A Workplace That Works: Designing a Productive Office

Nowadays, many businesses focus on developing an exceptional company culture that will foster employee engagement, loyalty and productivity. The main reason is that good working employees are the very core of every company, that drives the business forward. Not only that, but having loyal employees means fewer turnovers and thus fewer expenses for the company. When developing such a culture, everything begins with the work conditions and work environment, which can be best portrayed at the company’s office.

An office space is a place where your employees will spend most of their working hours. If that office space isn’t adequately designed, you have no hopes of motivating employees to become neither productive nor engaged. On the other hand, a well-designed office space will nurture good employee morale, which will greatly boost their productivity. That being said, here are a few tips on how to design a productive office for your employees.

Office layout design

The layout of the office plays a vital role in its design, as well as the impact it will have on employees. For example, cramping as many employees in a single space, like the ones in a cubicle office space, will not help foster any productivity in any way. Instead, it will do quite the opposite, ruining both the mood and the morale of your workers.

Alternatively, consider an open floor space office, where employees can fit into their personal working space, as well as their individual equipment. That way, it will be less crowded and less noisy; this will have a positive effect on employee productivity. In addition, consider introducing as much natural light as possible, while also reducing the amount of noise coming from the outside, in order to eliminate distractions.

Invest in the right technology

Today, technology plays a crucial role in everyday business operations. That includes the equipment employees use to work on and complete their daily tasks. Obsolete and worn-out technology will not help your employees work any faster or more efficiently for that matter. Instead, you should invest in the right technology and provide your employees with the means to be more productive.

For example, you don’t have to bother with too much hardware, a reliable laptop, such as Lenovo X1 Yoga will do just fine. After all, computers are essential in the modern-day business environment and you should not hesitate to provide good tech for your employees. Besides, they’ll be more efficient and productive when they have the technology they can depend on.

Focus on relaxation areas

Modern workplaces and offices aren’t just designed for work. In fact, they are also designed to feel cozy, in order to provide comfort and relaxation to employees. If you want your employees to be productive, your office must have a relaxation area. The main reason is that employees need to disengage from work every now and then. Taking a break for lunch, engaging with other employees for non-work related topics, or even taking a quick power nap is excellent for employee morale and mood.

That way employees can reduce the stress levels that were accumulated from work and enjoy themselves on a much-needed break. Not only that, but relaxation areas can also serve a purpose of holding staff meetings and casual interviews, as well as be used for team building activities. That way, you’ll have a versatile area that can be used for presentations, sharing of ideas, teamwork and other activities.

Foster collaboration

One thing that can hinder your productive office design is not being able to include each employee’s personal preferences into the design itself. Some people prefer to be isolated, in order to be more productive and focused, while other prefer the liveliness of other people in the office, which helps them relax. Including individual offices and open floor spaces is a good way to meet the needs of both sides, but the more employees you have the more this task becomes difficult to achieve.

In that case, create a compromise and include collaborative workspaces in your office design. Having a place where employees can gather, in order to share ideas or come up with new ways to overcome various challenges and obstacles will greatly improve their productivity. Not only that, but you’ll able to satisfy the needs of both employees who prefer silence and those who prefer to chat out loud at the same time.

In Conclusion

Productivity is not something you should expect from employees. Instead, you must create an environment that will inspire employees to be productive. A good office design will help you achieve that and more. A good work environment helps employees feel less stressful at work, and where there’s less stress involved, there’s always room for productivity.