We keep repeating it: confinement and teleworking will not be an opportunity for manufacturers of office furniture without major changes. Individuals did not necessarily make this type of investment when the company no longer made them. So manufacturers are forced to adapt. As the Sketch company, independent specialist in work furniture, launched Home-Work by Sketch – a service allowing the ordering of work-at-home furniture through a website.
A service currently available only in the UK. But that only asks to be exported. How does this ray of hope work for manufacturers of office equipment? Could we see a similar service soon emerging in France? This is what we will try to decipher.
An innovation that adapts perfectly to the new situation
How does Home-Work work? Like a reseller of office furniture, but online (therefore more flexible, which we will see) and with a wider range of services. By connecting to the portal, customers can order, but also personalize the work furniture of their employees. Once the best model is defined, office furniture can be delivered and installed nationwide. But that’s not all. In addition to furniture, Home-Work offers ergonomic objects, evaluations of display equipment (DSE) as well as the distribution and installation of computer equipment. Basically the guarantee of working conditions similar or even superior to those of the office for any employee practicing telework.
The online portal allows the employee to securely log in to order furniture and accessories. All the furniture options available through the portal are carefully tailored to the needs of each client and their employees. The accessories offered have been selected because they are easy to install, comfortable and adapted to the teleworker’s environment.
A necessary service
It seems that the Home-Work service is an ideal response to new constraints that suddenly appeared last March. Susan Hann, CEO of the company, puts it this way. “Many recent studies have shown that employers and their employees want to continue working flexibly and have more autonomy over how and where they work. The majority of businesses will have a proportion of employees working from home for at least part of the week, and although employers cannot determine whether their employees have a dedicated home office, they can provide their employees with a solution to furniture that promotes their well-being and allows them to be productive. “
Teleworkers in pain
Because the evolution of the office furniture sector is not the only consequence of the rise of teleworking. In fact, since March, cases of low back pain in people working from home have multiplied by 2 and a half. In any case, this is what an investigation by Public Health France revealed. The cause is said to be linked to the lack of ergonomic or even only suitable office furniture. There is therefore a strong demand from home workers.
Home-Work seems to be an ideal answer, at first glance, to the new constraints of companies. Adapted (and therefore expensive) furniture was almost exclusively ordered by companies, therefore centralized. Comfort that teleworkers did not have. Until the emergence of Home-Work, which additionally offers delivery and assembly services. As well as personalized evaluations. A vaccine against low back pain if you haven’t found one against COVID? Answer in a few weeks.