Whether you have a large or small budget, reviewing your office design and space is always important to see how it corresponds to your business’s plan to grow. This will ensure that you are using your space to the maximum and that your employees are working in an environment that is conducive to their productivity, efficiency, and growth.
An office redesign doesn’t mean you have to move to another venue or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on it – but it should provide value for your investment. A little investment can speak volumes and help improve work productivity, employee morale, boost retention, and enhance brand recognition.
Let’s take a look at how a good office design can benefit your business.
A Good Office Redesign Increases Engagement & Performance
Unfortunately, many employers do not consider office design a worthwhile investment. For many young entrepreneurs who are just starting out, office design is the furthest thing from their mind. What matters most to them is just to get things done. However, even small changes in an office design can help things get done more efficiently and effectively. An improved design can also improve the physical and mental health of the employees, while making the office a more comfortable and accessible place to work in.
Let’s take a look at some productivity-oriented office redesigns that can play a big role in the success of your business.
COVID-Conscious Workplace
The pandemic has brought increased attention and focus to the indoor air quality of offices. Opening up windows or installing air filtration systems in your office can impact your employees positively by creating an environment where they feel safe and healthy.
If you have the budget for it, it is important to go for indoor air quality technology like antimicrobial surfaces, flow management systems, and thermal imaging software that can help create a disease-free workplace and manage concerns about coming to work.
Redesigning the office with even a few of these changes can help employees understand that you take their health and well-being seriously. Even the perception of improved indoor air quality can have a positive impact on work productivity. According to the World Green Building Council, increased air quality can boost employee productivity from 8% to 11%.
Prioritizing Employee’s Wellbeing
Engagement, productivity, and profitability all start with employee comfort and well-being. Well-being-oriented design includes features like daylight, lighting, and thermal comfort, which help to create a physical space where employees are able to think creatively, communicate effectively, enjoy better aesthetics, experience better moods, and work more efficiently.
Strategies to produce optimal lighting conditions while minimizing the use of energy is an important aspect of well-being-focused design. Effective lighting comprises the dynamics of light and shadow, which serve to not just increase visibility but helps the eye to focus and relax. Poor visibility, flicker, and glare can all adversely affect employee performance and result in eyestrain and headache.
As such, research has shown that people prefer access to windows and natural light, which offer consistent benefits like health and work satisfaction.
When designing for optimal lighting and views, there should also be a focus on balancing a number of other environmental factors as well, like thermal control. Windows are not just a source of daylight and outside views but can also be the cause of glare and potential overheating.
Temperature, whether it is too high or too low, is a hot debate in the workplace. Research suggests that people are able to tolerate high temperatures much less than lower temperatures, but both of these things can impact office productivity. Businesses can ensure thermal comfort by installing appropriate air ventilation and cooling systems, opening windows, or even simply re-organizing office space to ensure the workspace becomes open and more ventilated, which can help regulate temperature.
Hence, achieving the correct balance between lighting and temperature should be a priority for workplaces.
Promoting Physical Comfort and Movement
Your employees are your business’s most important assets. As such, their physical health and comfort are of the utmost priority. Workplace ergonomics refers to identifying repetitive employee positions, behaviors, and movements that can lead to musculoskeletal discomfort and health problems like eye strain and headache.
Today, ergonomics in the office is focused on creating movement throughout the day to decrease the effects of sedentary work. A lack of movement has been shown to reduce workplace productivity and lead to a higher rate of absenteeism. Office ergonomics can help counter this by making the most use of the available space. Businesses can place things like the water cooler, coffee machines, and vending machines at a distance from the desks so employees can have a chance to move their muscles. It also creates a “water cooler culture,” which encourages employees to gather near the water cooler for short chats and increases workplace collaboration.
Offices can also consider investing in standing desks that allow employees to stand rather than sit while at work. This reduces the harmful effects of sitting all day long. The best part is that you don’t need to get new desks at all, and you can simply get attachments that can raise your computer to a standing height. This can be a worthwhile and affordable investment for an office.
Designing Strategies for Sustainability
Sustainability strategies ensure your business uses sustainable materials with a low carbon footprint, ensuring that your operations run smoothly and creating a space where employees feel good when doing good.
One important strategy is to limit pollutants at the source. This includes installing exhaust ventilation systems in printing and photocopier rooms that emit ozone and investing in low- or zero-emission carpets and finishes. Wherever possible, it is a good idea to go paperless, which not just reduces carbon emissions but also saves your business money.
There is also significant evidence that supports the beneficial role of indoor plants, which can reduce air pollutants in your office breathing zones. Moreover, plants have aesthetic and psychological values and can help elevate mood and reduce eye strain.
A very important aspect of sustainable office design is acoustic and noise. One of the leading reasons for employee dissatisfaction is a noisy workplace. A workplace full of audio distractions results in a reduction in cognitive performance and heightened stress. In fact, research shows that employees are 65% less productive in noisy environments than in offices that have a calm and distraction-free atmosphere.
To mitigate noise distractions, businesses need to change their office layout. It is a good idea to create individualized and quiet working spaces and nooks where employees can go if they feel their productivity is being affected. Adding high partitions to some areas can reduce the level of noise in the designated space. If windows are an issue, insulated materials can be used to block traffic noise while not impeding the natural sunlight. Similarly, offices can also install acoustic panels so that their walls and ceilings absorb louder noises.
Whether you are going emission-free or adding green zones to the office, a sustainable workplace can be rewarding in many ways, including promoting physical and mental well-being, increasing efficiency, reducing waste, and saving money.
Keeping an Updated Workplace
Office design has evolved considerably over the years. More and more offices are now adopting agile and flexible open-concept plans that have proven to be much more beneficial for open communication and collaboration between coworkers, teams, and departments. Moreover, these offices are more suitable for future scalability.
Minimalist and biophilic designs, as well as up-to-date technology, have shown a lot of benefits when it comes to improved workflow and efficiency. New technology helps employees work faster and more efficiently, empowering them to do tasks that were previously exhaustive. Modern technology is also compact, which means less cluttered offices, better workplace organization, and less stress. Now that Gen Z is at an age to enter the workforce, a business that wants to attract top talent will need to focus on digital communication and tech, which is inextricably bound to this cohort.
New technology like human-oriented ventilation and lighting systems, touchless systems, digital communication apps, and behavioral technology will help employees stay creative and communicative. Moreover, it will result in an enhanced brand perception that will show your clients and partners that they are working with a forward-thinking, people-conscious business.
Creating a Sense of Community and Culture
One of the most important aspects of an office is that it should be designed to bring people together and provide a sense of culture, collaboration, and community. Offices are now invested in creating workplace amenities, breakout spaces, and entertainment areas where their employees and clients can get together and enjoy a wonderful social experience.
Creating a forward-thinking and positive office culture can maximize your productivity and increase the profitability of your business – and the best way to ensure this is through an office redesign.
Whether you need a sustainable workspace or a collaborative culture, a good office redesign can clearly show your employees, clients, and partners where exactly your business is going.
How an Office Redesign Can Benefit Your Business
Some people believe that an office redesign is only for aesthetic reasons; however, even simple changes to the workplace can result in innumerable benefits for your entire organization. Let’s see what those are:
Improves Morale
Your employees spend the bulk of their day in the office, so they obviously hope for a workplace in which they can be proud to work. An office redesign can ensure you use the space efficiently, add more ergonomic, comfortable, and accessible elements, and offer amenities to your employees. Knowing that you care for them will boost your employees’ morale and make for a more engaging workplace.
Increases Inspiration
Not only will a practical and revamped office make your employees more engaged, it will also get their creative juices flowing and bring in inspiration. As such, your employees will be empowered to collaborate with others and brainstorm in pleasant working surroundings, which means innovation and creativity will be the name of the game – which is always great for business.
Boosts Productivity
A fresh workplace design can result in productivity. Taking into consideration all of your processes and functions and then factoring in your office redesign, can result in better performance and efficiency. Organized storage, partitioning, changing meeting areas, and adding breakout spaces can reduce stress and save a lot of time and energy, which leads to better work productivity.
Retains Staff
Today, employees have become increasingly discerning and are now looking for desirable places to work that meet their personal and professional goals. Employees now want the best of what a business can give them, and employers have their work cut out for them in attracting top talent. A design refresh can help them impress talented individuals, recruit them, and make sure they don’t want to leave.
Reinforces Brand Image
Your brand encompasses everything about your business, from your workplace culture to your office design and more. If you display the message that you are a modern and savvy business, but your office consists of a dozen tiny cubicles and disgruntled employees, then that will create a conflict in your brand. You can align your office design to your business objectives and message by giving a refresh. Whether you do small or large changes, an office redesign can enhance your brand image and champion your business.
Enhances Customer Confidence
Your office design can make or break a customer’s impression. The first visit is of crucial importance since your client – or even a potential employee – will be judging the quality of your work from your office design. Hence, it is important that you always make a great first impression and maintain a positive image for clients and employees.
Saves Energy
Some people believe that an office redesign is an unnecessary use of money that could have been better put to use on other projects. But the reality is that it can help you save a lot of money in the long run. An effective office redesign will mean reviewing your energy-consuming and inefficient processes. It will give your business a chance to incorporate sustainable elements and efficient processes into place that can offer you value in the long run.
Get Yourself a Great Workplace
Every business wants a workplace that is aesthetically-pleasing, sustainable, organized, and ensures streamlined workflows. At Business Transition 360, we offer innovative, new office furniture and design solutions that can help increase the efficiency and productivity of your employees, leading to more profitability for your business. Reach out to us today at 678-889-2214 to get your business redesign solution.
