Office interior design has an impact on workforce efficiency and well-being.
Fact.
“In 2014/15, The total number of working days lost due to work-related stress, depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses was a huge 9.9 million days. This equated to an average of 23 days lost per case.” HSE
A workforce is a business’ most valued asset. It’s important to ensure they are feeling productive, motivated, and relaxed, so they can achieve and give you the best return on your investment.
In a 2015 survey conducted by Leesman, 70,000 were questioned and only 54% people felt that their workplace environment enabled them to work productively. Businesses are becoming more conscious that the health and happiness of staff play a vital part in a company’s productivity. Impressive offices such as Google have become an inspiration, but you don’t have to break the bank to live up to them. A comforting, relaxing environment should be the primary concern.
A pop of colour
A small budget shouldn’t limit your expectations. Making small changes to your office interior design is possible. A lick of paint can brighten up a dark space, making the room more welcoming and pleasing to work in. If you’re in a serviced office with limited options and painting is a no-no, why not bring colour in through the furnishings? Colourful chairs, tables and accessories can make a huge difference.
Effective colours are key. You can have an up-to-the-minute interior design and contemporary, quality furniture – but without the use of colours, it is never inspiring. Colours perform in three basic ways: active, passive and neutral. For example, Red has been known to raise a room’s energy level. The most intense colour, it pumps the adrenaline like no other hue.
Yellow communicates happiness and is an excellent choice for kitchens, break out areas and bathrooms, where it is energising and uplifting.
Green is considered the most restful colour for the eye. Uniting the peaceful quality of blue and the positive energy of yellow, green is perfect for almost any room in a working environment.
Split your space
Fitting office partitions give privacy for staff as well as transforming the room into a sleek, clean and functional environment. They can also reduce office noise, resulting in higher concentration levels.
This type of design would best suit an open plan office that houses multiple teams, such as sales and finance teams who share a space. Businesses who revolve around answering and making calls can become very loud when everyone is talking. So by adding partitions here and there, you can ensure that those who need to concentrate on their work can do so without losing that sense of being part of a larger team.
Also, consider having quiet zones in the business, ‘Time out’ space so staff can focus on a specific project, uninterrupted.
Optimise your space
Having an office that inspires a workforce to co-operate will help to encourage your staff to talk and interact together – promoting teamwork. Break out areas, perhaps accompanied by comfortable furniture, can group employees together, creating more communication, more sharing of ideas and a happier, social environment.
For offices that house a number of different businesses, having internal and external communal areas that encourage people to get away from their desks can be a huge draw. Statistics show workers that take a lunch break away from their desks are not only healthier physically but mentally as well.
This doesn’t mean you have to buy a football table or a PS4, careful attention can be given to critical factors such as suitable storage, and including a working lounge within an open plan office provides an area where creativity can be encouraged. These are informal, productive spaces which encourage teamwork; promote group discussions and brainstorming, without distracting from the day’s whirlwind and disrupting other staff from focusing independently. Collaborative zones provide an area away from the desk environment; a break, a change of scenery and refresher for the mind with a bit of group work.
Light up life
Lighting can be used effectively to enhance and compliment your environment. Direct light over staff can cause headaches and less accuracy. It’s vital to make sure the light isn’t too extreme that it affects the workforce.
A dimming option can allow you to adjust the amount of light that enters the room, ensuring that it is always at a comfortable level. Addressing lighting issues will create a healthier, happier, and more productive workforce.
A modern approach to facilities management
Facility managers that oversee buildings, housing multiple businesses, should look into offering modern workspaces.
Building effective relaxation areas, and presenting sleek, unusual designs features where suitable, will help improve feelings of motivation and job satisfaction among any workforce. As more people are spending a significant amount of their week working, businesses will happily pay a slight premium to be in an office that is designed in a way that will increase the output of the workforce without increasing hours.
Taskspace takes pride in creating unique and individual workspaces, from offices to education. We passionately believe office interior design has a massive effect on workforce efficiency and aim to achieve this in all of our projects. If you are looking to upgrade and improve your workspace, call us on 01582 867323 or email us sales@taskspace.co.uk for more information.
