5 Great Workplace Design Tips to Boost Employee Productivity

by Riesty Wulandari

Great workplace design, strong working culture, friendly colleagues, inspiring leaders, attractive salary and employee benefits, with flexible working hours is a dream come true job for any productive employee.

Today’s workspaces are designed, bearing in mind the amount of hours employees spend at work everyday. Hence it is important that workspaces are designed for convenience, comfort, easy access and the colour schemes used in the decor exude positivity.

Global corporations are now focusing on redesigning workplaces by embedding creative design concepts, to support employee workings such as to boost morale, teamwork and enhance productivity.

An office is a place where workers spend most of their time, hence it is important that these spaces are designed for harmony and collaboration. Therefore, where you work has an enormous impact on how you work. This further influences your ability to stay focused and productive on job.

Owing to the pivotal importance that well-designed workspaces play in employee growth, designing an office is not merely about Feng Shui, it is about infusing an element of inspiration through creative wall works and colour schemes, friendly ambience and decor such as to boost employee morale.

“A well designed office might cost a little more, but it is much cheaper than a poorly designed one. A non-functioning office can waste time and cause frustration among employees, because it can hinder basic tasks,” says Paul Kelly, head of marketing for Morgan Lovell, a leading office interior design.

Also according to a study on workplace and productivity, the most significant factor in determining an employee’s ability to focus is their physical environment. Here are some great workplace design tips to boost employee productivity:

Furniture and Hardware Investment

Some companies might want to eliminate and do away with the cost of having proper, high quality and comfortable furnitures in the office. They are of a viewpoint that quality chairs and desks do not really impact workings, performance and productivity of employees.

It is time to shuffle away the preconceived notions aside and allow employees to experience ease of access and comfortable seating arrangements to focus and synergise better.

Employers should understand that a bad chair can cause back pain, a flickering monitor can irritate eyes and cause neck pain, improper desks and cabinets can result in disorganized document stacks and stationeries. These promote absenteeism at work, failure to accomplish tasks within timeframe set and dampens the employees’ ability to focus.

Company’s Brand Philosophy to Reflect in Workspace Design

While designing workspaces, the company’s philosophy, attitude, brand colour, logo design, products and services offered should be considered to match the colour palettes and align with the company’s culture, value system and profiles.

The company’s brand design promotes customer trust. Motivating messages emphasising on company’s brand value, would reiterate the mission statement to employees to help them feel a higher sense of belonging towards the organisation.

Such efforts towards workplace design by the company management will make employees feel proud to be associated with the employer brand and be a part of the brand philosophy, associate their ideals with the company’s brand value and this reflects in higher productivity at work.

Customers in turn will pay more attention to the employer brand and well-designed workspaces reflect on a positive workplace culture, sense of vibrancy in the teamwork and builds greater customer loyalty with the brand they deeply associate with.

Effective Lighting

Natural lighting is always the best resource to create a positive environment at work and boosts productivity. However, not all workspaces can be designed to allow natural light to enter the room, in certain cases the shape of column in a room does not allow to maneuver and make changes.

In such sealed and enclosed work spaces with no windows or ventilation, effective lighting arrangements have to made to perk up employee moods and not make them feel drowsy at work, this affects productive outcomes.

Break-out spaces

Break out spaces are frequently used for lunch breaks or refreshment rooms, restrooms and so on. It is equally important for employers to pay careful attention to designing of these breakout spaces as those of other rooms, since these zones allow employees to take a break from work, to grab in some refreshments and casual conversations with colleagues.

Also restrooms should be well-designed and neat to promote hygienic and safe environment for the team to refresh and work long hours.

Room Fresheners

Just like tidiness and cleanliness is of utmost importance, so are scents in the environment. Room fresheners have the power to influence your senses to feel good, comfortable, and breathe easy in an office setting. Some of these fragrances could help perk up employee moods and help them achieve their targets at work:

• Cinnamon fragrance improves focus
• Pine increases alertness
• Lavender helps to relax
• Citrus wakes you up and lifts your spirit
• Peppermint lifts up your mood

To stay focused for longer durations at work is not easy, it needs consistent efforts and complete dedication towards the job. Great workplace design aids in employee’s career progression goals and supports company growth plans to boost profits.

We think it is worth consulting workplace design professionals, to make some much-needed tweaks to your office decor by considering the elements listed above and get your team prepped up for success.

Original article: http://www.hrinasia.com/general/5-great-workplace-design-tips-to-boost-employee-productivity/