The work environment can have a major impact on employee performance, creativity, happiness, and comfort. Without a solid office design and fitout strategy, managers and organisations are at the mercy of their employees, with poor office design linked to increased stress and drops productivity.
On the contrary, a well-planned office design and layout has been shown to encourage workplace productivity, reduce stress levels, and improve employee satisfaction and wellbeing.
For this, you’re going to need an office design strategy. To help, we’ve outlined the different types of office design tips and layouts that can help boost your office productivity and improve employee happiness.
7 office design tips to boost your workforce efficiency and productivity
1. Increase natural light
Research has shown a 16% increase in workforce productivity, in addition to a 15% increase in employee comfort. Considering employees often spend most part of their day inside the office, increasing the flow of natural light can prove to be highly beneficial.
Whether you’re in a pre-office fitout stage or in the midst of renovating your office space, consider large open windows for more natural light as the first . If this isn’t possible, consider installing light bulbs that emit natural light, compared to standard fluorescent lighting which can be quite harsh.
2. Create designated workspaces
While open-plan office layouts work well in creative spaces and help promote collaboration between employees, a case study has shown to have the opposite effect and decrease productivity.
Does this mean you need to undertake a massive office renovation overhaul to create more designated, private workspaces? Absolutely not. You can create designed workspaces and improve workspace productivity with office partition walls.
Office partition walls come in many styles, shapes, and sizes, allowing office managers and organisations to transform open-plan offices into private designated office spaces, conference rooms, and breakout areas with noise canceling properties. This can help boost team members’ motivations, allow for more privacy, and boost efficiency.
3. Seating arrangements
What is one thing employees can’t live without while at work apart from coffee? Comfort. It’s a known fact that comfort plays a huge role in employee satisfaction and productivity.
Desk partitions are an effective way to divide seating arrangements and create more privacy and are relatively inexpensive to install. They help lower distractions by dividing up workspaces and increase workforce productivity by giving employees more privacy while providing space for personalisation.
Available in a wide variety of different fabrics, materials, and sizes, desk partitions are versatile and can be made to suit your office decor and space.
4. Add a touch of greenery
In case you haven’t heard, indoor plants are in right now. Incorporating plants into your office space can bring about a wealth of benefits, such as improving indoor air quality, reducing stress and sickness.
5. Spruce up the interior design with some colour
Artwork and colour, among other office interior design ideas, are an excellent way to improve the overall mood and tone of tiresome office space. Consider hiring a local artist to create a unique artwork suited for your office space.
This is also an excellent opportunity to create a “local artist works with local business” community engagement post for social media and your website.
6. Control the noise with office partitioning
Please don’t tear down the walls. You may be enticed to create a more open office style, but if your business doesn’t thrive on collaboration you’ll soon run into issues with noise.
That said, you can still enjoy all the benefits of collaboration and teamwork with glass office partitioning, which offers noise cancellation infrastructure while still adding to that open-style office space.
7. Listen to your team’s needs
Have you been tasked with organising an office fitout? While designing your office layout to boost productivity, it can be insightful to listen to what your team has to say and their specific needs. For example, if the consensus is that people need more privacy to concentrate, it would make sense to create more designed workspaces to boost their productivity.
Improving workplace productivity through your office design is no easy task, but with a simple strategy and the help of an office fitout professional, you can achieve the best possible outcome.
