Don’t Buy Office Furniture Without a Workplace Risk Assessment

Make a smarter investment choice. Learn why a workplace risk assessment should come before buying office furniture.

About the author:

Picture of John Karle

John Karle

Director (Specialisation: Product and Market Development, Operations & Ergonomics)
workplace risk assessment comes before buying office furniture

Share this post:

When it comes to buying office furniture, most companies make the same mistake: they start with products. New chairs, height-adjustable desks and office pods are chosen straight from a catalogue. But without a proper ergonomic workplace risk assessment, even the best furniture is just an expensive guess. As a corporate buyer, facilities manager, or HR leader, the last thing you want is to invest heavily, only to find that the complaints keep coming in.

"Buying office furniture without a risk assessment is like buying shoes for a whole family without knowing anyone’s shoe size.
It's expensive, someone’s going to end up with blisters, and you'll eventually have to replace them all anyway."

So, what is a workplace risk assessment and where should you start?

Start With Risk, Not Products

Before any office furniture is specified, your facility should be assessed to identify:

    • Postural and ergonomic risks faced by employees
    • Job roles, tasks, and usage patterns. For example, is hot-desking being used, or is the facility a call-centre that operates 24/7?
    • User diversity and adjustability needs
    • Existing problem areas and complaints
    • Prioritise the identified ergonomic risks in order of severity.

This process creates a risk profile of your workplace which becomes your roadmap. Without it, you're buying reactively. With it, you're investing strategically. This now begs the obvious question:

“Who actually does a workplace risk assessment?”

workplace risk assessment

Without a proper workplace risk assessment, you're buying office furniture reactively.

You’re Not Expected to Do an Ergonomic Workplace Risk Assessment Alone

If reading “workplace risk assessment” feels overwhelming, you’re not alone. The good news? You have three clear, practical options, each with different cost implications.

Option 1: Your Internal Health & Safety Department

If your organisation has an established Health & Safety team, they may already be equipped to conduct ergonomic and workplace risk assessments.
This option works well when:

  • Your internal team has ergonomic competency
  • You have structured H&S processes in place
  • You want the assessment managed internally
  • Budget control is a priority.

This approach carries no additional external cost, provided your team has the required expertise and capacity.

Option 2: An Independent Specialist

For organisations wanting an external, specialised evaluation, companies like Ergomax Holdings focus specifically on workplace risk assessment.
This option is ideal when:

  • You need independent expertise
  • You’re addressing widespread discomfort or injury trends
  • You want formal documentation and reporting
  • You’re undertaking a large-scale workplace upgrade.

An external specialist often brings deep ergonomic knowledge and objectivity, along with structured reporting. 

Option 3: Karo Workplace Risk Facilitators

At Karo Manufacturing, we have trained Office Ergonomics Risk Facilitators who assess the risk within your current desk and chair setup before any furniture specification begins.
This option works well when:

  • You’re planning a furniture upgrade
  • You want risk assessment and product alignment to work together
  • You prefer a coordinated, streamlined approach
  • You want cost efficiency linked to your procurement process.

The cost of this assessment is waived if furniture is purchased from Karo.

Why A Workplace Risk Assessment Matters

When risk is not properly identified:

    • Employees continue to experience discomfort
    • Adjustability features go unused
    • Absenteeism may increase
    • Complaints shift from one issue to another
    • Furniture budgets are stretched without measurable improvement.

But when you begin with a clear risk profile:

    • Furniture selection becomes evidence-based
    • Adjustability matches real user diversity
    • Investment aligns with actual job tasks
    • Decision-making becomes easier and defensible.
At Karo, we don’t start by showing you chairs and desks. We start by understanding your workplace.
Contact Our Team at Karo

Move from reacting to complaints, to proactively designing a healthier workplace.

The Real Goal Isn’t Furniture

    • It’s clarity.
    • It’s confidence.
    • It’s knowing that when you finally do invest in office furniture, it will solve real problems and not just look impressive.

You don’t need to be the office ergonomics expert.
You simply need the right guide and a clear plan.

The Plan Is Simple

    1. Assess the workplace
    2. Identify risks
    3. Build a risk profile
    4. Specify ergonomic office chairs and standing desks based on evidence and real requirements.

Don’t start with products. Start with a clear risk profile of your workplace.
Choose the assessment partner that best suits your organisation, whether that's internal, independent, or supported by Karo. When risk is understood, decisions become simple.

By the same author: