Office Features and Their Effect on Productivity

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There has been a lot – really, a lot – of research on how various aspects of an office can affect employee productivity. But just because you can’t build an office slide like Google or Red Bull doesn’t mean you can’t boost your company’s efficiency in other ways. Have you realised just how many office-based factors influence performance?

Lighting

Exposure to natural light is incredibly beneficial in the workplace. Lots of natural light has a positive effect on mood and alertness, whereas people who work in darker, cramped spaces find themselves unhappy and unproductive. If your office space has fewer windows, you could look into various methods of making the available light as accessible as possible – for example, remove opaque office partitions in favour of glass office partitions

Of course, it’s vital to supplement natural lighting with lots of artificial lighting as well, especially during winter. But employees who work in naturally lit environments are generally more productive (and healthier!) than those who work in solely artificially lit offices.

Layout

Optimising your workspace layout can be a tricky affair – it requires precise division between open-plan spaces and closed offices, not to mention placing relevant groups of people together and close to any facilities they require in order to minimise redundant movement. Open plan offices can benefit creative collaboration and prevent employees from feeling cramped, but can also result in frequent distractions if interactions and discussions aren’t moderated in some way.

Balance open plan areas with designated rooms for meetings and discussion. And if employees involved in areas like accounting or IT require more quiet or privacy, it’s worth putting aside rooms for them. Try coming up with a chart of the departments and facilities in your company, and arrange the space using office partitions according to workflow, so that relevant departments are located alongside each other and in as close proximity as possible to what they require.

Comfort

Chairs, desks, computer screen height, distance from computer screens – when you’re sitting down and staring at a screen for eight hours a day, all this stuff matters. In fact, selecting the right kind of chair and ensuring there’s a suitable amount of distance between you and your computer screen can have significant long-term effects on your health as well as short-term effects on your productivity. Ergonomically designed chairs, appropriately spacious desks, and the best amount of distance from your computer screen will definitely increase your employees’ output. There are actually services you can hire to optimise all these things for office workers. It’s amazing how much can be improved with just the right chair…

Colours & Scents

Different colours are meant to evoke or be indicative of different effects, so it makes sense to bring that to the workplace for increased productivity. Red is recommended as a feature wall colour for client meeting areas; it gives off a strong, confident vibe that will impress clients. Green is meant to be relaxing, while blue supposedly heightens alertness and staves off hunger. Orange invokes energy and creativity. So even if it’s not possible to completely repaint your office area, you could still try and add accents of whatever colour you feel best suits your employees’ needs.

Besides, a brightly coloured office environment generally just keeps people happy and spirited anyway, and enthusiastic about coming in to work. Scents could potentially add to this – lavender relaxes, while peppermint refreshes and promotes alertness, as does pine.

Know of any other office features and their effect on productivity? Discuss them in the comments! Get in touch with Applied Workplace on 01202 577776 to learn more about our office partitions.