Today’s savvy business owners are not leaving anything to chance, especially since everything that they do has a specific reasoning behind it. From hiring the top people in the industry to hold specific jobs in their company, to making sure all staff members have the appropriate ergonomic office furniture and resources needed to complete their jobs effectively throughout the day, everything that’s related to a business operation is well planned out. Including how the business environment is designed and how the atmosphere in the office are set. Not the least of which is how office settings affect productivity.
Many business owners and their representatives hire interior designers to assist the organization with designing the appropriate work environment. This is because the type of office environment that people work in usually sets the tone and the mood of the employees, including reducing stress levels and the productivity of the overall operation. Even though some business operations may require different types of settings, one of their primary goals is to set up office environments that eliminate unnecessary distractions, worker boredom, and other things that will not allow the staff to work at their maximum capabilities throughout the day. So, for those of you who are interested in what can be done, here are key areas that they consider when making updates with a brief description of these designs.
Eliminate Distractions by Providing Specific Types of Workspaces
As previously referenced, when a professional office designers enters into any work environment, there are a number of different things that they usually focus on. So, they may start by taking a visual assessment of the entire operation in order to make the appropriate adjustments. One of which involves focusing on distractions.
Create Drop-in Workstations
Typically, some environments are inherently busy and filled with distractions. However, there are times when any worker needs to be free from any types of distractions to complete their work effectively. For instance, the employee may need to make a phone call to a client or a group of people to respond to important questions, and they do not want to be interrupted with the normal distractions. To make sure workers have what they need in the office to accommodate these situations, the creation of a drop-in workstation can be ideal for these and other business situations.
Private Job in Space
Additionally, to accomplish some job functions, people may need to think outside of the box. Saving money, saving time and getting the job done quickly and effectively is not always easy, especially if the person is limited in resources. Therefore, it is important that these employees have a place that they can get away during the day so that they can think more clearly. For these times and situations, designers may want to transform one of the company’s small conference rooms into the worker’s’ private drop-in space by adding a homey feeling (i.e. small sofa, lamps, pull-up tables and other types of office furniture items that are needed).
Eliminate Boring Environments by Changing Colors and Office Furniture Arrangements
Another important element in making sure the productivity of an office is not adversely impacted is eliminating the boring office environment. Therefore, increasing productivity may include during a number of different innovating things like changing the colors in the office from white and beige to yellow, green, red and blue. All of these have been researched by credible resources, and have been found to be the best colors for increasing productivity in the office. It’s also important for the office furniture to be arranged appropriately for different business settings. From individual work spaces that allow people to work on tasks by themselves to office furniture arrangements that promote teamwork and synergy within groups, every area of these designs must be considered in advance.
In addition spicing up the colors a bit, employers should also pay attention to the layout. With the new trends in office design, the rooms are open and airy with individual up-to-date workstations. Designers are also creating space for informal relaxation and creative thinking. There is also a space on the sides and in the center for impromptu meetings that small to midsize groups can use to promote synergy in the workplace.
Increase Productivity by Promoting the Proper Work and Social Balances
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is a still a true statement as it relates to the work environments of today. Because people are often assigned big projects that last for long periods of time, it is not uncommon for employees to work all of the time, without any type of work-life balance. Sometimes because workers will immerse themselves in getting these projects done on time and under budget, they may not even realize that they are out of balance. Additionally, instead of productivity going up, it can easily go down because these employees are often tired and stressed instead of vibrant and productive. To address this type of problem in the workplace, there are many things that can be done. Some of which include creating custom team building activities that takes people away from the day to day job activities.
Another effective way of addressing productivity is bringing play to work to enhance social interactions among the staff. Many studies have shown that people who sit at their desks alone all day with little to no breaks do work at their maximum potential. However, when the employees are provided with space for games like table tennis in the company’s break room, will have a opportunity to move around and remain engaged with others in the office. As a result of these newly creative designs, it can help to get the employees creative juices flowing again and improve synergy among teams.
The environment that people work in has a huge impact on employee productivity. Therefore, employers who want their staff to work at their maximum potential will seek to use designs that will accommodate these needs. Some of the more notable for increasing productivity consist of minimizing distractions by installing drop in workstations, eliminating boring by using colors that energize the staff and creating additional spaces for games in the company’s break room to promote social interaction among the workers.
Over to You
Does your work environment – the colors, opportunities to socialize with your co-workers – improve your productivity? Share your thoughts in the comments.