrees, giving it even more versatility than the ErgoChair Pro.

Because the backrest of this hybrid office chair is uniquely designed to bend with your spine to provide maximum, tailor-made support, this chair provides incredible support for your spine. The ErgoChair Ultra is the greatest high-end office chair by far if you are on the lookout for an office chair that is breathable, provides flexible lumbar support, and allows you to move around more comfortably.

The Ergo Chair Pro+ also comes with an extended five-year warranty. 

Setting Up an Office Chair Layout for Your Hybrid Workspace

Having the ideal hybrid workspace chair does not guarantee that your employees are working ergonomically if you do not give attention to the layout of your hybrid workspace. Make use of adjustable, standing desks to ensure that your employees can position themselves in a way that does not cause them harm or discomfort.

Your desk space must be set up in a way that allows your employees to have enough privacy, but also makes efficient use of the space.

Employing the use of Hybrid Office software to mitigate your hybrid work schedule can make the organization of your workspace, and the assignment of workspace to employees a lot easier. It aids in the hoteling of office space by allowing employees and managers to manage their own time and be more flexible.

Another Autonomous Hybrid tool, as mentioned before, is a standing desk that can assist you in staying on top of your hybrid work game. This is the SmartDesk Hybrid. The SmartDesk Hybrid and Hybrid Office software work together to ensure smooth transitions between employees. Hybrid Office software automatically adjusts the height of the SmartDesk Hybrid to meet the needs of the employee who needs to use it, saving your team time and effort. 

Pair the SmartDesk Hybrid and Hybrid Office with the ErgoChair Pro or ErgoChair Ultra for the perfect hybrid workspace solution to drive your employees to be more productive and make efficient use of your hybrid work area.  

Final Thoughts

The hybrid work model is becoming increasingly popular due to social distancing needs brought about by a growing pandemic. It is therefore important that care be taken in setting up your hybrid office. Hot desking is a beneficial option for businesses that choose to follow the hybrid work model. 

Choosing the right furniture for your hybrid workspace like a hybrid office chair is crucial to building a successful working environment that caters to the needs of your employees. Selecting a durable, highly adjustable chair with the right comfort level and design does not need to be difficult. Choose the ErgoChair Pro or ErgoChair Ultra as your hybrid office chair to cater to the needs of all your employees when they visit the office.