Office Design Tips for a Productive and Creative Workforce

February 23, 2015 | Customer Resources | Blog, Commercial Moving Solutions, Warehousing Solutions

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Office space

Whether you’re moving to a new building or simply thinking of rearranging your existing work environment, it’s imperative that you consider how the new space will affect your employees. The layout of the room, the ambience levels, the lighting – all factors in understanding how an office environment can foster creative growth and productivity.

We wanted to provide a few tips on how you can create a workspace that encourages collaboration, nurtures a healthy culture, and stimulates creativity.

1.       Let Employees Create Their Own Environment

The ability to personalize one’s work environment empowers employees with confidence and comfort. Allowing employees to bring in personal items costs nothing and only brightens up a dull space. Let employees build their own community. People work better in their natural habitat.

2.       Watch Behaviors

Play anthropologist and study your team members’ behaviors. Try to note how each employee or team tends to work and socialize, and plan around your findings. You may discover that grouping quiet employees together, pairing up certain go-getters, or encouraging restless employees to roam, is exactly what your office needs.

3.       Create Zoning

Like any good city planner, an office planner must think of traffic and zoning. People tend to congregate by kitchens, bathrooms, couches, walkways, TVs, and other communal spots. Arrange desks and meeting rooms so they don’t interfere with natural community behaviors.

4.       Go Green

Live plants and natural lighting is a simple way to make employees happy. Studies show that natural lighting and plants, with their offerings of vitamins and oxygen, can boost creativity and reduce stress.

5.       Designate Quiet Places

Offices are full of buzz – chattering coworkers, keyboards clacking, printers, etc. Try to have a couple of spaces where employees can escape for a few hours of concentrated work. Most employees work best at their desks, but some need a brief respite from the noise to push through a task or idea.

Whether you have a growing staff, are reorganizing departments, or are ordering new furniture, you likely require a redesign of your office layout or workspace. Planes has the expertise to turn your on-paper design into a functional workspace reality. Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help create your new office.