Is your Sydney office design optimised for productivity?
If you’re not sure, it’s okay – there are many things that you can do to create a more productive workspace for your employees.
Here are eight of them.
Maximise natural light
Natural light in an office is a must. In essence, we need natural light to live!
In the office, exposure to natural light has been proven to help boost happiness and efficiency. It also reduces stress, creates a more positive atmosphere, and ensures that your people are maintaining a regular circadian rhythm.
Maximising light is usually quite straightforward. First of all, ensure that furniture, partitions and other items are not blocking the light from your windows. If you’re making sure that all the natural light possible is making its way into your office, and it’s not sufficient, use diffused artificial lighting for a pleasant atmosphere.
Plants are perfect
We could go on and on about the benefits of plants in office design. But we’ll try to keep it brief. All you need to know is that they have immense mental and physical health benefits for your workers, and they also boost productivity.
In fact, this study found that plants can improve productivity by about 15%! Plants are incredibly affordable and placing them throughout your office is essentially a no-brainer. To make the most of the plants in your office, it’s important to work with a professional Sydney office design and fit-out company like Niche Projects.
Promote movement
Your staff probably spend the vast majority of their day at their desks, with minimal movement. However, it’s essential that your people take regular breaks and move about the office. It’s been proven that a brief walk around the office can boost productivity and help employees regain focus on the tasks at hand.
The hardest part can be reminding your people to take these breaks… we all get absorbed in our work, especially when we’re busy or there are deadlines to hit. Therefore, you should remind your employees that regular movement is absolutely essential throughout the day. Email blasts, signs, and meetings about health and movement are just some of the great ways to keep prompting your staff to move throughout the day.
Breaks are important
Breaks are so important for the mental well-being of your employees, and they’re also proven to increase productivity! A short mental refresher can work wonders – a short stroll around the building, a quick chat with coworkers in the kitchen, or a quick stretch in the breakout room will all come with plenty of benefits.
Research has proven that short, regular breaks at work reduce stress, increase happiness and make employees more productive. Rather than the old attitude, whereby staff who left their workstation regularly were thought to be lazy, you should encourage short breaks. Your employees and your business will benefit greatly!
Create different working zones
Everyone has a different way of working, so as a manager, you have a responsibility to provide the right working environment for all employees. That doesn’t mean that each individual gets a personalised fit-out… but you should try to offer a range of different working zones in your office.
For example, quiet areas for those who work better with minimal distraction, collaborative zones for people who love to chat and work together, and creative areas with plenty of colour, to promote dynamic thinking and boost energy levels. Providing zones like these will go a long way toward a more productive workforce.
Quality furniture
High-quality furniture is an absolute must in every Sydney office fit-out. Ergonomic chairs and sturdy workstations will ensure that your employees are well supported, and healthy at work. And in the end, healthier employees are more productive ones!
Choose the right colours
The colours in your office have a wide range of psychological effects on your employees. They can help them to be more productive, more creative, relaxed, or over-stimulated. Therefore, it’s important to pick the right colours for each part of your office. If you do that properly, your workplace can be a more productive one.
The colour red can stimulate your employees, boosting energy and focus. Blue helps to relax your workers, so can work wonders for productivity in quiet spaces. Yellow helps to manifest feelings of positivity, while green brings emotional balance, ensuring your people can focus on the task at hand.
Regular office cleaning
A clean office is always a more productive space. People will always struggle to work in a crowded, poorly maintained office! For that reason alone, it’s critical that you ensure you hire a Sydney office cleaning company to maintain your workplace and remove waste regularly.
Regular office cleaning removes distractions for your staff, allowing them to concentrate entirely on their work. In fact, it’s been proven that it’s much easier for the brain to focus on a task when the surrounding environment is free of clutter.
Get in touch with Niche Projects today
If you’re looking for ways to boost productivity in the office, look no further than Niche Projects. We’re an experienced, dynamic office design and fit-out company in Sydney, ready to help you achieve your goals.
Get in touch with us today. We can’t wait to work with you.