Every employer wants to know how to get the most out of staff. When staff are motivated and engaged, their output is better. The world of interior design is often forgotten by managers striving to increase staff engagement, but office design is shown to increase both productivity and creativity.
You can find a mass of peer-reviewed research to prove the relationship between design and employee engagement and productivity, so let us show you how to achieve the right space for your team to think clearly, collaboratively and creatively.
Create opportunities for human interaction
Remote work has made desk time less important. Design is now about directing people toward each other, not their desks. Staircases are being moved to the centre of offices, and private, communal work nooks are featured just off common areas. New ideas are born when you walk past your colleague in a space where you can chat without fear of disrupting a silent colleague, and developed in the longer conversations made possible in lunch rooms.
Don’t hide the buzz
Get rid of the bland beige walls and create transparent spaces that don’t hide the activity taking place in the office. Central glass conference rooms provide the illusion of transparency while allowing privacy for conversations. They also maintain the sense of movement and activity.
Private areas allow seeds to grow
When one of the common spaces creates the right environment to seed an idea, people need the space to finish their conversation and grow their idea immediately. That’s less likely to happen if they have to wait to book a conference room. While open floor plans are popular, it’s crucial that employers don’t forget to create spaces that have a sense of privacy.
Agile workspaces encourage performance
When you’re at home, you don’t sit in one spot all day and do every activity from there. You move around to different spaces that are best suited to your task. So why aren’t offices the same? Rather than expecting someone to remain stationary at their desk for 8 hours a day, create spaces that are suited to the task. Employees are engaged when they have choices and control. Not happy with the colleague talking loudly on the phone to a client? Go to the quiet space.
Adjustable design provides a sense of control
Sitting is the new smoking, right? Create opportunities for movement. Allow your employees the opportunity to stand and talk. Set tables up in outdoor, wind-sheltered areas. Provide shade and supplies where people can move out of the office. Adjustable desks set up high will allow people to stand and work.
What’s the big idea?
Office design is a critical part of the workplace strategy to increase employee productivity and creativity. It’s easy to create an environment that harbours positive relationships and allows for employees to control their space. Activity based working is the catchphrase of interior design for office space at the moment, and with good reason. This new wave of design allows creativity and productivity to thrive. So ditch the oppressive office desk and create open, collaborative spaces that encourage activity.
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