13 Things Your Office Needs To Be The Best Place It Can Be
The office is a major part of your business. It’s where you work and keep all your staff. So you need to make sure it provides absolutely everything you need.
It’s about more than just space to house enough people and equipment to deliver services. Offices needed to make sure they take health into account. It can also be a space for motivating and inspiring creativity in yourself and your workers.
It can also just as easily suck the creativity right out of them. From the very beginning, you should be making decisions to not just make an office space, but the right office space.
#1 Budget
Buying an office is like buying a house but with a lot more considerations to make. There’s a lot of different things to consider financially.
That’s why it’s important to have budget set up from the get-go. You should hopefully have some sort of mortgage or finance to buy the place yourself. But what about any renovations, installations or furniture? Plumbing, electric and HVAC also need to be considered.
Map everything out as part of your budget and stick to it. Going overboard on one part can easily mean having to skimp on the rest.
#2 Location
Location matters no matter what kind of property you’re buying. Not only does this affect the value, but it’s hugely important to your workforce.
After all, it needs to be within a reasonable commuting distance or you may have trouble keeping staff there. It should also be close to manufacturers or any raw materials you have need of. Save yourself the hassle of having to buy and move to another location in future.
Carefully consider the location in plans for future development. You should also look at how the location affects your finances. There could be extra taxes or charges hidden in the location you’re considering.
#3 Size
Naturally, you’re going to want a size that gives adequate space for all of your workers and equipment.
When it comes to look at the size of your office, it’s better to spend more money on more space than you need. If you have too little space, you’re not going to be using it for too long. If you have too much space, you can always rent it out to freelancers.
As previously mentioned, more space also means more prospect for developing your company without having to move, too.
#4 Space
Space isn’t just about the size of the office, however. It also takes into account how much of the office is actually usable space.
A big building might have a lot of square feet, but cramped cubicles in small rooms is not conducive to good business. From the planning to the installation of furniture, think of the space your employees have.
Cluttered, claustrophobic spaces cause burnout and low motivation. Get rid of the clutter and design your space for maximum efficiency. Organize your office so there’s plenty of space between and around desks. Keep it streamlined so people can easily get from one point to another.
#5 Lighting
Not all offices come with the right sort of lighting you need for a workplace.
Firstly, if there’s a lot of computer use in the office, you need to consider your employees’ eyes. Eyestrain is a very uncomfortable condition that can develop into migraines.
As well as being a pain for employees, it can result in a lot more time taken off and a less productive staff. Make sure there’s lighting near eye level as well as on the roof. A good commercial contractor could install them for you and you can install windows for more natural surrounding light, too.
#6 Greenery
Having some plants in the office has all kinds of benefits. First, it presents at atmosphere of light and life, making it a more pleasant place to work in general.
A study has shown that it actually has numerical value in decreasing symptoms of stress, anxiety, hostility and fatigue. It also produces cleaner air to breathe which is important in a place with a lot of people sharing the same air.
One of the lesser known effects that plants have is reducing environmental noise in offices. Introducing some cheap, bright plant life in the office has tons of benefits.
#7 Zoning
It’s a good idea to split your office up into zones. This is where having plenty of space comes into effect. Having enough office space is great, but it’s not the only thing you should consider.
Other zones can be used for other purposes. A break room should allow people to get away from their desk so they don’t have to think about work during their lunch.
A creative, open space can be great for facilitating feedback in meetings and group huddles. Put different priorities in different zones to make it easier to have your team switch roles.
#8 Your Employees’ Health
We’ve already mentioned a few different aspects of your employees’ health to be considered. Lighting can be used to reduce the risk of eyestrain.
Plants can help improve the air quality in the office. But plants aren’t the only way of doing this. Make sure you have an effective HVAC system for one. Grates above doors can also improve airflow. Bad airflow is a leading cause of sickness, particularly easily transmitted bugs, in the office.
With chairs and desks, you should also aim for ergonomic kinds so people have less risk of developing repetitive strain injury.
#9 Color
The design of the office can have all kinds of unconscious psychological effects on the staff. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to colors.
We’ve been doing a lot of studying on the effects of colors. Through it, we’ve found which can alter the human mood. The Color Affects system narrows this down to colors that can be beneficial in the office.
For example, warm colors, like yellow and green, can make a workforce more motivated and add a sense of energy. Bright blues, on the other hand, can create a more relaxing environment.
#10 Privacy
Having spaces where people can get together and be heard is one important aspect of making a friendly workplace environment. Another, however, is giving employees their privacy.
We think of cubicles as stifling and somewhat dehumanizing. But the fact is that they’re designed to give people a freedom from distraction that can magnitudes more stifling in reality.
However, partitions might not necessarily be the best way to give employees privacy when they need it. Sound masking is another way. There are tools that can help muffle background noise, making it easier to concentrate on your own work.
#11 Food
When you’re designing an office, you need to think about the basic needs of your workers. A place that won’t detract from their health.
Enough space to do their work well. Working bathrooms are probably already high on your list. But what about food? Having food available in or near the office has been shown to have a huge effect on how positive people feel about their office.
This can be as simple as having the office close to a vendor. It can also mean getting vending machines inside the office or partnering with a catering company to deliver real lunches. If you can afford the expense, it will do wonders for motivation.
#12 Décor
Décor is a huge part of not only how your employees and you feel, but anyone who steps foot in the office. Designing an office well can give it a kind of prestige that works along with the brand.
Having a good looking office space is great for impressing potential clients and partners. It can also motivate your workers. By believing they’re working for a more prestigious company, employees are more likely to take their tasks seriously.
They’re also more likely to want to stay there.
#13 Flexibility
We’ve already talked about some way that a work space can be flexible when thinking of different zones people can use. But there are other, more out-of-the-box ways to try.
For instance, more offices are starting to make use of outdoor spaces. This change in scenery can be exactly what some employees need to get out of a rut, for one. Collaborative work ideas can combine open spaces with the privacy needed.
This allows people to work on group projects away from the rest of the staff. It also means they don’t have to secretly communicate through the whole office.
What Are You Doing to Make Your Office the Best Place It Can Be?
Having a successful office design comes down to a lot of things. It depends on your plans for the future and what you want to do with the space.
It’s about filling both you and your employees’ needs. Keeping people motivated, creative and even healthy. It can even be used as a marketing tool with the right kind of décor to show off.
If you’re thinking about office space as simply square footage, you’re not making the best use of it. Think of it as another asset to develop your company. You’ll find it can do quite a lot.
So what are you doing to make your office a more comfortable environment for you and your employees? Share your thought and comments below.