Gone are the days of working eight hours straight from your assigned desk and chair. Today's workforce needs the right furniture for every possible application. Your activities throughout the day should determine where you choose to sit, said Burger. "We encourage our clients to democratise their workspace so you as a user can decide where you work. Nobody owns a desk anymore."
Beyond its application, businesses need to consider how office furniture impacts employee efficiency and productivity. They also need to create an environment that supports a broad spectrum of personality types, taking into consideration not just physical discomfort, but mental and emotional discomfort as well.
Along with focused work, collaborative work, break-up furniture, training rooms, and meeting spaces, work-from-home has become the sixth application of office furniture, said Burger. But what many people don't take into consideration is ergonomics. "Everyone realised how uncomfortable their dining room chairs were when we all had to work from home," he said.
When supplying clients with work-from-home office furniture, the company included educational videos on how to set up their chairs, taking into consideration the height of the arm rest, lumbar support, and monitor height. "People value ergonomics a lot more now than they did previously, and they value their office chair," said Burger.
While the hybrid work model is here to stay, he believes that with the correct application and the correct furniture, employees would want to return to and work from the office.
All the components of X-Furniture's products are recyclable, according to Burger, except for the gas lift cylinder in the chairs which cannot be taken apart.
Everything it imports is E0 grade - one of the highest formaldehyde emission standards for plywood, hardwood plywood sheets and other wood-based panels. E0 grade boards can be used in interior environments without any extra treatment and is one of the greenest boards available, he explained.
With sustainability a consistent trend among its clients, the company provides a green certificate with all its products. This is particularly important for new builds wanting to achieve a green-rating, and furniture plays a part in that, Burger said.
X-Furniture has developed a custom-built, mobile showroom that can be uniquely configured and transported directly to clients, providing an optimised viewing experience.
"Often during tenders, the only part of the building that's been built is the basement, so everybody puts their desks in the basement and it's a really sterile environment. You get no experience of what your office is actually going to look like.
"So this provides us the opportunity to give people a sense and feel of what their office is going to look like," explained Burger.
X-Furniture is an authorised dealer for Sunon, the biggest office furniture manufacturer in China. It offers a fully imported solution, but also has a local factory based in Gauteng.
