There are a great many changes that business managers can make if they wish to improve productivity, employee morale and the overall culture of an organisation, and office design is one of the most important.
1. Are you sitting comfortably?
One of the most obvious areas in which a great many offices could make improvements immediately relates to ergonomics, or the science of comfort, both physical and, by extension, psychological. When the conditions, in which everyday activities are performed, are optimum, employee engagement is increased, fatigue is reduced and associated health risks are kept to an absolute minimum.
As well as making sure you have ergonomically friendly office chairs and desks, you could also make sure that your employees are using the following:
- Screen supports that ensure optimum screen position, leading to excellent seated posture.
- Footrests for when feet are not able to rest flat on the floor
- Keyboard and mouse palm rests that can reduce the possibility of joint pain in the hands and wrists
2. Let there be light.
Studies have shown again and again that the more natural light there is in your office space, the happier and more productive your employees will be. Therefore, when designing or redesigning an office, you should make it a priority not to block natural light wherever possible.
Where natural light is not possible, however, opt instead for smart light systems that offer a range of lighting, from soft to bright, and do their best to emulate the effect of genuine daylight.
3. The air that you breathe.
Poor air quality in an office can seriously affect employees’ ability to think clearly and focus. It also costs employers millions of pounds every year due to related inefficiency and absences. The best solution is appropriate ventilation, with as much clean, fresh air circulating through your office as possible. Where this is not doable, however, make sure that any air conditioning systems are well-maintained and maybe consider the use of air filters.
One more indispensable tip: buy more plants! Healthy plants in your office will help to filter the air and provide clean and purified oxygen for everyone to breathe.
4. Hear yourself think.
Noise can be a problem in many modern open-plan offices, so make sure your employees have options when it comes to noise reduction. The ideal solution is to have dedicated quiet areas built into your office space, such as soundproof meeting rooms. You might also choose to use sound-absorbing acoustic panels, noise-cancelling headphones and noise-friendly furniture and flooring, such as vinyl flooring or enclosed acoustic pods.
5. Overall office design.
The layout of your office space is something that directly affects concentration, employee morale, creativity and productivity. If at all possible, you need to make sure that your workspaces and downtime areas are perfectly integrated and that there is enough space to allow the smooth flow of movement throughout the building. With 3D Space Planning, you can figure out the perfect layout for your particular business.
At Flow Office Furniture & Interiors, we know that a happy employee is a productive employee and we can make sure that your office is designed with your employees’ happiness at the forefront. Give us a call to discuss your office design today.