Designing in concentration space

 
The introduction of quiet concentration space to the office is increasing as a result of recognising the importance of employee satisfaction. Noisy, crowded office spaces are likely to provide many distractions, inhibiting individuals from doing their best work. Considering how you can alter the design and build office space to encourage concentration consequently has a wealth of benefits.
 

Office workers lose 28% of their productive time due to interruptions and distractions according to a White Paper we found on designing for focus work.
 

Choosing the right kind of concentration space
 
If a company thrives on creativity, then library style space may be the perfect addition to the office. Alternatively, if employees need to privately communicate with clients, then redesigning your office space to incorporate noise cancelling pods could provide the right benefits. With 56% of employees regularly wearing headphones to mitigate against external noise, there is an obvious need to consider how design can help.

Selecting materials that consider office acoustics is also essential – this can include natural sound insulators like cork, that have environmental, health and aesthetic benefits, or many of the manufactured sound inhibitors.
 

Consideration of colour
 
Another consideration when designing concentration space ought to be colour. Many studies have shown that colour greatly affects concentration as well as wellbeing. Blue tones are a firm favourite to enable employees to maintain focus. Green is among the most restful shades, as it offers the cheerful qualities of yellow and the refreshing abilities of blue.
 

Enhance corporate character
 
Aside from the productive benefits that concentration spaces can add to the office, such areas can also enhance corporate character. Large corporations like Google have outstanding international reputations as a result of how they take employee wellbeing seriously. In their New York offices, Google provides a library with disguised revolving bookcases to allow staff time out to concentrate. This is just one of many design initiatives that the company has used to increase job satisfaction. Something like that might not be possible in many office refurbishment projects but simple partitioning, pods and careful space planning will all contribute to providing a more focussed environment.

If you want to explore ideas further on improving concentration in the office we recommend this Forbes article.