Incorporating elements of the latest trends in office design, and choosing appropriate materials can improve the productivity of employees, whilst equally projecting the best possible image for a business.
Design impacts mood
It’s an important part of the workday to take a break, and enhancing the space where employees can enjoy their downtime will lead to a more motivated workforce with increased levels of productivity. ‘Flokk‘ has some great tips for design to boost productivity.
Colour
A colourful office with natural light can dramatically change people’s mood. Colour choices need to be carefully selected and be considerate of the psychological impacts they can play on mood. For instance, whilst yellow is a bright and cheerful colour, its brighter shades can cause fatigue and are suggested to induce anxiety. For more information take a look at our article on choosing the right colour scheme.
Layout
Many different office layouts are conceived with productivity in mind, one of the most popular being Activity Based Workplace Design but other concepts now go beyond this – Neighbourhood Based Choice Environments (NBCEs) – a movement towards team-based ‘homes’, rather than centralised, activity-based spaces. The main concept here is the idea of creating neighbourhoods, or ‘homes’, for individual teams to work from. This means employees have the benefits of their own space, but aren’t hemmed in or restricted to individual floors, spaces or rooms. Having a central base where employees are able to catch up, share ideas and connect with each other gives them a unique sense of identity and camaraderie which is missing in many hot-desking or ABW environments. Areas like this may include bleachers or furniture specifically crafted with collaboration in mind.
Nature
According to the Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices report by the UK Green Building Council, multiple elements can be changed in the average office to make it greener, more efficient and overall promote better health and productivity. Certainly bringing nature into the office is a key design consideration not only when considering wellbeing but also productivity.
Design trends
NeoCon 50 brought us office design trends for 2019. Mixing materials together such as different woods or glass with natural stone creates a dynamic and welcoming space for employees and any clients visiting the office.
Meeting spaces are often cold and uninviting places, designed to look professional as opposed to warm. Recent trends are prioritising comfort with sofas and chairs being showcased at the NeoCon 50 convention and commercial meeting spaces being made to look impromptu and more like a living room. ‘Cambria’ has a blog post showcasing the best discoveries from the exhibition.