Office Design Tips that Actually Enhance Productivity

Before we even start, it’s incredibly important that you understand the fact that everything that takes place around the office has a certain effect on your staff. This means that every element and trend can either be a distraction or a source of motivation. Naturally, for you as an entrepreneur, finding a way to create the latter scenario seems particularly appealing. With that in mind and without further ado, here are top 8 office design tips that actually enhance productivity.

1.      Light affects both visibility and motivation

The ability of your employees to see what they’re doing is often underrated, due to the fact that the majority of modern office work gets done on the screen that’s glowing either way. Still, there’s a lot of work that still takes place on paper and even a keyboard may need some checking every now and then. This is why you might need to invest in some task lights or ensure that the main source of light in the room provides enough illumination. Also, it’s important that you take a moment to think about the impact that the light has on the overall motivation of your staff.

2.      Minimalism enhances focus

There are some serious studies that are supporting the idea that people have trouble focusing when they’re in too much of a mess. However, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that this has something to do with the cleanliness of the office, when, in reality, it’s all about people’s ability to focus on one visual representation at a time. This is where minimalism is incredibly effective. If you limit the number of elements in the office to bare necessities, what you’ll achieve is the ultimate efficiency in organizational design.

3.      Motivational messages do make a difference

Inspirational quotes are known to give a great effect but it’s not just enough for one to hear them once in order for them to keep being effective. What you need to create is a scenario where they’re in front of everyone’s eyes for as long as possible. Fortunately, nowadays you can easily find office motivational quotes to put on display with a quick online search. Platforms like Pinterest are particularly handy in this research. If you can find a quote that fits your industry, even better.

4.      Pragmatic storage saves time

Having reliable supplies is important in the quality of work that your team is performing but it’s, on its own, not enough. What you also need is to have a proper storage system, one that will keep the supplies easily accessible without being in the way or taking too much room. This is why the issue of storage needs to be the first thing that you consider when planning an office layout. You also need a reliable supplier and, nowadays, you can order stationery online through platforms like winc.com.au. If you have a reliable supplier on your side, you don’t have to have huge storage capacities, seeing as how you can just restock in no time.

5.      A vision board helps you know where you’re going

Like with motivational messages, it’s quite handy to have a vision board to allow your employees to remind themselves what all of this is for. For maximum efficiency, you can even insist that every member of your staff makes a vision board of their own. This is a cheap office improvement trick and it is a trend that will give you the most surprising of results and outcomes. Naturally, you should allow your staff to use images of their friends and family. Here, you give them the full freedom to make their own rules.

6.      Adequate furniture improves posture

Perhaps the thing that the majority of entrepreneurs get wrong is the idea that saving money on office furniture is, somehow, a smart and frugal choice that reduces your overhead. In reality, you’re ruining the posture of your employees, causing a back pain that will make it impossible for them to focus. Just think about it, how focused can you be on the task at hand if all you can think about is the pain in your back? Also, by (indirectly) worsening the health of your employees, you’ll make them take more sick days, which is a direct blow to your productivity.

7.      A proper layout gives amazing results

How densely packed your employees are in the office space determines so many things, productivity being just one of many factors. First of all, you need to ensure that your employees don’t have to walk sideways or squeeze in order to walk through desks. Second, you need to make sure that every single member of your staff has enough personal space. Making the room overcrowded may seem like a smart financial decision, seeing as how you can avoid the need for a larger office, yet in practice, the productivity will definitely suffer.

8.      Fresh air helps keep one awake

The most important thing for you to keep in mind is the fact that fresh air helps keep your employees awake but increasing the amount of oxygen in the office. You see, while breathing, your staff is turning oxygen into carbon dioxide and if there’s not enough air circulation within the room, this might soon turn into a problem. Adding some indoor plants might help fix this, seeing as how plants tend to revert this process by using carbon dioxide to generate oxygen. Other than this, you need to plan your ventilation right.

Conclusion

As you can see, the majority of these tips, if not all of them, are simple logical concepts. Other than this, they’re fairly inexpensive, which means that you won’t have to reinvent your budget or spending policy in order to make a difference. Lastly, it’s pivotal that you manage to make all of this work without causing a disruption. Only then will you make an office space that actually enhances productivity.