How workplace design can transform the feel of your business

Given that productivity levels in UK offices have dropped to all-time low as per a Real Business report, it’s understandable to wonder whether workplace design could be at fault.

While many workplaces of today bear little similarity to the staid white-and-grey interiors of offices traditionally depicted in popular culture, there could remain significant room for improvement in your own company’s workplace design, given the following beneficial quirks which you could add.

Collaborative spaces can encourage… collaboration

Certain workplaces, such as those of financial, tech or contact centre companies, call for strong concentration which could be difficult to achieve outside private, segmented areas. However, other firms, such as those in the creative sectors, thrive on collaboration.

If your company falls into one of these sectors, does it have the right workspaces to make fruitful collaboration happen? In both open-plan spaces and private meeting rooms, employees can interact to spur increases in their satisfaction and productivity.

A well-lit environment can lift spirits

Do you feel immediately inspired upon seeing your workplace? If not, don’t expect your workers to feel differently. A corporate environment can blunt inspiration if that area largely comprises colourless offices with isolating cubicles – and, especially dispiritingly, is poorly lit.

Through making your workplace brighter and more beautiful, you can expect to fuel stronger optimism in your workers, who will no longer be tempted to count down the minutes until freedom.

Open spaces can make employees more alert

While sitting for hours on end might seem like something you do in a typical workday, for the sake of your health, you shouldn’t really be sitting longer than two hours in an eight-hour workday, Forbes warns. Therefore, you should aim to promote movement in your workplace.

Have you ever noticed that you feel more alert following a short walk or a brief chat with a co-worker? Many of your employees could soon start enjoying the same benefit.

Flexible layouts can keep a company dynamic

The future is unpredictable, and this holds as true in the business world as it probably does anywhere else. For this reason, it would be beneficial for your workplace to comprise an array of components which could be easily rearranged as the company’s own needs change.

These components could include movable walls, workstations which can be repurposed as standing desks, and an area which could easily be switched from a meeting room to a lounge… and vice versa.

The idea of assembling such a workplace could daunt many firms, but this is why workplace design companies like the Shoreditch-based Maris would be happy to step in to provide valuable guidance.

Workplace technology can streamline operations

Did you know that Millennials will comprise 35% of the global workplace by 2020? They are bringing technology with them, having grown up with the likes of mobile apps and innovative platforms.

This trend could change workplaces through, for example, rendering meeting rooms less and less necessary. After all, video conferencing could increasingly replace face-to-face interactions, Inc. contributor Peter Economy has observed.