Effective Office Design — Your Conduit to Productivity

Office space should be conducive to productivity, right? In an ideal world, yes. But so many business owners and facilities managers are unaware of the impact office interiors and office furniture layout have on the heart and soul of a company.

So, if your lease is about to expire, is up for renewal, or you just feel like a change is in order, now could be the perfect time to refresh your workplace design. Here are a few reasons why.

Open plan doesn’t have to mean there’s no “alone time”

In a traditional open-plan space, the standard cubicle layout is generally just line-after-line of desks and partitions, floor-after-floor. But when creating an open plan workspace, there are certain things, often overlooked which have a negative effect on productivity.

Consider airflow: Air conditioners in close proximity to employees, and employees in close proximity to each other were shown in a study by the Department of Informatics at the University of California to be a major contributor to illness at work.

Having key staff members on sick leave at any given time leaves an obvious productivity gap. So, providing employees with as much of their own space as possible – as far away from the air conditioning vents as possible – can actually have a positive effect on the company’s bottom line. Not to mention that people are more productive when they are able to “zone out” and focus on the task at-hand without interruptions or distractions.

Walk towards the light

Vitamin D can contribute to overall physical and mental health. And one of our primary sources of vitamin D, is sunlight. Not only does vitamin D contribute to healthy bone growth and other important body functions, studies show that it also has an effect on our happiness.

According to wanderlust.com, “When the body recognises sunlight through the optic nerve, the gland in the brain which regulates melatonin slows its function, and serotonin levels increase. When light is diminished, the body increases the secretion of melatonin, and the secretion of serotonin is conversely slowed.”

Happy employees are much more likely to work hard, so optimise the natural light in your workspace and you’re likely to see a difference in morale and output.

Make comfort a priority

If there’s one place you should never cut costs, it’s on office seating. Most working adults spend more time in their office chairs than they do anywhere else.

Sitting for prolonged periods in an uncomfortable or non-ergonomic chair causes back injuries. These injuries are incredibly common, but so many employers continue to use buying office furniture as a cost-cutting exercise.

Consider that while you may be saving money in the short-term with cheap office chairs, you’ll be paying for it in the long-term. Back pain can be very distracting – even debilitating. Your staff shouldn’t have to think about how they’re sitting. A good office chair will mostly go completely unnoticed, because it becomes an extension of your natural posture, leaving you to focus on all the important things you have to do.

Speak to the experts in office design

Novex is a family-run office design business that was established in 2000. The one-on-one experience with our customers is what makes us different. We’re South West locals, based in Chertsey. You might say we’re part of the furniture in the area. Get in touch with us and we’ll put our wealth of experience to use creating a personalised office space solution for you.

Contact Novex today to help you maximise your productivity through strategic design. Get started on your space planning journey by downloading our “Stress-Free Guide to Workplace Refurbishment” here.

References and more reading online:

California Informatics Study:

https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf

Open Plan Office Article (Business Insider):

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/open-plan-offices-are-killing-our-productivity-heres-how-to-fix-it-2018-2

More about Vitamin D:

https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/the-truth-about-vitamin-d-why-you-need-vitamin-d

Why Sunlight Makes You Happier:

https://wanderlust.com/journal/sun-makes-happier/

More on Employee Comfort:

https://www.hrzone.com/perform/people/smart-office-furniture-decisions-to-improve-employee-wellbeing

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