Employee productivity and engagement rates in the workplace depend enormously on the workplace environment. A relaxed and clean office space will turn your employees into more motivated ones, according to a series of research papers. However, desk layout and design also seem to play a crucial role as well. According to a Gallup recent report, more than half of the interviewed workers in 2014 claimed they weren’t engaged at the workplace. Besides, almost 20% of the respondents said they were actively disengaged. For employers, these statistics are disarming, signalling core-issues for their businesses. Fortunately, you can easily boost your employees’ engagement rates and productivity by considering an office redesign. Keep reading below to find out more information.
Use furniture and modularity to your employees’ advantage
Invest in furniture that offers your employees more flexibility and movement options. For instance, you could invest in standing desks to combat the plague of our era, the sedentarism. Standing desks also solve some of the at-work challenges faced by employees from all over the world. A stiff neck, an aching back and carpal tunnel syndrome are health concerns of office workers, mainly caused by improper posture. Investing in standing desks will allow them to adjust their position while working. Also, modular pieces of furniture will increase their flexibility and work to their advantage, in the end. Think functionality and comfort above all, when you plan an office remodelling project. Adjustable elements became increasingly popular in modern office spaces, so consider adapting your furniture to the recent demands as well.
Another great solution that will make your employees more productive is creating different working areas, with the help of modular furniture. Use it to separate your different working areas, for the best results. To cancel noise, an issue that will make your employees disengaged and distracted, consider installing noise-cancelling glass walls.
Allow more natural light in
Office lighting influences enormously your employees’ productivity, happiness levels and engagement rates. Artificial light, while useful, is tiring and can become quite stressful at times. Consider enlarging your office building’s windows. This will allow more natural light in. shortly, you will start noticing how your employee’s happiness levels rise and how different tasks are accomplished faster. Natural light plays an enormous role in regulating our circadian cycles. Tricking your mind with artificial light will only make it interpret it as the night time is approaching, which will make your employees constantly tired and unproductive.
Implement a colour scheme and take it outside, too
The surprising effects of colour on employees have been vastly debated over the years and the benefits are certain: a good colour scheme will make your employees happier and more motivated to put in a little extra. While certain colours will boost employee productivity, a single colour won’t do the trick. You have to implement a more complex approach and take it even outside in your custom office signs, for increased cohesiveness.
Use different colours to get different reactions and attitudes from your employees. For instance, red, yellow and orange are more suitable for rapid and energetic workplace environments. They will stimulate physical activity if this is somewhat required in your company. On the other hand, blue hues and shades of green will make your employees more creative and motivated ones. They are also suitable for waiting rooms and meeting rooms, as they create a more peaceful workplace environment.
Consider the colour’s effect of the space. Red and yellow will make a room appear smaller, so if your office is already small, you may want to avoid the combination. However, green and blue shades will make any room appear bigger, so they will work to your advantage.
Consider bringing in some plants
Bringing in some touches of nature with natural plants and greenery. According to some recent data, natural plants have plenty of health benefits on the human mind. They reduce stress and anxiety by almost 40% while reducing depression by almost 60%. Due to their air-filtering properties, natural plants will reduce coughing and wheezing by more than 30%. If you want to have happier and mentally well employees, green plants seem to be the answer you were searching for.
Optimize office space
Allow your employees to use different spaces for different tasks. Optimized workspaces will increase your employees’ productivity and give them an energy boost in the workplace. Space flexibility will make everyone feel included. For instance, introverts find it difficult to work in open-space offices, while extroverts will become significantly more productive if they have socialising opportunities while at work. Optimize office space in such a manner to offer everybody equal chances to work properly.
In teams where brainstorming and teamwork are necessary, create an inviting space that will allow your employees to collaborate and find common solutions.
Most importantly, ask employees what they want and what would help them become more productive, space-wise. You will receive some insightful feedback and you will realize that your office space lacks surprising elements. Plus, you’ll be able to adapt the office space to their needs.
Streamline your workflow with technology
Productivity can be helped through technology. Promote solutions such as Bitrix24 and Slack. They will allow more connectivity in your teams, allow instant messages and replies and overall improved workflow. This matters enormously productivity-wise and you will start noticing how different tasks that require collaboration at a level or another are accomplished faster and more effectively.
When possible, automate different tasks. Invest in could-based services that offer smart connectivity solutions. In many start-ups’ case, this small investment also proved to be a cost-decreasing one, as you don’t have to outsource different IT-related tasks.
Modern office space design solutions are proven to work wonders in creating happier and more motivated employees. To create the proper space, you have to listen to all the professional advice above. These tips are tried and tested by numerous enterprises around the world, and the results were stunning. The main advantage offered was, obviously, a more productive employee, less prone to mental and physical health issues.
