Do you really need to revamp your office space? If you are pondering that question, you haven’t thought about the multiple effects an office space has on employees, clients, the overall working environment, productivity, and you yourself.
The structure and layout of the office space has a substantial impact on employee perception and mood. Everything, from arrangement of furniture to colour choice matters. Additionally, your office space is a reflection of your company; clients will judge you on it, either consciously or unconsciously.
Given how important office space is, it’s important that you get it just right. Consider hiring an creative office interior design company. Meanwhile, to help you, we have created a list of seven key ways to create the best office space: –
1) Mobility in the Workspace – Movement to Momentum: Gone are the days of fixed cubicles and elite, separate rooms for meetings. The times demand impromptu meetings for unforeseen ideas that need to be discussed. For these, opt for locations consisting of couches, comfortable chairs and coffee tables, enabling employees to meet comfortably and discuss the plan. Mobile tables and chairs are all in vogue.
Since team members and team agendas keep shifting, mobile furniture allows people to keep up with these changes. Also, moving around has also been known to enhance productivity and facilitate idea generation. You could also reconsider devoting permanent spaces to employees. Instead, you could constantly change their position in the office to generate new friendships and break boredom. However, this would depend on what your employees are most comfortable with.
2) Open Space is the Way to go: In keeping with the trends of modern times, open spaces workplaces are becoming the norm. Closed off, barred, inaccessible cubicles have been replaced by open-plan office spaces which allow for greater employee interaction, sharing of ideas and team building. This works well with the mobile desk idea, since mobility is much easier in an open plan office. Open plan offices further make executives more accessible, while also permitting one-on-one meetings between employees. However, be careful with this. Open plan layouts work well for some departments, but not so for others. Consider departments and departmental agendas separately rathe than imposing a structure throughout.
3) The Plea for Closed Work Spaces: Yes, we are going to propagate closed work spaces right after enlisting the advantages of an open plan office. As mentioned above, open spaces don’t work for all departments. But even within departments where they do work and boost productivity, you should consider devolving some area to closed work spaces.
Closed work spaces allow for smaller teams to discuss crucial ideas without interruption or distraction, or even individual employees to work on a serious project which requires quiet and concentration. Closed work spaces are also required for presentations and more focused meetings. Given this, its imperative to dedicate a portion to a traditional, closed workplace. If you find balancing open and closed workplaces difficult, you might want to consult an Office Interior Design Company.
4) Winning Walls and Correct Colours: The walls might be the last thing you think about when building your office. You might rush ahead with doing the drab old while and grey, assuming walls are not important, and you need to stop right now! Walls set the tone of your workplace. They define your work space and determine the kind of work environment dominating it. You need to consider how you want the work environment to be.
Different companies and departments have different requirements (for example, the sales department needs an upbeat, constantly energetic environment, while the design department calls for a less enthusiastic, calmer space that allows ideas to flow). Think beyond colours. Consider patterns, textures, blocks. Don’t gloss over motivating quotes; they’re all the rage right now. Have comfortable lighting that’s neither too bright nor too low.
5) Fit Workplace, Fit Employees, Fit Company: Fitness is the one of the hot-topics right now. It’s receiving more attention than ever, and it’s increasing importance is getting increasingly realised. Apart from promoting healthier bodies, exercise has been known to get the mental juices flowing and dragging the mind away from slipping into monotony and dreaded lethargy. As such, you might consider installing a gym in your office.
Encourage employees to use it and highlight how it will save money spent on a gym membership outside. If you cannot install a full-fledged gym, consider creating a workout room, or organising yoga, exercise, or other classes. This will foster team building, break the cycle of constant work, and boost physical fitness. Better fitness also results in improvements in overall health, thereby leading to fewer sick leaves.
6) Leniency and Thinking Out of the Box: By thinking out of the box, I mean literally thinking of the outdoors. Traditional workspaces tended to be closed off, compact environments that clearly stood apart from the world outside. They put employees in a mindset that it was time to forget the good stuff and simply concentrate on work. This might seem like a good thing, but such mindsets lead to lethargy and avoiding work.
To combat this, consider incorporating plants inside the work space. You could also have aquariums and flowers. Additionally, if it’s possible, try allowing your employees to bring pets into the workplace. Pets are de-stressors and provide crucial space. Consider devoting a separate space to pet stay and care.
- Relax, Refill, and Revive: Constant work is a recipe for burnout, exhaustion, and loss of productivity. While employees traditionally take breaks from work by going to cafés or chatting with colleagues, you could provide a better outlet by creating a ‘play’ space within the office. Such game rooms could have pool tables or other such indoor games to encourage bonding and facilitate destressing.
- Games are also a great way to rev up employees’ enthusiasm and lift them from lethargy. Playing games has also been known to boost cognitive functioning. All this contributes to improving your company. Creating the most optimum office space is crucial. Apart from the obvious factors of enough space, there are other things to take into account. While partnering with an Office Interior Design Company is a good idea, maintaining a checklist of the above-mentioned factors will also help you along the way.
Author Bio:
Hermit Chawla is a Marketing Manager at Sprak Design. He would love to share thoughts on Best Website Designing Company, Lifestyle Design, Branding Firm, Exhibition design etc..
