If you’re trying to enhance your work culture to ensure happier employees, better productivity, and appealing office space, you need to consider how crafting a well-designed office space can affect people’s moods and habits. Follow these tips to create an office space designed for success.
Why Design Matters
A successful office design is about more than creating a space in which your employees can work, it’s also about understanding their needs, the needs of your business, and the demands of your industry. You’ll want to think about the physical layout, yes, but also about the environment you’re creating and how it can encourage positive interactions that ultimately benefit your bottom line.
Balance the functionality of your space with a pleasant experience for employees to ensure they’re learning, socializing, and working all at the same time. Your office may need to be adaptable, so it can evolve to meet the needs of your changing business and incorporate a range of amenities that cater to diverse work styles and job responsibilities.
Design Checkpoints for Productivity
Productivity will look different in every vertical, so it can be difficult to provide specific design ideas that solve particular problems within your industry. However, these design checkpoints can provide some guidance toward the right choices for your office space, employees, and business needs.
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Understand What Your Business Actually Needs
This is where office space design should start for every single organization. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What types of responsibilities do your employees have?
- What physical tasks will they be performing?
- What are the operational requirements for your office?
- Which kinds of equipment will your team be using?
Answering these questions can help you design your layout, choose your furniture, and allocate space in your office for meetings, breaks, and auxiliary support. Creating a space through which employees can move easily and naturally promotes efficiency and helps employees remain cohesive.
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Elevate the Aesthetics
Productivity-focused office design is just as much about form as it is about function. An appealing office design can enhance your brand identity, improve office morale, and leave a great first impression on visitors and clients. The color scheme, creative flush ceiling lights, decor, and overall visual appeal of your space all matter.
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Integrating Appropriate Technology
Docking stations for multiple screens Technology is essential to all modern work environments, and your office design should incorporate the tech you need as seamlessly as possible. Better tech integration might mean high-speed wifi, versatile desk spaces equipped with thunderbolt 3 docking stations, or meeting rooms with advanced presentation tools.
Other tools you can use to set you and your teams up for success are smart-office solutions that help managers with productivity monitoring. When you know how employees are performing, you can better address their needs and encourage growth and improvement.
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Focus on Employee Well-Being
Since productivity is driven by employee mental and physical health, your office design should be promoting their general well-being. You might consider including rest spaces (like outdoor gardens) where they can take a break, fitness facilities so they can work out onsite, and even enhanced air filtration systems for good air quality.
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Prioritize Employee Comfort
This concept actually goes hand in hand with employee well-being, as their comfort is often tied to mental health while on the job. An uncomfortable work environment can lead to injuries that increase health issues and decrease productivity. Some key elements that ensure employee comfort include spaces for relaxation, ergonomic seating and desk design, ample lighting, and appropriate heating/cooling.
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Encourage Collaboration Within the Team
Nearly every modern business thrives on collaboration, so your office design needs to facilitate interdepartmental interactions. You don’t want to close everyone off in cubicles that could stifle brainstorming and collaboration during team-based projects! Incorporate an open layout, team meeting zones, and even collaborative furniture into your office design.
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Promote More Concentration & Focus
While collaborative spaces are important, quiet spaces where people can focus on their own are equally essential. Design several private offices, soundproofed rooms, and quiet zones that can help focus and concentration by minimizing interruptions.
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Ensure Versatility in Your Space
As you can see from the above checkpoints, offices need to be more versatile than ever to meet the demands of your organization, cater to various events, and accommodate the different work styles of your employees. Invest in more flexible designs, like movable furniture and multi-purpose spaces.
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Make It Sustainable
You might not see sustainability as important to productivity, but this concept actually helps your business save money over time. With energy-efficient solutions and eco-friendly materials, you’re reducing waste and saving money.
What Works for You?
Industrial-type office environment If you have the opportunity to design your office space from the ground up, you can likely incorporate every single element on this list. However, if you’re working with a pre-existing layout, you might only have the opportunity to add one or two. Do your best to integrate as many productivity-boosting elements as possible into your current situation.
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