By necessity, business phones are usually a bit more bulky than regular phones. Although technology has greatly reduced the size of business phones in recent years, ergonomics hasn't necessarily caught up. Of course, when choosing a phone system, some manufacturers' trunk equipment setups will limit the types of handsets that can be used along with them. For the most part, however, choosing which handset your company will use is entirely up to you. Features are certainly important, but believe it or not, so is feel.

While handset weight, size and comfort seem like a trivial part of phone system purchase considerations, they shouldn't be. For employees who are on the phone all day, the right handset can improve productivity while reducing strain. While few people spend their entire day chained to their desks anymore, most are there long enough to know whether or not their handset is comfortable enough for all day use. Remember, most inter-office communication is still over the phone, despite the onset of the computer age. The ability to make and receive phone calls without relative discomfort can make a big difference in employee productivity.

More and more business telephone systems are providing support for wireless handsets, which are often much more comfortable to hold and use than traditional handsets. As the display information available on handset terminals is now larger thanks to LCD screens, employees do not have to be practically sitting on top of the phone to see who's calling or if they have messages from calls they've missed. This technology can be very cheap or very expensive, primarily depending on the size of your office and the type of system you use. If you are running a small office with 12 or fewer people, you can buy off-the-shelf cordless systems that will cost you very little. Large businesses may find the expense to be too much.

Again, the true benefit of a comfortable handset is in improved employee productivity. For employees who spend a good portion of their day on the phone, this can be a life saver. Considering how valuable they are to your company, giving them the comfort they deserve is well worth paying a little attention to which handsets weigh the least and feel the best.