There are many reasons office design is especially important to the success of your company. For starters, a poorly designed office doesn’t facilitate basic tasks and contributes to wasted time and worker fatigue.
Employees spend the greater part of their lives in a work environment. “Great office design gives staff unique environments depending on the tasks. A well-designed office can energize employees and increase productivity, making people enjoy being at work and wanting to stay longer rather than dashing out the door at the end of the day, “ according to Perry Arenson, owner of Arenson Office Furniture
Arenson, whose family has been in the office furniture business since 1979, knows whereof he speaks. “Office furniture and office design has evolved significantly over the years and reflects industrial engineering research and business owner experience.”
If you want your employees to be productive, natural light should be one of your major considerations in office design and layout. Americans spend a significant amount of time indoors, often without exposure to sunlight. This can negatively affect mood and efficiency.
Daylight makes it easier to see detail and helps with concentration. Harsh, continual artificial light causes eye fatigue. An open environment with fewer walls or glass walls can get more light into your office and improve production.
Claustrophobic workstations are rapidly becoming a thing of the past as manufacturers, such as Hon, offer office sophisticated modular products designed to increase productivity while making employees feel less enclosed. These products can be used for one employee or multiple users and allow natural light to saturate the entire office, not just the otter perimeter.
Breathing space
When selecting office furniture most people first think about the size of a desk, but circulation space is important as well. Adequate space between desks creates calm and the ability to concentrate. Furniture too closely configured creates that same feeling you have on an airplane. You want to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Too little space and attention suffers. Too much space and employees lose the active interaction so important to workplace satisfaction.
If your business depends on teamwork, you might consider bench desks or bench systems, office desk configurations designed to be space efficient in open plan offices. Bench desking allows more people to fit on the work surface when required.