An office’s physical environment plays a significant part in employee productivity. Imagine yourself working every day in a bland, dark space with lots of clutter; will you be as motivated? In contrast, well-lit, airy office workstations inspire productivity and good performance.
If employee morale is currently low, it’s time for an office design upgrade. Employers should look after their staff’s well-being as well as their output. Not only will a good office design improve productivity, but may also boost your employees’ moods and happiness.
Here are some innovative office design tricks to consider adopting.
Lighting
An office must be bathed in adequate lighting to brighten up the space and provide ease of work. Dim or inadequate lighting are harmful to the eyes, and may also affect mood and happiness.
It’ll be helpful if there are plenty of windows in your office that you can leave open. That way, lots of natural light will come in and you don’t have to fully depend on artificial lights. But if that isn’t an option, just make sure that you have enough LED lights to illuminate all workstations.
Workstations
Closed workstations with opaque cubicles and large partitions may negatively affect your employees’ creativity. If your office has those, perhaps it’s time to tear them down and replace them with something more open. Some office interior designers specialise in nontraditional open workstations that allow movement and collaboration, which both consequently increase productivity. A more open and airy space also fosters creativity, since your employees can transfer desks in case they need inspiration from another creative employee.
Break Area
Since this is the place where your employees take refuge during lunch and other short break times, this place should be furnished attractively as well. Provide a central table with enough multipurpose chairs to add comfort without forgoing functionality. Break areas can also be used for informal meetings, so the furniture is essential.
Meeting Room
Being a part of an office for brainstorming and decision-making, a meeting room should be designed with comfort in mind. If yours look stark and bland with stiff-looking furniture, replace all of those with sofas and other cosy and unique seats. With sofas instead of plain old chairs to sit on, your employees using the room can feel more inspired, creative, and motivated. Plus, meetings done in such a setup can feel more intimate, so it can bring you and your employees closer.
Scents
You may think scents are unnecessary, but if you try them, you’ll wonder why you never considered having them in your office ever. Scents, or aromatherapy, affect our mood and mindset, boosting productivity as a result. The right scents also reduce drowsiness, so you should definitely get one for your office. Here are some scents ideal for a workplace:
- pine – for increasing alertness
- cinnamon – for improving focus
- citrus – for lifting drowsiness
Colours
The right colours are an integral part of a well-designed office. Instead of sticking to all-white, select other colours to accentuate and spruce up the space. Blue is known to bring out productivity, so put that on your list of options. Use wall decor such as photos or artworks to add more life. If you’re using different colours, make sure to balance them as to not overwhelm the space with too many hues.
