There’s no question that the look of a modern office has changed quite a bit from fifty years ago, thirty years ago, or in many cases even ten years ago, but there are certain pieces of equipment that just don’t go out of style no matter how much time passes and how many things change. So what can you always find in the office? What is likely to be there another thirty years from now?
Table of Contents
Office Phones
Everyone individually might be switching to mobile and cellular phones, but to run a business you always need to have departments with phones, places to leave messages, and you have to make sure that you’re not going to lose the ability to contact an entire department because one person is on vacation with a cell phone. Office phones are a must for a variety of businesses, and that’s something that simply isn’t going to change any time soon!
Dry Erase Board
No matter how much technology advances with computers, iPads, and online sharing, sometimes nothing moves a meeting along like the dry erase board. Whether portable to go from room to room or on the wall, a good dry erase white board is useful in almost any teaching or meeting scenario, and is even good for video shoots. Easy to clean and without chalk dust, these are not leaving offices anytime soon, either.
Pin Boards
Sometimes also referred to as cork boards, pin boards might seem like a truly old school type of office apparel but the truth is that they are just as useful as they have always been. These allow for announcements to be posted, give ideal places to hang state and federally mandated employee right or regulation information, and can be out in the open or put behind glass for more formal control.
Pin boards come in all shapes and sizes and are a common sense solution to a variety of office needs that are difficult to otherwise meet.
Water Cooler
There are plenty of jokes about being around the water cooler – but all the way back in the early 1900s there were water coolers. The big 5 gallon buckets were made of glass rather than plastic, but they were there. Having a water cooler isn’t just good for creating a degree of camaraderie or an easy place to catch up between co-workers on breaks, but this serves a very common sense purpose. Workers can stay hydrated, feel better, and get some much needed water even as they take a break. Water coolers are here to stay!
Computers
First there was “a” office computer, then there were a few basic ones with minimal spellchecking and basic text functions and that was about it, and now they are a mainstay at virtually every office job. Even with switching to laptops and iPads in many places, computers remain important in some shape or form.
Offices Need To Function
While many things will continue to change, it is important to remember that offices need to function as well as possible. Sometimes that means something new and at other times that means the classic solution remains the best!
