Original article: Onmanorama
We are now more flexible in how we organize our working hours in our offices because traditional regular office hours are a thing of the past. While many professionals have reduced their hours on site, others find themselves in their offices at odd hours, working on important tasks.
Since we spend a significant part of our day at work, the office environment serves as a catalyst for development. While an attractive and smartly planned workspace can increase employee productivity, a drab and dark office can reduce productivity. For this reason, designing your workplace effectively is crucial to increase employee engagement and productivity.
Here are some top tips to maximize the potential of your office space:
Have a flexible layout
Especially after two years in a pandemic, the need for work flexibility has increased significantly. As the remote working trend has skyrocketed, many organizations have transitioned to hybrid work environments. This requires a flexible design of your office space, which is based on the needs of your employees.
Employees in 2022 no longer like being glued to their desks from 9am to 5pm with no respite. If you want your employees to look their best, it’s always wise to stay away from rigid layouts. Utilize freestanding office partitions, sliding partitions, and open floor plans to add flexibility to your office layout. Give your employees enough freedom of movement and feel comfortable when they spend hours working on projects that aren’t their favourites!
Use movable and multifunctional furniture
If you are planning to upgrade your office space, you need to pay special attention to your furniture. It is always advisable to switch from traditional fixed furniture to moveable furniture. Install ergonomic chairs that are flexible and can be moved according to the needs of your employees.
Movable furniture creates more space in your office. It can be easily moved, allowing you to easily change the look and purpose of a specific area of your office.
You can also have more air in your office space by installing multifunctional furniture. Install desks with storage and electrical support. Provide multifunctional chairs and desks in the common areas to organize meetings more flexibly and easily.
Use lighting intelligently
Lighting plays a very important role in commercial interior design as it directly affects worker performance. It is always advisable to have a well-lit office and ensure that each of the employees gets enough light to work comfortably. Dim and dull light often makes people lazy, demotivated and unproductively sloppy.
Use LED downlighting to brighten and intelligently use office space. For example, if you reflect artificial light with glass, you can illuminate a larger part of your office space with light.
In addition to artificial light, it is just as important to use natural light intelligently. Never make your employees feel like they are working in a company dungeon, incommunicado. Let natural light in through your office windows and increase employee productivity!
Optimize the common areas
When your employees work several hours every day in the office, they deserve to be treated with comfortable and aesthetic common areas. Optimize your common areas to maximize the potential of your office space and increase employee productivity.
There’s a common misconception that common areas are limited to high-end businesses with massive office spaces. This is certainly not true. Regardless of the size of your office, you can always set up an area that will help your employees relax, hold informal meetings, eat and recharge their batteries before getting back to work!
Create privacy pods
Especially if you have implemented an open floor plan in your office, employees are likely to be distracted when they have to work with utmost concentration and dedication. For such cases, it is advisable to build privacy pods for your employees so that they can work in a closed environment, away from the noise and disturbances of the office.
Privacy pods can also be designed for purposes other than work. You can have a dedicated pod for making phone calls, reading, breastfeeding, and even meditating. As the name suggests, a privacy pod allows your employees to have some privacy away from the hustle and bustle of the office. It helps them clear their minds without being disturbed by external stimuli.
Create dedicated zones
In order to use your office space optimally, you can always divide it into different zones depending on the purpose. Aside from their respective desks and cubicles, these zones help your employees complete specific tasks or collaborate with their colleagues.
Companies often prefer to create dedicated zones based on different projects/clients they manage. All employees working on a specific project can work in a specific zone with their team members and managers. This encourages the spirit of collaboration and improves the overall performance of your teams.
Aside from zones dedicated to specific projects, you can also create zones dedicated to relaxing, meditating, eating, client meetings, or just for a co-worker to work alone without distractions, just like a privacy pod.
These were some of the top tips to maximize the potential of your office space. Commercial interior design has a significant impact on a company’s reputation and the productivity of its employees. Make sure you spend enough time designing your workplace and remember that every stakeholder has a legitimate interest in your company.
Your office interior design should be an extension of your brand personality and reflect everything your company stands for. Commercial interiors play an important role in building your brand’s identity, from your company’s initial image to its aesthetic design.