Running a successful business requires more than the ability to deliver a high-quality product or service that is currently in demand. Knowing how to provide your employees and team members with an office design that is welcoming, inviting, spacious, and motivating is essential to maximize productivity while promoting wellness in the workplace. With a few workplace design tips and tricks, create an environment for employees that is desirable and fulfilling.

 

Natural Lighting

Lighting plays a pivotal role in providing employees with workplace satisfaction, especially employees who work full-time or often find themselves working overtime for a company. Consider the amount of natural lighting your current office space receives and whether or not it is possible to increase the amount of natural light your employees have access to throughout their days. Invest in flexible blinds and window coverings that can be adjusted or removed during winter months or longer days (especially when there is nicer weather outdoors). Consider relocating employee desks to nearby windows or transporting offices to locations where more natural lighting is available.

If you are working in a space that does not have access to an array of natural light sources, invest in different types of lighting that are not all fluorescent by default. While fluorescent lighting is commonplace among office workspaces, hospitals, and other commercial structures, it can lead to extreme and severe headaches and migraines in employees who are sensitive to surrounding light. Opt for yellow lighting or lighting that is accessible using a dimmer switch to provide your employees with complete control over the lighting in their personal space, even if they do not currently have access to a window or another source of natural light.

 

Air Quality

The air quality of an office workspace is key when considering the level of productivity that is exhibited in the workplace. Poor air quality and airflow can lead to employees feeling disconnected and despondent when thinking of their work or completing tasks. Always ensure your air ducts and vents are properly maintained and routinely cleaned while replacing air filters at least once a month. Have regularly scheduled air quality maintenance jobs conducted to ensure your employees are working in the best conditions possible. Consider implementing screens in windows wherever possible in your workspace to promote fresh air and open windows during warm and cool months that are without extreme temperatures.

 

Ergonomics

Providing your employees with a comfortable and ergonomic workspace is a way to increase workplace productivity while minimizing the risk of potential long-term effects on the body. Ergonomic design involves choosing desks that are adjustable in height while investing in chairs designed for spinal and tailbone support (especially for employees who work sitting down throughout most of their workday). Invest in adjustable monitors, desks, and chairs for each of your full-time employees. Use rests for mice that double as rests for hands, wrists, and arm joints to minimize the risk of developing Carpal Tunnel or other ailments due to poor working conditions. When employees feel comfortable during their workday, they are less likely to slack off or become less productive, especially if they are not feeling mental or physical side effects of their current workspace.

 

Open Spaces

Long gone are the traditional 9 to 5 office workplaces, especially in larger cities and within new and exciting tech or startup ventures. Today, employers are trying harder than ever to bring a collective vibe into the workplace with all of their employees and teammates. Consider maximizing the use of your rented office space by keeping the floor plan as open as possible. Open floor plans are not only a way to make an office space appear bigger, but they help employees to feel less trapped and claustrophobic.

Open floor plans are ideal when you are working together with a small group of employees or a singular team of individuals. With an open floor plan, allow employees to choose their preferred location to work, especially if you have desks and computer setups scattered throughout the space. Opening up your office space is a great way to build a sense of community among those who work together through day-to-day tasks and projects.

 

Collaboration is Key

Collaboration plays a key role in developing a business, especially when you are launching a new business from the ground up. Open spaces and an adequate amount of natural light promote communication and collaboration among employees and those working on your team. Open spaces in the workplace keep employees from shutting themselves off and avoid participation, especially during meetings and collaboration sessions. Promoting collaboration among your employees is also a way to boost their sense of loyalty and their commitment to the business and brand they represent, especially when they are feeling listened to and heard in the workplace.

Promoting collaboration in the workplace is another way to connect with your employees and those you have hired on your team. Host brainstorming and collaboration meetings with everyone in the office to allow your employees the opportunity to express themselves while sharing their own opinions and input that pertain to current projects and tasks you are working on together.

 

Bold Colors

Choose a color scheme that reflects your business and the brand you represent. Use the color scheme you have implemented into your official logo and website to streamline your brand’s image, even in the workplace. Use neutral colors as well as textures such as brick, wood, and tile along with at least one bold color to truly create an office workspace that is unique and memorable. If you choose to implement an urban color scheme using brick, consider greys, whites, blacks and bold colors such as burnt orange, ruby red, or even royal purple depending on your brand and the type of image you are trying to portray.

 

Themed Furniture

Choose a theme for the furniture you select for your office workspace based on your office color scheme and the image you want to portray to prospective customers, clients, and business associates. Streamline the furniture you use in your office to create a cohesive environment that is professional, yet modern for employees and those who visit you frequently.

 

Rest and Relaxation

Offering your employees the opportunity to rest and relax is highly advisable, even if you are a business that is just launching for the very first time. Employees who feel overworked are more likely to experience burnout or a lack of loyalty and dedication, especially if they do not feel rewarded for the jobs they have done in the past.

Create an area in the workplace that is relaxing and welcoming for employees who are in need of rest or a bit of downtime during their breaks each day. Invest in comfortable furniture, televisions, tablets, and even gaming stations such as air hockey or ping pong to give your employees the R&R they need to maintain their productivity. Resting and unwinding during stressful work days can drastically improve the moods of employees while encouraging them to remain productive and optimistic about the work they still have ahead of them. Use the opportunity to redesign your current breakroom to truly provide your employees with a peaceful and reenergizing environment.

 

Conclusion

Understanding the importance of workplace design is imperative whether you are launching your very own start-up business or if you are interested in expanding an existing company. By offering your employees a work environment that is encouraging, motivating, and personal, boost workplace productivity while showcasing an office design for your business and brand that is loved and accepted by all.