Executive Seating Evolves Today Today, the executive chair is no longer highly gender biased. Today 31% of CEO positions are held by women, private offices dramatically reduced (pre-covid), a more egalitarian organizational structure has emerged and it is no longer necessary to reward an individual for success by using a space representing power. Millennials and Gen Z alongside wireless technology, have reshaped the office environment of today. According to a study conducted by Pew Research, there are anywhere between 5 million to 11 million Millennials taking on upper management roles over the next decade. In what has been coined as one of the largest leadership transitions in history, many of these Millennials are taking over significant-sized organizations from the Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers who founded them. In doing so, they are changing culture as well as shifting strategy. As a result of this dramatic transition, a refreshing, empathetic approach to leadership is emerging. This leadership style takes an intentional look at how leaders treat employees’ overall wellbeing as they grow within an organization. Therefore, a more collaborative, inclusive, and immediate communication style is prevailing. This means private space is still important, but less in the “highest floor, corner office” form seen in days past. Today, these spaces need to emphasize flexibility & coziness alongside quiet & private. Today, teamwork is the reason that 52% of employees want to return to the office. Some companies are opting for hybrid workplace, an extension of the ‘Open Office’ design where in-person and virtual interactions occur simultaneously. Coworkers mingle—some physically in a ‘connected kitchen’ at the office and others from their kitchens at home. All that being said, employees want to have ‘their own space’. One of the greatest benefits of being remote was that employees got to experience true privacy and control of their workspace. As employees return to the office, 60% of employees prefer a private office with a door and 48% want a dedicated workspace with a comfortable, ergonomic chair. For workplace designers, this creates a need for dynamic spaces with moveable pieces that can create flexible division e.g. screens, paneling and movable walls. But not everyone can have access to a private office as it is just not practical or feasible. What does all of this mean for seating?
For employees, choosing a chair today has a much different set of criteria and solutions to provide. This decision matrix completely redefines the large scale, high back, ergonomic chair previously categorized as execu-task seating. A high back chair needs to provide privacy in an open plan office environment, but maybe also a privacy screen backdrop for virtual conferencing. This chair also needs to be ergonomic, adjustable and work for different body types and workstyles. Does this sound familiar to the origins of the emergence of Via’s ‘Execu-task’ category? Maybe. But the big difference today is “what once was the ‘Ego Seat of Power’ is now the ‘ Ergo Seat of Privacy ’”. Sustainability is also a prime consideration in this selection process. Via Seating’s approach to this is to build a chair with the structural integrity that can stand the test of time. Having metal frame construction with injection molded foam has never been more important in this regard. The robust curves of each collection within the executive seating category not only provide comfort, but also allow for a wide variety of textiles to be used. Some of these textiles in combination with the proprietary foam can provide a quiet zone. Vegan leathers, fabric that comes from eco-friendly resources such as sustainably grown fiber crops or recycled materials are important. How the fabrics are manufactured also determines their level of sustainability. Given that hybrid workspace is now the norm, it is not unrealistic to assume that the chair could conceivably be used by more than one person. Bearing this in mind, Via Seating have sourced high performance, ergonomic mechanisms that are user friendly and offer a broad range of adjustability. These range from very basic function e.g. swivel tilt super for conferencing and less than four hour sit, to body balance technology that adapts to the user’s body weight, to the very advanced full function ergonomic control to support different body types and workstation set ups. What hasn’t changed? All of these mechanisms and options are still available in forty eight (48) hour manufacturing time and still lead the industry in innovation today. Our luxury, executive seating is covered for 12 years, all components including gas lifts and casters (5 years on instock fabrics & leather).
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