When it comes to keeping employees happy and productive, the modern office is just as important as the work itself. The right office design can have a deep impact on how your team sees their workspace and how they see their own role within it. After all, in most jobs, you’re not spending half of every day in an artificial environment simply because it looks nice. Your company’s office can be an incredibly useful tool when it comes to keeping employees motivated and productive. A great working environment makes all the difference to staff retention, productivity, and motivation. If you want to help your team thrive and get more out of their working day, read on for our ideas for designing the ultimate office space.
Open Workspaces
There’s a lot to be said for traditional office layouts. An open-plan layout allows employees to move around, interact with each other, and find the quiet spaces they need to concentrate when needed. It also allows for flexibility, with the ability to easily change the layout if you need to. There are lots of potential benefits to this. It can help break down barriers and make communication easier, it can improve team collaboration, it can improve engagement and employee retention, and it can even boost productivity.
These benefits extend to employees of different ages and backgrounds, including those who are introverted, extroverted, visual, or auditory. There are, of course, some potential drawbacks to open office layouts. These include the fact that employees can feel less focused when they are interrupted, which can impact productivity.
Color-coded Areas
Color-coded areas are one of the most tried-and-tested methods of making your office design work for you. Color-coding your layout can help you to create a more focused and effective work environment. If you have, say, a team of engineers, designers, and salespeople all working together in one room, then color-coding is a great way to help each team to focus on their own tasks without being distracted by the others.
If you have a wide range of employees with different skill sets, then using Color-coded areas can help you to create a more focused workspace for everyone. You can use different types of colors for different types of tasks if you like. For example, you could use green for customer-facing tasks, yellow for administrative and managerial tasks, and red for tasks relating to essential services.
Fitness Facilities
More and more companies are seeing the value in building a fitness facility into their office design. This is both a perk for employees and something that can help boost productivity. Providing a gym, or at least a well-equipped fitness area, means you can bring the benefits of exercise into the heart of the office. You don’t need to be a large company to be able to afford to do this. A single small room can make all the difference.
If you are able to, the best option is to include an outside area, such as a rooftop garden or an indoor/outdoor walking trail. There are numerous studies that show the positive effects of physical activity on mental health, mood, and stress levels. A gym or fitness facility should also include a relaxation area so that employees can take a break from the office.
Food Facilities
Employees are often under pressure to keep working during their lunch break. If you have an open office layout and lots of hungry employees, this can lead to break times being very busy, noisy, and unproductive. If you are able to, providing an area with quiet, relaxing, and comfortable meal facilities can really help to keep everyone on track. This may be a small room equipped with a few chairs, or it may be a larger area with tables and chairs. Whatever suits your office best, providing a place where employees can take their time and relax during their lunch break can make a real difference to productivity.
Don’t overlook daylight
Walk through any business park at lunchtime, and you’re likely to see lots of employees sitting in dark, quiet offices, trying to get through the rest of their workday. This is all well and good if you just want to get some work done, but it can negatively impact your employees. If you can, try to make use of the daylight as much as possible. Open up your office to natural light, and take advantage of the positive effects it has on mood and productivity.
If you have a large enough space and the right types of blinds or shades, you can also control how much light enters the room, so you can also control how much light is present during daytime working hours. If you can’t open up your office to the light, you can also try to incorporate brighter colors into the design to create a more optimistic and open feel.
Be mindful of ergonomics
Providing a comfortable, ergonomic workspace is one of the best ways to keep your employees happy and engaged. Key among these are your chairs. This is especially true if you work in an open office layout because you want to make sure everyone has the right chair for their body type and comfort preferences. Don’t overlook other ergonomic design features either.
Make sure your desks are at the right height, your lighting is bright without being too bright, and your layout is designed for productivity, not for impeding productivity. Incorporate areas where employees can take breaks and stretch their legs, if possible. Again, this applies best to an open-plan office design. If you have some employees who work remotely or work in a separate office, it is still important to make sure they have a comfortable, ergonomic workspace.
Make communication easy
Good communication is the lifeblood of any company, but in the modern office, it’s not always easy to facilitate. You can help your employees to communicate better by making your workspace as easy as possible for them to move around. There are a few key ways you can do this. Make sure you have enough room for people to move around comfortably. This can make a huge difference to employee productivity, as well as help keep the office noise to a minimum.
Make sure you have plenty of communication points, too. This can mean a mix of different meeting rooms, walk-in spaces, and areas where people can sit together and collaborate. You may also want to invest in some voice-communication technologies, such as a virtual PA system or a video conferencing system.
Don’t forget the ergonomics
We’ve already discussed the importance of ergonomic design in your office space, but it’s worth covering it again. Your employees spend a lot of time in their workspace, and a poorly designed office can have a deep impact on employees’ health and productivity. This is especially important if you have employees with disabilities or health issues.
You can help to address these issues by making sure your office is well-equipped for those with accessibility needs. You can provide accessible power sockets and plug sockets, accessible desks, seating options for those in wheelchairs and those who are pregnant, and many other features that can make a real difference to employees’ work lives.
Incorporate recreation areas
Recreation areas in the office can be much more than just a place to play ping-pong or table tennis. If you have the space, adding a mini-gym, yoga room, or other fitness-related activities can help you to keep your employees happy and engaged. They can also help to relieve stress and be an excellent way to burn off some energy when deadlines loom. Having recreation areas in the office can also help you to engage with employees on a wider level. This can help you to build stronger relationships and make your team feel more engaged in their work.
Make sure you set aside enough space for these areas. You don’t want to create a crowded or cramped recreation room. Keep the space uncluttered, and make sure you have enough room for everyone to be able to use the facilities comfortably.
Summing up
Office design is as important as the work itself when it comes to creating the perfect working environment for your staff. Your office can be a useful tool when it comes to keeping your employees motivated and productive – a great design can make all the difference to staff retention, productivity, and motivation.
A well-designed office space can help employees to focus better, feel more engaged, and be more productive. An important part of designing a great office space is considering the people who work in it. There are many different factors that go into designing the perfect office, and it’s important to strike a balance between keeping things exciting and new while also keeping it familiar and welcoming. Visit SYP.net to learn about more ways to run a successful office!