Companies rely on their staff to function profitably in the marketplace and no longer take their workforce for granted. The employee – employer relationship is symbiotic and turns out to be mutually beneficial when both parties are comfortable working together. The work environment or office space is a major factor that directly influences the productivity of employees. With most companies realizing the impact of a vibrant, hygienic, comfortable and functional work spaces on employee productivity, modern office spaces are getting transformed into employee-friendly hubs that easily double up as second homes if and when need arises.
- Functional Layout
The layout of office interiors is a key aspect that influences employee morale and productivity. While office layout depends on the nature of work handled by the company, daily operations and the number of employees that share the office space, it is important to ensure that functionally cohesive groups or teams or positions are seated close to each other to enhance collaboration and reduce time taken to move from one desk to another to get a job done.
Group discussions, brainstorming, problem resolution or even simple clarifications are quite efficient and effective when employees can quickly gather around and share their thoughts. However discussions of a more serious or confidential nature can happen in a dedicated space such as a conference room or a supervisor’s cabin.
- Job-specific Comfortable Work Stations
Irrespective of how well the office space is furnished, it is the design and comfort of the core work space of each employee that drives his or her productivity. Be it an independent or shared desk, an executive cabin, or custom-made cubicle, the work station must have the necessary free space, secure storage space for valuables – personal and official, electronic equipment if any needed for the job safely fitted in place, ergonomic chairs and desks, preferably height-adjustable and more importantly the freedom to personalize the space.
While it may be cost-effective and neat to furnish the entire space with identical office furniture, allowing for job or role-specific customizations simply makes it easier for staff to go about their routine jobs effectively without much hassles or discomfort.
- Aesthetic, De-cluttered, Spacious Ambience
Neat and tidy, hygienic, aptly-lit and well-ventilated offices are indeed a pleasure to work in. Even a small office or home office can appear spacious when the right office layout is chosen. As the physical office space is often based on the number of employees, not all companies can afford sprawling offices. It is however possible to create a sense of space, by judicious use of color, décor and even indoor plants to make the place more pleasing. Walls painted in light pleasing shades of preferably two colors, a splash of wall art, patterned or carpeted floors and even false ceilings that effectively hide extensive wiring often creates an impressive, clutter-free work environment.
Allowing enough room for people to move freely around the office space is also important as well as free flow natural air and light is important to avoid employees from feeling stuffy or cramped.
- Recreation Area
A dedicated recreation zone helps employees address the monotony of the work without getting frustrated or bored. It allows staff to move out of the work station to catch up on casual conversation, a cup of coffee or one round of indoor games before they get back to serious work. Understandably not all companies can afford this luxury of space, but investing in the physical and emotional well-being of employees by offering facilities such as a Gym, Indoor Games, Cafeteria / Pantry can prove beneficial especially when employees are expected to work long hours and during odd-hours of the day.
- Acknowledge and Address Age Gap
Productivity of your workforce will tend to vary based on average age of your employees as well. Youngsters and millennials are more comfortable in an informal office environment, preferably basic tasks automated and an opportunity to work with latest electronic gadgets. Senior employees, who have got used to the structured and systematic processes, may not be that productive outside their comfort zones. Creating work groups or teams to tap the experience of seasoned employees and the talent and digital skills of the new recruits is more likely to result in a vibrant and productive workforce.
- Accommodate different working styles
Employees may each have a different working style. Some of them tend to do well when working as part of a team, and do not mind conversations or other distractions at the workplace. There are others who prefer calm and quiet spaces and tend to be more productive when left to work independently. Understanding the individual’s working style and nature of his or her job and creating the right ambiance that allows for both privacy and collaboration can help employees do their jobs more effectively.
Increasing the productivity of your organization is all about letting them know as they are valuable to the company. With office spaces becoming second homes where employees spend more of the waking hours, it is but natural that they scale up to expectations in terms of aesthetics, comfort, utility value, safety, hygiene and vibrancy. These are anyway basic facilities that must be available at all work places, large or small, but the class or quality of these amenities however will vary based on the company’s willingness and financial capacity to invest in employee productivity.
That said, it is important to note that too much of comfort and flexibility is also likely to prove distracting and totally defeat the purpose.