The office that works for you

MODERNFORM, the Thai furniture manufacturer, has come up with a new line of office furnishings that aims to forge a healthy balance between 9-to-5 necessities and rest-of-your-life desires. Its “workplaces with personalities” (WW/P) concept mirrors corporate efforts around the world to be more flexible and creative.

“People are working longer hours,” says company president Patana Usanachitt of the key trend in office furniture. “Office chairs and desks need to be designed for more than eight hours of use per day – and being cosy enough for some relaxation is part of that.”

Thanks to advances in technology, we’re all mobile these days, our digital devices going wherever we do. So WW/P furniture is equipped for “plug and play”, enabling employees to work on their tablets and smart phones anywhere and anytime. Flexibility means the furniture has to be multifunctional. 

The boss needs to think about the customers and clients who visit the premises as well. Wherever they are, in the lobby or the boardroom, they need a side table, coffee table or stool nearby to perch their gadgets and rest a tired arm. The right furniture makes a good impression on every visitor, some of whom will be potential customers. 

In the areas they sit there should be chairs with tabletops, electrical outlets and USB ports where they can set up their notebook. The same holds for employees when they’re taking a break or chatting by the water cooler – if they get a clever idea, they should be able to jot it down right away.

Office furniture of the past was uniform in design. Modernform’s gear is customised with different ergonomic configurations, says Patana. It reflects different personalities and working styles with a combination of residential mode and tone.

The workplace becomes more creative – it’s designed to encourage creativity. Gone is the expected black and white and grey, replaced by colourful and artistic furnishings. Workers will be more inspired when there’s an eye-catching allure to the desks, chairs and even partition designs.

“Customers can show their personalities by having their pictures, signatures and names printed on their desks and chairs,” says Patana. “Even in the meeting room, the chairs can be colourful, making for a more relaxed environment.”

Modernform has for years been producing teleconference systems that link offices and factories. Now there is Connext, a packaged teleconferencing system for business meetings and brainstorming sessions in the office.

The innovative program can be adjusted to suit different types of meeting. The comprehensive “smart room” system features two wide-angle digital TV screens and high-definition remote-camera control. Participants attending the meeting in person or by video hook-up can communicate seamlessly in real-time. At any given moment a corner of the office can become an improvised meeting place for employees. 

 Patana says this is the first time the firm has introduced a whole concept – the full range of products to suit the different personalities in the workplace. It currently has a 35-per-cent share of the Bt4-billion office-furniture market and this year expects a 20-per-cent jump in sales, partly driven by demand from the government sector. Meanwhile demand is also on the rise in business offices, hotels, hospitals and educational institutes.

“The furnished-office market has been steadily growing over the past two years,” Patana says, “and not only among local companies and government offices. There’s been a sharp rise in foreign investments in Thailand too, especially from Japanese firms, and that’s another driver for growth.”