Whether you are running a small business or a multi-national serviced office in a trendy area like Soho, your office space says a lot about you. If it is well-laid out and attractively decorated, visitors and potential clients will be impressed. Your staff will be happier and more productive too.
Even if you are working with a tight budget and are short of time, there are several quick and easy ways to improve your office space. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started.
Bring a little of the outdoors inside
One of the fastest ways to make an office space more attractive and comfortable to work in is to add some plants. Indoor palm trees or other similar plants look impressive yet do not take up much space.
On a small scale, they will help to keep the air in the office cleaner and fresher. Plus, studies have found that enriching your office space with plants improves productivity, in some cases, by as much as 15%. You can read about that recent study, here.
De-clutter the working environment
No workspace looks good if it is untidy. Taking simple steps like getting your staff to lock everything away at night will help to keep desks clearer during the day.
When you do this, people tend to only get out the items they need to complete the task in front of them, a work habit that reduces clutter. It also makes it easier for the cleaners to clean properly and enhances your data security. If nobody leaves pen drives or paperwork out on their desk at night, that is one more barrier to having your information stolen.
Decluttering also allows you to keep the space cleaner which leads to a healthier environment. Click here to learn about Office Cleaning and why it is so important.
Practicality and Comfort
Ensuring that your office space includes a big enough desk, as well as a comfortable chair, will mean that you are able to work for long periods of time without distraction. Choosing an office chair is a really personal choice and although the design of an office chair is a factor for some people making sure that it is comfortable is also important. There is a great variety of office chairs available from Office Monster on the following link: https://www.officemonster.co.
Provide plenty of good storage
Storage plays a big part in keeping an office space clutter-free. You need to provide plenty of it and it needs to be the right type. If it is not practical, people simply will not use it.
Consider going paperless
If you can go paperless, do so. Doing so will certainly result in a tidier and less cluttered space. There is no need for filing cabinets, printers or photocopiers and nobody has to have files out on their desk.
Going paperless is also good for the environment. The average office uses 20 reams of paper, per year. Each ream of paper represents 6% of the mass of a tree.
Over the course of 5 years, going paperless will save 6 trees. If you want to learn more about how to go paperless and make your office more environmentally friendly, you can do so by reading this article we recently wrote on that very subject.
Sort out the lighting
If your office looks dark and dingy, you really need to sort that out. Not doing so will have a very negative impact on your workforce. People need good lighting to be able to be productive.
Light regulates the amount of melatonin and serotonin in the brain both of which have a big impact on how alert someone feels. Without enough light people soon start to feel drowsy and underperform.
Let as much natural light into the workspace as possible. But, make sure that it can be controlled by installing blinds. That way if someone is working on a screen at their desk they can pull it down to stop the glare.
It does not cost much to install lamps on those desks where there is not much natural light. So, do that too.
Review the layout
Over time, the way you work will evolve. So, it is important to periodically review your office layouts and double-check that they are still fit for purpose.
If you no longer need items like filing cabinets or a photocopier in your main office area, get them moved. This will create more space for everyone to enjoy.
It is also worth reviewing the way space is being used. Often, moving a few things around can make life a lot easier for your workforce. For example, setting up coffee making facilities in the middle of your office space instead of at one end means nobody has to walk far to get a refreshing drink.
Most of the above changes will have the added benefit of making your office space more productive. But, there are steps you can take. If you want to read about them, you just need to click here.