If you are a boss then you most likely have a beautiful large executive office chair. However, are you aware that the way you use your chair and body language can give your employees the wrong signal. Have you ever leaned back and placed your feet on the table? This is a territorial attitude / ownership that is insolent and may feel intimidating to others. Are you standing behind your desk with your palms resting on it? This is a power pose and you will be seen as dominant in certain interactions.
If your chair is taller than the guest chair on the other side of your table, then your height represents a higher status. If you want to be seen as a boss who is more approachable, then you might think of lowering a chair or bringing from behind a desk to be on the same level.
It might be good to have two separate areas, one for serious matters when you need to be a ‘boss’ and the other for casual chat and brain-jerking sessions. For informal meetings, sofas or chairs and low tables can offer an approachable playing field and where employees can open up and feel like they are heard and valued. Consider this when planning your next office refit. Off course you may not need to have a complete refit especially if you think this is going to cost alot of money as you could just go to an Office Space Bracknell location found at sites like http://officespacebracknell.co.uk where the offices will be ready to suit your needs and you can take your seats with you.
Chairs can have a kind of aura about them that makes people afraid to sit in them. Most families can relate to family members who always have a special chair that no one dares sit. Well, the boss chair is a bit like this. When offered a chair owned by someone else, people will hesitate and choose another.
It’s not only the boss who has a special seat. Most office workers will sympathize with the following scenario: You have taken leave and when you return there are different chairs at your desk. Despite having your name on it, your cardigan covers the back and the curve of your unique buttocks – someone has pinched it. What happens next is the hunting in the office, a bit like a witch hunt, to find the culprit and save your beloved chair. Sound familiar?
Your chair represents something other than purely a place to park your behind. Office chairs can almost be an extension of people who spend so much of their working lives in them.