Office Design Trends as Productivity Boosters

Spending work hours at office with your head stuck in papers, trying to get the job done may be sufficient but not always very productive. Even if workers are fully motivated to fulfill their obligations and make contribution to their organizations, results of their endeavor may fall short if collaboration, creativity and team effort is not well promoted through shared office space.

If you think for a while, why, in a world which is becoming increasingly aware of the need for sustainability, people, who are single most valuable resource one company have on its disposal, are not enabled to maximize their potentials and increase productivity? Here are several ways how experimenting with some of the recent office design trends can help in achieving this.

Increased Chances of Productive Meetings

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Spending entire day behind the desk, without even moving to reply an e-mail, is certainly praiseworthy but still not the most productive option out there. We can even say that, from creative standpoint it can provide very unsatisfying results. It is therefore very important to create paths for chance meetings where people will be able to connect and brainstorm with each other. Chance encounters increase familiarity and create conversations which possibly lead to solutions. More interaction between workers means more creativity and fresh ideas.

More Nooks in Common Areas

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If your workers are spending much time on some common places, create nooks for them so they can have pleasant conversations that will spark some brilliant new solutions. Area near coffee machine is one of the places where this can be applied. Instead of taking their hot beverage back in the office, this way, they can have short 20 minutes meeting on the go, while still isolated enough and maintaining some privacy. Not every great idea has to be born in conference rooms.

Conference Rooms in Heavy-Traffic Areas

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Speaking of conference rooms, they don’t have to be entirely isolated spaces, surrounded by thick walls of privacy. Placing them in the midst of the busy common areas and making the walls invisible through the magic of glass will keep things very alive and kinetic. Acquiring some cozy pieces, say at Sydney-based company specialized in office furniture, will certainly help the effort and make the atmosphere more natural and relaxing.

Small Boots for Instant Privacy

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Sometimes, naturally, there will be situations where your employees will need some privacy from their fellow colleagues, exigent Skype call being one of them for instance. Make life easier for them and don’t force them to search for some isolated place where this will be possible. It is counter-productive, to say the least. Making few of the boots throughout your company’s facility will solve this problem and provide them with privacy when they need it the most.

Workspace as Agile as Possible

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Binding your employees behind the desk is, as we mentioned above, decreasing their productivity and the chance of creative thinking. So, instead of making desk-centric workspace, think more out of the box and let them work wherever they feel most comfortable at the moment as long as their overall efficiency is not compromised. 

If they want to start their day at the desk, move to some social hub, then to comfortable bench, going back to desk again, find a way to meet their needs. Giving them freedom to move where they want can produce feeling of empowerment and the sense that their work time is under their control. And happy and empowered employee is a productive one.

Highly Adjustable Desks 

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Still, no matter how smart your workspace design may be, people in your company will have to spend large chunk of work time behind the desk and that’s why they need to be as comfortable as possible. Sitting to much is not only unproductive, it may be harmful as well, so consider using adjustable desks as much healthier alternative to pieces you already have on disposal. Desks should be adjusted to people and not the other way around.

All of these things we mentioned require neither too much investments nor drastic redesigning. They can however prove to be very beneficial for your employees’ morale and increase the chance of them being more productive. What’s not to like?