17.08.18
17.08.18
The work environment your staff spend time in can really affect their motivation and productivity, so it is important to make it as great as you possibly can.
Sometimes your office doesn’t need a complete refurbishment or redesign, it just needs a bit of new life injecting into it in order to make it inspiring and fresh for your employees. The work environment your staff spend time in can really affect their motivation and productivity, so it is important to make it as great as you possibly can. Here are some ideas to consider when it comes to commercial interior design:
Thanks to our laptops, tablets, and phones, we now carry our work with us wherever we go. Therefore, there is already more than enough distractions to lower productivity, so the workplace shouldn’t be yet another to add to this. Think about a clean and simple space, that isn’t cluttered or over complicated. Nice views, daylight and simple written graphics or sculptures are great as they can aid creativity and lift the general mood, however, big tv screens, busy artworks or loud colours can often go the other way and act as a blocker for thought or inspiration. If possible, create a visual or mood board before you start your decoration to make sure it will work with the space.
What level of noise works for your company culture or for the people using your office? Is it appropriate to play music, do people have the need for headphones or do people need silence at certain points of their working day? If you’ve got a mix of people working in one office space, then you need to figure out what works best for your space to minimize distraction and boost productivity. Glass walls or partitions can be a great addition to an office space as they create a natural divide to give people privacy and quiet, however, they still give the feel of an open space that is not closed off into lots of separate offices of cubicles.
More and more offices are moving away from the traditional work surface of desk and chair, with the aim of creating a more relaxed environment to aid creativity and teamwork. Sofas and lounge furniture are great for relaxation or brainstorm areas, but not necessarily for long hours of work and can have comfort and health implications if used for too long. You can provide tables in a more relaxed setting in small clusters or high stools and counters as an alternative, and also why not consider standing pods for those who prefer to stand instead of sitting to do their work? Standing up to work is becoming increasingly popular as the nation becomes more health-conscious so it’s always good to give people various options.
Nothing beats natural light, we all recognise this fact, but you don’t always have the luxury of having it in abundance. It is important to never skimp on artificial lighting as this can prove to have a big impact on employees’ health and motivation. LED lights are proving to be very popular in modern offices as they have many benefits to health as well as long-term financial gains. Lamps can also be fun and functional in an office space where certain areas need more lighting than others. Some lights can be programmed in a variety of ways, so how about having the lights change colour if the team meets their sales target or if you are trying to create a certain mood for a meeting? Also, try to keep wall colour light and fresh and this will make the overall space seem lighter and airier than darks or vibrant bright colours would – remember what we said above about minimising distractions!!
