Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 28, 2020	Mar. 30, 2019
Numerator:
Numerator for both basic and diluted EPS attributable to HNI Corporation net income	$ (23,895)	$ 1,022
Denominators:
Denominator for basic EPS weighted-average common shares outstanding (in shares)	42,628	43,534
Potentially dilutive shares from stock-based compensation plans (in shares)	0	555
Denominator for diluted EPS (in shares)	42,628	44,089
Earnings per share - basic (in dollars per share)	$ (0.56)	$ 0.02
Earnings per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.56)	$ 0.02