Like a boss: design the best office ever!
Design like a boss: tips and ideas for the perfect employer. You know it’s not easy to keep employees motivated, so there you go: a few suggestions to style the best work space.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just launched your startup or you’ve been in the business for years: you’re probably aware that one of the biggest success predictors is your employees’ productivity. But what does productivity depend on? Well, productivity actually starts from you: the more welcoming and comfort you’ll make their workplace, the more your employees are likely to develop fidelity and work harder towards the company’s goals. We’ve rounded up a few tips and ideas for you to re-style your office: take a look!
The importance of ergonomics
So many companies are structuring their offices as open spaces, where employees can meet, discuss and debrief freely. However, did you know that some recent studies are suggesting this type of environment is actually counter-productive? Apparently, as friendly and welcoming as this type of environment can certainly be, people seem to be finding it harder to focus and carry out their tasks. Still, how you design your headquarters really depends on you! Whether you plan your offices as an open space or as cubicles, there is one single thing that’s always key: ergonomics. Employees spend up to 8 hours a day sitting at their desks: can you imagine what a torture this can be? So, comfort is what you need to keep in mind when buying their desk chairs.
Functional cubicles
If you’ve been reading those studies that disprove the benefits of an open space office, you might want to reconsider the idea of cubicles! After all, people do need their privacy, so a few partitions around a cubicle might actually be pretty handy; but remember: you don’t want to make it too hard for your employees to talk with each other. Also, remember to furnish a cubicle with everything they might need: these things range from stationery, to decorations, to lots of drawers and folders they can employ to organize their tasks at best.
Think on your feet
In this era of Fitbits, people want to spend time on their feet too! In fact, doing some office work on your feet has been proved to be good, not only for the person’s health, but also for their boss’s wealth! You may not have enough space to build a standard workstation and a standing one for each and every employee, but what you can do instead, is setting up a few open cubicles where people can lay against the wall and do some (out)standing work too!
Pods!
Office pods like the one we’ve just showed you are a recent introduction to the corporate world. The reason behind this new feature is the popularity of open space offices: despite what recent studies are showing, you might still want to design an open space work environment: who says it’s not good for you? Still, a conference call might require a quiet environment; or maybe, there’s a new project your employees need to work on together, possibly without bothering anyone else in the office. Then again, sometimes you may find yourself in need of complete silence to think something over, especially if you’re working on a very demanding task! In short, office pods are a must for today’s office. It’s a great investment and they will make your employees see that you are attentive towards their needs.
A few comfy AND colorful sofas!
A few comfy sofas and armchairs are generally welcomed by employees: they provide them with a relax area where they can sip their coffee and think some work matter over, or comfortably work on their laptop. They’re also useful because that’s where you’ll have guests sit while waiting to be received. Depending on the general spirit of your company, you can choose a very collected design...or the complete opposite. The following set of sofas by Fora Form are not only ultra comfy, but they’re also so bright and colorful they’ll instantly cheer up your employees. They have one more feature your employees will appreciate: high back seats. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to zone out and relax by yourself for a bit, so your employees will be super grateful if you give them this opportunity.
On the other hand, what if your company deals with art publications? What if you produce handcrafted candles? In this case, a playful and dynamic seating solution wouldn’t be out of place. Select a modular sofa your employees will be able to play with like children with Legos!
More oxygen
We’re talking about the importance of greenery and foliage. Plants will freshen up the office, providing a healthier work environment that will benefit your employees and, in turn, your company! Besides, plants are also an amazing décor piece for your own office, as well as for your employees’. Especially if your headquarters are located in a big city, it’s certainly not that easy to be able to go out and enjoy a natural scenery: solve this problem by placing plants all over the office! Would you like to learn a fun idea? Big, overgrown plants can be put in all of the common places: they will be a common responsibility and your employees and yourself will look after them collectively. Alternatively, just scatter a few tiny vases with flowers and succulents on everyone’s desks: they will cheer everyone up!
Don’t forget the importance of...
...lunch. Lunchtime is a key moment of the day: it’s a time to relax, socialise, quietly discuss work matters that may be bothering you, and so on. That’s why you should make sure this time is enjoyable by everyone. You can look for help from interior design. For instance, we suggest using wood instead of any other material for the furniture in the lunchroom. Wood gives an immediate feeling of warmth and conviviality: avoid cold plastic and / or steel at all costs!
Once you’ve set your homely atmosphere through your table, you can select the chairs: colors doesn’t matter as long as you pick a chair that’s -- repeat after us -- ergonomic. Give your employees a nice, welcoming work environment, and they will love you and your company.
Set up a few tables for teamwork
We think a useful addition, provided you have enough space, is a few informal tables employees can use for teamwork projects: what we mean is a round table and a just three or four comfy chairs each, that your employees will use every time they need to briefly discuss something (and all of the pods are already occupied).Let’s be informal and functional: a small-ish round table will be perfect for quick catch-ups on how the project is going.
You don’t want your employees to feel uncomfortable while sitting at this table? We suggest a richly cushioned armchair; as for the color, we suggest a cozy pastel color to keep everyone’s attention up!
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