An Office For Employee Happiness

Having an office that’s designed in the correct way can help to make your employees feel happier at work and can improve their work rate and efficiency. A recent survey by Gallup stated that at least 51% of workers weren’t engaged at work and 17.5% of these were actively disengaged due to their working environment. Designing a space that’s suitable for both your business needs as well as the employees that work there is the key to a successful office space both design wise and for productivity.

Having a work space that’s flexible and includes a variety of spaces such as chillout zones, private space as well as open space is all important to creating an office that promotes movement and interaction with others throughout the day. Long gone are the days of dull grey spaces, cubicles and harsh divides between people, having an environment that focuses on colour, branding, technology, free movement, natural lighting and a relaxing but functional space can improve both the look of the office but also increase your employees happiness and productivity.

The key to a good design is providing a space that stimulates the mind and creates a natural feel for the people working there, create an environment you’d be happy to work in yourself for the average 37.5-40 hour week and that will give you a starting point for a good office design.

Keys To A Good Design

Light And Space

In an office you can never have too much light or space, due to the amount of time employees spend in an office space having an environment where they can move around and lets in as much natural light as possible as well as views to the outside can create a better space to work in. Natural light can be much easier to work in for prolonged periods rather than sitting under harsh false lighting, studies have shown that working in natural light can be it easier to work at computers for longer periods of time.

Chill Out Zones

Having chill out zones or break areas separate to where an employee sits allows workers to get away from their desks, it’s not just a place to eat lunch it provides that essential time out an employee needs to break up their day. An area that’s designed without divides and offers a comfortable and relaxing space, gives a change of scenery and also encourages social interaction and communication between people of the same office but who they may not usually interact with.

Tidiness

If you have a small office space or an office that clients regularly see then in the initial design of your office space remember to include storage space for office necessities such as pens, notepads, paper and such. If you eat at desks have easy cleanable desks and plenty of bins for rubbish. An office space that’s tidy and clean provides a better environment to work in as well as it gives a better first impression to clients and potential clients.

Invest In Good Furniture

Investing in cheap furniture may seem like a great temporary way to quickly fill up an office when it comes to designing and filling it but it will either stick around for a long time or simply break. If a worker has to spend 7-9 hours a day sat on a chair, it’s better to invest in one they’ll be comfortable in rather than one that’s uncomfortable. Investing in good high quality furniture from the offset can create a space that looks both great and also benefits your staff by providing a more work friendly environment.

A Branded Workplace

It’s your office so when it comes to designing it make sure you include your branding, design it with colours that match your branding or compliment your company colours, such as if you have branding with lots of bright colours don’t be afraid to use white walls, if your branding is clean and simple try and create impact walls that radiate the colours your company does use. Include your business identity on thing like chairs and doors, create a office space that makes it feel like it truly is the home of your business.

Improved Office Spaces

The days of a spaces that are bland and boring are long gone, nobody want to work it a space that drives them to the point of insanity; having an office that’s designed correctly can create a better brand image and can create an environment that staff are happy to work in which can lead to better work productivity. When it comes to designing an officespace, always think of somewhere you’d be happy to work in yourself for the average length of time and that will give you a good starting point of where to begin in creating the perfect office environment.

Using professional design agencies and professional interior designers can help you create an office design that’s best suited to your business needs but that provides an environment that’s warming and friendly to both staff and clients.

Contact Fusion Office Design to find out more information today, we are always more than happy to help.