According to the average statistics, around 1/3 of our lives are spent in the office. As your employees are spending the majority of their working days within the working environments that you provide for them, it’s essential to consider how they feel in the workspace and respond to this accordingly. Your office is where the magic happens! It should be an inspiring place that motivates and stimulates the workforce.

One way to analyse how your office workspace is affecting your company is to enlist the help of a workplace consultancy service. They will conduct an on-site review of your workplace, examining how your employees are behaving depending on their surroundings. As specialists in enhancing productivity levels through interior design, workplace consultants can provide you with insightful advice that will help you to motivate your employees and grow your business.

Reflects Your Company Culture

The way your office workspace is designed and decorated has the potential to reflect on and improve your company culture. The phrase ‘company culture’ encompasses the vision you have for your business. Clearly defining the philosophy behind your company, and integrating this into your office design, can have a huge impact on how your company operates. Down to the smallest detail, company culture can be instilled within your office design anywhere. For example, employees can become motivated by goal reminders strategically placed on wall spaces where they can be easily seen.

Mixing it up a little and experimenting with layout can be another way to alter how your workforce operates. Don’t become too fixated on sticking to one layout that is perhaps now inefficient and doesn’t reflect your company’s values. Businesses and employees adapt as they work and learn, and your working environment should evolve in accordance with this.

An example of how layout can impact company culture is to note how offices that separate the management teams from other employees can often feel more segregated. This has an impact on how employees see themselves as inferior to their managerial counterparts, as well as making communication more difficult. Good, honest communication between employees and managers should always be something to strive towards, and employees should always feel as though their opinions are valued.

Influences Employee Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing focuses on considering the natural, human needs of employees and implementing new ways to make their lives easier. Many companies are now actually installing new facilities within their offices, such as spaces for leisure time – gyms, cafes, fun break rooms… While many may think this could be distracting, it’s essential to remember that employees are the foundation of your business, and that their personal needs should be catered for wherever possible.

When employee wellbeing is thoughtfully considered, employee retention rates are likely to increase. This actually saves your company money, as you won’t be spending resources on hiring new staff. The funds spent on training the longstanding employees that you have hired also doesn’t go to waste.

Certain companies are actually developing new technologies that enable spaces to adapt to the employee that’s using them. This involves making subtle changes to suit the employee’s preferences, such as lowering the temperature This involves making subtle changes to suit the employee’s preferences, such as lowering the temperature, installing bathrooms with special ADA stall dimensions, or dimming the lights. or dimming the lights. The rising concern for employee wellbeing within their office workspaces means there are a number of emerging new strategies that can be implemented. This level of personalisation is a great way to boost a sense of wellbeing, as employees feel more at home in their workspaces. This can prompt them to spend longer hours in the office - we all understand that comfort is key!

Encouraging Workforce Productivity

The way your workspace is designed has the power to encourage or hinder your workforce’s productivity. Getting things done isn’t just a personal task; your surroundings play a huge part in how productive and efficient you can be. We all know the feeling of becoming less productive at work, looking beyond the desk in search of some kind of inspiration that will motivate us to return to our task… If your office workspace doesn’t excite or encourage your employees, they’ll have a much harder time staying on task and getting fully involved with their work.

Bright colour schemes and functional collaborative working areas should be mixed with other facilities such as refreshing washrooms and individual working hubs, in order to provide your workforce with everything they need to be productive throughout their day. Office refurbishment specialists can examine whether your environment is damaging productivity levels and implement strategic techniques that will energise your teams.

It Can Improve or Damage Brand Image

Your office workspace is the physical representation of your company as a brand. Having a fresh, innovative workspace will impress clients. If they walk into your premises with a great first impression and are taken to thoughtfully designed meeting rooms that represent your brand, they are likely to feel reassured that you are the right company for the task. Maintaining a strong brand image throughout your office workspace can really solidify the credibility of your brand, while also adding personality to the space. If your office workspace doesn’t accurately reflect your company, clients may become confused. Employees also suffer, as they are working in environments that aren’t inspiring new ideas and aren’t in sync with the tasks they are performing.

Employees also benefit from the addition of branding elements within their workspaces. When they’re surrounded by colours, items or materials that remind them of the brand they’re working for, the sense that they’re part of a thriving community is heightened. This can have the effect of making them more engaged with their tasks and co-workers, improving collaborative efforts, too.

How Does Your Office Workspace Affect Your Company?

• Reflects Your Company Culture
Your office workspace affects your company culture. This underpins the values, vision and philosophy behind your business – so it’s a crucial thing to get right. Experimenting with layout is a great way to mix up how your teams are interacting with one another.

• Influences Employee Wellbeing
Your workspace has the power to influence employee wellbeing, ensuring that you’re taking care of their needs and responding to their working habits in order to provide them with the best possible environment that suits them. Focusing on employee wellbeing improves employee retention rates, saving you money in the long run and ensuring you keep the best talent.

• Encouraging Workforce Productivity
Office workspaces can be specifically designed in ways that aim to promote productivity. Office design specialists know exactly how to revamp workspaces in order to achieve the highest levels of efficiency. This can even be personalised to suit individual employee’s needs; we’re all different, and we respect that!

• It Can Improve or Damage Brand Image
Your office workspace is inherently linked to your brand image. It’s not so frequently seen by usual customers, however the clients that enter your workspace should leave feeling inspired and reassured by your innovative, up to date office premises.

After reading this, hopefully you have grasped the essential notion that your office workspace can make or break a company. If you’re interested in seeing how you could improve your company, Office Workspace offer a comprehensive workplace consultancy service for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re looking to update your office by following some expert workplace consultancy advice, or you’d like to completely refurbish your working environment, they can provide you with the service you are looking for.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/12/03/how-the-physical-workspace-impacts-the-employee-experience/#67655f32779e
https://www.inc.com/adam-heitzman/why-workspace-is-so-critical-to-employees-success.html
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7456-workspace-design-productivity.html