The desk
A fixed desk in Britain is conventionally about 72 centimetres high. What matters is the relation between the desk and the person: seated with shoulders relaxed, the forearms should rest level on the surface with the keyboard just below elbow height. A tall or short user at a fixed desk makes up the difference with the chair and, if need be, a footrest.
- Depth. A screen should stand about an arm's length from the eyes, which a shallow desk does not allow. Around 80 centimetres from front to back gives room for a monitor, keyboard and papers.
- Legroom. Drawers, crossbars and pedestals under the top limit where the chair can go and how the user can move.
- Height-adjustable desks rise to standing height, by a crank or an electric motor. They allow a change of posture during the day. Lightly built frames wobble at full height, which is worth testing before buying.
- Cables. A tray beneath the top and a grommet through it keep leads off the floor, where they are a trip hazard.
Storage
Paper is heavy, and filing cabinets are among the few pieces of furniture that injure people: a cabinet with a full top drawer pulled out can tip forward. Commercial cabinets have an anti-tilt mechanism that lets only one drawer open at a time; tall cabinets and shelving are fixed to the wall. Heavy items are kept between knee and shoulder height.
A lockable drawer or cabinet is a legal matter as well as a convenience for anyone holding other people's personal data on paper, which data protection law requires to be kept secure.
Light
A desk is placed side-on to a window where possible. Facing the window puts glare behind the screen; a window behind the user reflects in it. A desk lamp that can be aimed lights paper without lighting the screen.
Appearance and function
The two are less opposed than they are made out to be. A room where clients are received is judged on its furniture, and a room where people spend eight hours is more pleasant to work in if it has been thought about. But the order of decision is function first: dimensions and adjustment are settled, and the finish is chosen among the things that fit.
New or second-hand
Offices are refitted long before their furniture wears out, and a trade in used and refurbished office furniture exists in every large town. Desks, cabinets and chairs made for commercial use are heavier and more durable than furniture made for the home, and second-hand they are often sold for less than new domestic equivalents.
Points to check on used furniture:
- that drawers run and lock, and that the keys are supplied;
- that adjustable desks and chairs hold their position under load;
- that upholstered seating carries a fire safety label; and
- that the dimensions suit the room, the door and the stairs. Commercial desks are often larger than domestic rooms allow.
Showroom or online
A showroom allows furniture to be sat at, measured and compared, which matters most for chairs and adjustable desks. Buying online gives a wider range and delivery to the door, with the disadvantage that returning a desk is laborious.
The legal position differs according to who is buying:
- A consumer — a person buying for private use — who buys online or by telephone generally has 14 days from delivery to cancel for any reason, and may reject goods that are faulty or not as described.
- A business buying for its own use has no cancellation right of that kind, and relies on the seller's terms and on the general law that goods must match their description and be of satisfactory quality.
Flat-packed furniture should be checked against the parts list before assembly begins, since a claim for a missing or damaged part is simpler before the packaging has been thrown away.
Working at home
An employer's duties to assess the workstation extend to employees who work at home, as set out under office chairs. Furniture that is no longer wanted can go to a reuse charity or, failing that, to the council's bulky waste collection, described under household recycling.