Workplace Design Trends | Boost Organization and Productivity

Due to the fact that an average person spends more time in an office than in their home (per workday and not counting sleep), it’s logical that every single thing about the office affects them.   

The distance affects their budget, schedule, and daily commute, while the layout and design affect so much more. Most importantly, it bears a prevailing impact on their productivity and morale (which also affects your talent retention and recruitment efforts).   

With that in mind and without further ado, here are several organization and productivity tips for a more efficient workplace design.  

1. Open floor vs. cubicle

One of the most widely debated topics is the issue of open floor office vs. a cubicle farm. Both of these trends have their advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the benefits of an open floor are the fact that it’s cost-effective.   

First of all, it provides you with more space, which means that you can support a larger team even with a smaller office. Second, it gives you a better sense of community, seeing as how you aren’t shielded away from the rest of your team. The downsides are the fact that an open field of view also leads to numerous visual distractions and that this (might) somewhat diminish visibility.   

As for the cubicle system, the cost- and space-efficiency equation goes the opposite way. The cubicle can also diminish productivity, seeing as how it reduces the amount of space that each individual has, both visually and pragmatically.   

One of the most common accusations is also that it makes people feel imprisoned. On the other hand, it also gives you some isolation, which isn’t necessarily a negative thing. This can reduce the amount of noise in the office, increase one’s ability to focus, and give them a small degree of privacy.  

2. Feng Shui desk positioning

Even though the concept of overseer that looks over people’s shoulders may be long gone and forgotten, the position of the executive’s desk in an open floor office is a major issue. On the one hand, even though they’re in charge and are figuratively speaking in the spotlight this doesn’t mean that you should put them on display so that they feel under pressure all the time.   

At the same time, though, you want them to have a full and clear view of the room. The compromise lies in placing their desk in the further corner of the room, directly facing the desk. This is the so-called soft-power approach that they can greatly benefit from.  

3. Reception area makes the first impression

The next important thing you need to understand is that your office isn’t just a place for work. Sometimes, it’s a place where you receive and greet your investors, clients, and potential partners. With that in mind, the place needs to be as presentable as possible and what better place to start than with the reception area.   

This, on the other hand, involves both proper design and proper hiring. The position, height, and content of the reception desk are of great importance, yet, they’re not nearly as relevant as the choice of the receptionist. Apart from this, you should also look for some additional elements like wall art.   

Nonetheless, there are some who claim that your clients start making this first impression even before they enter the building. This is why they buy flags with colors and the logo of their company to display in front of their headquarters.  

4. Flexible workplace

Lastly, there’s really no reason for your office to be unnecessarily overcrowded, especially in a scenario where the bulk of your workforce doesn’t even have the same work habits, to begin with.   

That being said, a flexible workplace is the one that allows their employees to work wherever they like, whether it be at their desk, at the balcony or at the office roof deck. It also means that it allows them to pick their own work hours. This alone can be a massive space-saving trick. In conclusion  

At the end of the day, not a single one of these design tricks is complex or expensive to pull off, which means that their implementation depends only on one thing – your resolve.   

Still, for this to take place, you need to know the reason why and understand in which way each of these trends affects your office. Fortunately, now you know better.