Whether you're working in a huge company or just starting out a new business, your office is likely to be the hub of your operations. You want your office to be productive, feel good, and impress people all at the same time. Often, this is overlooked in the building or growth of a business, with offices becoming boring, uninspiring, tired spaces. This is definitely not a good thing. In fact, efficient office layout and design are very important to businesses. In this article, we are going to explain elements of a good office layout and how it can affect your team and overall business.

 

 

What Do We Mean By Efficient Office Layout?

Office layout encapsulates everything from the placement of tables to ensuring there are enough restrooms. Whether you're in the market for a full redesign with custom-built office joinery or you just want to re-jig what you've already got, these tips will apply to you. Let's take a look at some of the key elements of an efficient and ergonomic office layout.

 

Space and Flow

The first thing to consider when designing your office is how to make the best use of the available space. Even a smaller office can feel roomy and well-thought-out if laid out properly. People like being able to communicate but certainly don't like feeling like they're on top of one another - especially since the pandemic began. Cramming more staff in can be counterproductive, too, as noise levels and stress levels can increase.

It's also nice if an office space has a nice flow. For example, you want to be able to walk to your colleague's desk without getting stuck in corners, distracting other workers, or tripping over anything. A good design creates space - or the illusion of space - and flow.

 

Distractions

Poor office design leads to distraction. Things like placing a desk right by the toilets so the employee sat there to see every person passing by. They'll end up chatting all day or being distracted by others easily. Or, for another example, placing a lot of regularly used copiers or printers at the end of someone's desk. Not only will they have colleagues in their area all day, but it'll also be super noisy for them for large portions of the day.

 

Quiet Space and Comfort

A key element of office layout is relaxation and rest areas. Sometimes, your staff needs to step away from their desks to rest and recharge. If your office doesn't provide space for this, your staff can become restless and tired, leading to stressed-out exchanges and poor performance. Rest and recovery spaces are just as important as nice workspaces. Other Elements To Bring Into Office Design - plants, recreation, facilities.

Adding to a strong layout with adequate space for employees to work, move about and rest, you can bring in other elements of interior design to improve your workplace. For example, upgrading lighting from older yellowy bulbs to modern mood-setting LED lights is a great change. Also, adding as much natural light into the space as possible is an added bonus - no one likes sitting in the dark!

Other common additions to modern, stylish office spaces include a variety of plants. Greenery at work is shown to improve mood and concentration, believe it or not! And, if you're feeling flush, adding an array of extra utilities like coffee machines, soda streams, or snack bars can really boost morale.

 

Benefits of These Elements & How They Affect Employees

All these elements combine to make for a really lovely workspace. But, why is this important? Well, it's important because it literally affects how well your employees perform and therefore how well the overall business performs.

For example, bringing more natural light - or some proper lighting to mimic natural light - has been proven time and time again to boost mood and morale. This means that simply by upgrading the lighting in your office you can boost the mood of everyone inside. Without a doubt. This would lead to improved output and performance from your staff. The same could be said for plants, artwork, or spaciousness. All of these things improve the human mood, boost serotonin, and improve focus. Plus, free coffee at work is always a winner, no matter what the office looks like!

As you can see, the design and ergonomics of your office are vitally important and can end up having large knock-on effects on the productivity and happiness of your workforce. Improving mood and comfort can improve focus and energy, so office design is just as important as company vision. Get these things right and you'll see a marked improvement in your business operations.