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Originally published on 12/17/2018 but updated on 09/19/2024.
Gone are the days of thinking of an office as a cubicle farm with drab walls, harsh lighting, and a general uninviting feel. Business owners and managers understand that if employees feel comfortable in their office, they’ll feel more valued and be more likely to get the work done.
When we think of the modern office, we think about how we can make collaboration happen more naturally. Here are some of our favorite ways to encourage collaboration, boost productivity, and make your space more inviting overall.
Giving your team several collaboration-friendly workstations is key to success in several businesses now. From realty firms to marketing offices, setting up workstations away from the main office area can help employees meet up and share ideas, solve problems, and strategize. Plus, sometimes it’s necessary to step away from your desk to take a breather and come back refreshed. This is just one of the simple steps you can take to create a more employee-friendly workplace.
If you’re thinking of more of an open floor plan, remember to keep your employees in mind. Ask them how they work best. For offices with folks on the phone, quite a bit or full of people who tend to get too chatty, open floor plans may not be the best idea. However, if your heart is set on the idea, there are ways to create pockets of silence (or at least more quiet).
Portable partitions can help absorb some of the sounds so that your team can keep working without distraction. These portable walls can also help define the space, give employees privacy, and work to dissuade chatter. This is especially handy if your office is growing quickly because movable walls allow for flexibility.
White, cream, or gray walls can be stylish, but in an office, can easily lean “boring.” That’s also prone to happen when the office furniture matches the walls. It doesn’t have to be this way. Don’t be afraid of color in your office. Color has psychological effects, so think of the mood you’d like to create in each area of the office and go from there.
Greens are connected to a feeling of peace. In an office, these would be great options for a waiting room, lobby, or restroom. Blue is thought to be an “intellectual” color, which is why you may see it often in meeting or conference rooms.
The “fish bowl” conference rooms have become pretty popular. These are the rooms with full glass walls. They’re great for some meetings, but when you’re trying to hold a more private, sensitive meeting, they aren’t ideal. Keep this in mind when designing your office space. You’ll likely be holding interviews, employee reviews, and other meetings in that room that you don’t want broadcast to the office, so plan accordingly.
This may mean building full walls, but if you need to work with glass walls, there are plenty of decorative films to choose from that can create privacy where there once was none. Employees and clients will appreciate it.
While we’re on the topic of meeting rooms, remember that you’ll likely need a monitor large enough to be seen from every spot in the room. You’ll also likely need to cast to that screen from your laptop or other device. A conference line and a conference phone are also things to consider. In short, making sure your entire office—not only your conference rooms—are equipped with “smart” devices is a great way to plan for your company’s future.
Business owners and CEOs are realizing that it doesn’t really make sense to take up a ton of room in the office when they’re not there are often as their employees. Instead, they’re redesigning their offices to give their employees more room and take less space for themselves. When the boss is in the office only half the time (whether he or she is often in off-site meetings, conferences, etc.), taking up a ton of office space isn’t the best use of square footage.
As with any construction process, planning is key. We work with you to form a strategy that will make the most sense for you, your employees, your customers, and your budget. If you’re thinking about creating a functional space that looks beautiful, contact us today. Let’s get started!