As an employer, employee satisfaction and motivation must be significant for you.
Your attitude towards work is primarily affected by your office workspace design. For instance, if the office ensign doesn’t favour your employees’ working style, you will see a considerable drop in productivity, work quality, and employee satisfaction.
Constricted workspaces, confining extroverts in cubicles, and introverts in shared offices can be a blow to their morale and enthusiasm.
Ventilation, noise pollution, and lighting are other factors that affect employee productivity. But you might be missing out on some less-known aspects like colour, layout, flexibility, and function.
For instance, bright colours — mostly orange and yellow — spur imagination, creativity, and inspiration.
Every workspace has a particular vibe that is felt through its environment and people. That vibe is what potential employees look for.
Companies these days are providing recreational rooms for employees to boost their interest and productivity. For instance, Google’s office has a rooftop garden, a swimming pool, a climbing wall, and several other amenities. Foursquare’s office has rooms with various themes to suit different employees’ interests. A lot of corporate offices are also seen placing digital signage for improving communication and boosting employee morale.
This is the effective execution of environmental psychology at work. Although, for some old-school employers, it may seem like paying employees to play, creating an enjoyable work environment attracts and retains talent important for a company’s growth.
According to The WELL Building Institute, workplace design that considers air quality, lighting, nature views, and overall interior layout is rewarding. Office design is a subtle factor influencing employee performance and should be considered in welfare and administrative restructuring initiatives to ensure the health and productivity of workers and, in turn, the profitability and productivity of the company. Introducing a health-friendly design and structure in the workplace means the office is designed to support and encourage activities such as lunchtime walks, ultimately instilling a culture of health in the workplace. Office design helps employees stay active by getting them moving instead of sitting all day.
Technology in the office should always have a purpose and make life easier for employees. An office should make it easy for you to complete everyday tasks, such as typing, making quiet phone calls, or booking meeting rooms, as well as collaborating and fostering social interaction.
There are hundreds of workplace surveys and research papers that give interesting ideas on the latest ways of working aligned with employee productivity and wellness.
The writer is Director, RPS Group.
