A well-designed office has a direct impact on the performance, morale and the productivity of employees. Typically, employees spend well over eight hours at their workplace. This makes it necessary for business owners to understand how the atmosphere and setting in the office influences employees and how it can be used to influence employees.
Creating a productive workspace is about maintaining a clutter-free atmosphere. In addition, it should be aesthetically pleasing and functional as well. A well-planned office reduces distractions and promotes a collaborative work setting. Making a few design alterations can go a long way in improving the productivity of your workforce; take a look at how:
#1 Open Floor Plan
Open floor plans allow employees to work with the utmost efficiency while maximizing workspace. This design concept is quite popular and proves to be economical too. However, an open floor plan doesn’t come without a few distractions and noise. Using headphones to prevent losing focus or being pulled into unnecessary conversations is a great way to ensure focused work.
This type of layout should have well-demarcated areas for meetings and desk work. For a group, occasional round tables can prove to be excellent for brainstorming or problem-solving. It ensures employees can speak and see one another. Placing whiteboards, chalkboards or large sets of paper pads in common spaces provide employees with a place to share ideas and data.
#2 Common Areas
Positive socializing is an important part of any workspace, and common areas such as cafeterias allow employees to converse with one another. Designing office spaces requires a customized approach. You need to ensure that there is a perfect balance of shared workspaces and private areas for important meetings and focused work.
#3 Sufficient Storage
Storage space is another important aspect to keep in view while designing an office. This will allow your employees to store paperwork, documents, and files neatly without any items being scattered throughout the workspace. Ensure items like computers, filing cabinets and telephones are within arm’s reach for every employee.
#4 Colours, Lighting and Indoor Temperature
The office space should have both artificial and natural lighting. Avoid using stark white paint on walls, as that can make the spaces feel uncomfortable and cold. Instead, using soothing colours like grey, pale blue or beige will prove to be more effective. Loud colours like red should be avoided as they can be distracting and also tire out the eyes easily. In order to maintain a professional atmosphere, it is crucial to keep the décor to a minimum. Maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature in the office will help to improve productivity.
#5 Create the Right Aesthetic
Keeping office spaces clean and comfortable is necessary as it provides enough room to learn, create and work in an unhindered manner. Research states that yellow helps with creativity, blue stimulates the mind and green helps in maintaining a balance. Keep this in mind while designing your office space to create a professional atmosphere.
#6 Ergonomics Matters
Another important aspect that comes into play is ergonomics. Choose furniture that has the right ergonomics. It will help prevent employees from developing backaches, wrist aches and leg aches etc. This helps in improving the productivity by making your office comfortable.
