A lovely set of lockers

But keeping personal belongings safely stowed away isn’t the only use for modern workplace lockers. Storage products have always been an essential component of office furniture design, mainly on a functional level to keep paperwork and literature out of sight. However modern office design has resulted in storage becoming more integrated into the heart of office design. In this article we will look at the many benefits of having office storage lockers available in the workplace.

Safe and secure

Primarily, lockers are a great solution to reduce theft and clutter. We all carry around our mobile phones, wallets, purses, handbags wherever we go, but employees are bringing more and more high-value items to work such as laptops, tablets and sports equipment. These storage solutions not only help reduce workplace theft and provide security, but also prove vital in an environment where people want to feel safe while they do their job.

Lockers can be used to house important, confidential documents and are suitable for use as a modern alternative to the lockable filing cabinet. The modern office worker gets called into regular meetings and can spend an increasing amount for time away from their desk, so having a storage locker on hand to store valuables and confidential paperwork when not in the office can also eliminate the chance of these items falling into the wrong hands.

Tidy desk, tidy mind

To amend that common phrase a little, a tidy desk can bring you a tidy mind, enabling people to focus on the task at hand and do a better job. Having a tidy desk can be the difference between having a productive day at work and struggling to get important tasks done. Coats on the backs of chairs, bags sticking out from under desks, food and drink next to monitors - a messy environment could not only have a negative impact on your working day, but think about the impression this could be having on visitors to the office.

We may still be waiting for the completely paperless office and it has been reported that people are printing far fewer documents than in previous years thanks to digital storage. However you will still find people’s desks covered with their files, folders, office stationery, phones and much more. Having a locker to put personal belongings in massively reduces the clutter in an office and helps to maintain a clean and tidy workspace.

Hot-desking

Forward thinking businesses are always looking at changing the culture and dynamic of the office environment with communal workspaces and hot desking becoming increasing popular. Hot desking means that no person has complete ownership of a particular desk and employees are free to move around as many times as they want, and work wherever they chose to work. This in turn encourages interaction with different teams and makes for a more fluid working environment as workers can adapt their thought processes depending on their current mood and the tasks they are working on.

But people don’t want the hassle of shifting all their personal items and moving their paperwork every time their desk changes. With agile working environments becoming increasing popular, having somewhere for people to keep personal items is essential because it gives them a space to control and therefore peace of mind. When employees know that their important belongings and documents are safe, they can concentrate more on their work and worry less about losing their valuables. Then at the end of the working day, paperwork can be stored away securely and people are free to pick it up when they come back in the following morning.

Wooden storage lockers from Dams

When people think of storage lockers, they may think of the old-fashioned, unsightly grey storage lockers of years gone by, which are stored out of sight in a distant corner of the office as they are a bit of an eyesore. But office lockers no longer need to be hidden away with the new smart looking, stylish wooden lockers from Dams with a colour and door configuration to suit any office.

A key design trend of the last year is wood and bringing the outdoors to inside the office. It’s also reported that wood can have a positive influence on health and wellbeing in the workplace. The trend has arisen because of our day-to-day lives becoming overcrowded with technology. People have expressed a need to get closer to nature. Consequently, we are introducing more wood and plant life into the working environment places to fulfil this desire.

Dams new wooden storage lockers are available with a white carcass and choice of five wooden door finishes to match existing office furniture and add a contemporary feel to the workplace. Four and six door options are available to ensure the right configuration for any space, and the lock barrel is incorporated within the handle with over 2,000 key change options for enhanced security and peace of mind.

In addition to enhancing workplace aesthetics, wooden lockers can also be used around pillars and posts in offices or to create zones in open plan office environment by using the locker units as a dividing wall and a visual barrier between departments and working groups. And why not add a counter top to the standing height units for a casual standing meeting area, or even add an over-sized planter on to the top filled with greenery to complete the biophilic, natural office look.

Create a more productive workplace

Many articles and reports have highlighted the importance of intelligent office design and how poorly designed or uninspiring workspaces can impact on employee performance, reduce productivity, and hinder efforts to attract the best people. It’s not easy to create an agile working environment that works for everyone, but storage lockers allow employees to have a personal space in the office.

As offices become more about collaboration and virtual workspaces, we’re no longer bound to a single desk, but we still need somewhere to store our personal items. This in turn has led to a dramatic transformation in the market for lockers. Preventing theft, reducing clutter, minimising the impact of desk transitions and improving employee productivity are just a few reasons why lockers are a must for every workplace.