3 Ways Office Design Can Boost Employee Productivity

How important is office design for employee productivity? Everything from lighting, to noise and even furniture, makes all the difference. Maham Azam, writer at Geaves outlines some tips that will help your employees boost productivity through a well-designed office.

The Impact of Poor Office Design

Office design matters for more reasons than you might think. On average, we will spend a third of our lives at work – that’s around 90,000 hours. So, if we are clocking in that many hours over our lifetimes, our workspace environment is bound to have an effect on employee productivity.

Cramped Spaces

There are two issues at hand here: a lack of space in your personal workspace, and a lack of freedom to work in different environments or open spaces. Working in close proximity to people all the time can cause distractions, and the feeling of things being in the way can be overwhelming.

Collaborative work is also more difficult to do when huddled around one person’s desk, so a lack of open space can be stifling for employee productivity.

Poor Lighting

A lack of adequate lighting does more damage to an employees’ wellbeing (and productivity) than you would expect. Firstly, working in a poorly lit environment can strain their vision. From a productivity perspective, this can cause mistakes in work.

Similarly, a lack of natural light, i.e. sunlight can also be detrimental to both their mental and physical health, particularly in the winter months where there is already a shortage of daylight and conditions such as SAD (seasonal affective disorder) are more commonly found.

Learn More: Office Layout Dos and Don’ts for a Productive, Happy WorkplaceOpens a new window

Noise

Research has also found that noise levels that are suboptimal are also likely to reduce productivity whilst increasing stress – according to a studyOpens a new window conducted by the University of Michigan, chronic noise can contribute to an increased heart rate and blood pressure.

Ultimately, a combination of the factors discussed above can have a negative impact on productivity and wellbeing. So with the above points in mind, how might we look at designing offices in a way that benefits employees and their productivity?

1. Let The Light In

Making sure that you make use of natural light wherever appropriate and possible, as well as ensuring that you are not using harsh light fixtures will positively impact your employees. Having sufficient levels of natural light can help to reduce absenteeismOpens a new window by 15 percent.

2. Think Ergonomically

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common type of work-related illness and costs employers billions every year.

This can be remedied by ensuring that your office is equipped with posture-supporting furniture that is fit for purpose, and will be able to support your employees through hours of sitting in front of a desk. Invest in ergonomically designed mouses and chairs.

Learn More: Moving Office and Company Culture: 3 Things to ConsiderOpens a new window

3. Make Room

Are you making the best use of your office space? Ensuring that your office space is optimized to allow employees to get up and move around has proven to be effective; walking around for five minutes every hour can boost employees’ mood and energy – a win-win combination for employee productivity and the employer.

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