It’s hard to keep a positive and productive work environment if your employees aren’t happy with their workspace.
Setting the vibe at the office isn’t an easy thing to do. You have to strike a balance between professionalism and comfort, promote hard and efficient work while making it feel like a place that your employees’ would want to hang out.
Many young startup companies are coming out of the gate with the knowledge that a happy office is a successful office. They’re ridding themselves of the conventions of the office atmosphere and moving forward with a more vibrant and laid back environment. So, how do you create this type of office space?
In this post, we’re going to talk about 9 ways in which you can turn your office from drab and depressing to happy and productive. It’s not going to take a complete overhaul, just a few little things you can do to improve your space.
Happy Office, Happy Boss: Creating a Good Work Space for Your Employees
The traditional office environment is quite boring. It’s hard to imagine that we’ve been working in these kinds of spaces for so long. Blank white walls, cubicles, closed-door offices, and depressing lunchrooms are things of the past. It’s time to move into the present (and future) with these new office design ideas.
1. Let Employees Customize Their Workspace
If you want your employees to remain productive, you should let them customize the space that they’re working in every day. We’re not talking about a few family photos and a funny magnet or two, let them express themselves so that they can feel happy and confident at work.
This is where productivity lies. If your employees are completely comfortable in their workspace, no matter the size, they’ll be able to focus on the task at hand. A few plants, decorations, and trinkets never hurt anyone.
2. Keep the Office Clean
Not only should you encourage your employees to keep their personal space and the common areas clean, but you should hire cleaning services to come in at least once or twice a week to take care of the entire office.
Dirty common areas often lead to small conflicts in the office. Where there’s conflict, there’s a lack of productivity.
You could even try designating a few people each day to clean up the kitchen, bathroom, and other areas. This’ll give a few lucky folks a break from their normal duties and it’ll keep from the same people doing it all the time, which is usually the source of conflict.
3. Common Areas
At the heart of a happy office is a great common space. Depending on the type of office you’re set up with, you might have common areas built in. Many offices are going with a more open concept, which allows for employees from departments that might not work together normally to socialize more frequently.
Giving your employees a chance to fraternize will bring a noticeable positive change to company morale. If everyone is getting along, not only will everyone be happy to come into work every day, but they’ll feel more connected to each other and the common goal that they have, which is making your company a success.
4. Quiet Areas
While socialization and positivity are at the forefront of a happy office environment, something that often gets overlooked is a quiet space for people to wind down. As we learn more about mental health and stress at the workplace, the need for a place to sit and collect oneself becomes very clear.
You can take this in a few different directions. Many offices are installing wellness rooms in their spaces for people to go meditate, do yoga, pray, or just take five.
You can decorate the room such that it promotes a calm and meditative vibe. Lighting, music, furniture, and wall art should all be considered for this type of space. Install one of these and your employees will surely take notice and appreciate the fact that you think about and care about their well-being.
5. It Should Reflect Your Culture
The actual decor of your office should represent the culture that you’re trying to set forth for your company. Branding and culture have become two of the most important facets when new companies pop up. If you don’t have these things, then you lack an identity for your customers to latch on to.
It’s important that your customers understand who you are and what you represent, but your employees should feel it within the walls, as well. Put some serious thought into what your office looks like and how that jives with your company identity.
Consider the paint color, wallpaper, and art on the wall. Are they random or by design? If they’re random, brainstorm with a creative team and figure out how to make it work with your culture.
6. Office-Optional (Sometimes)
Something that has less to do with the decor of your office, but more to do with keeping your employees’ happiness and wellness is a work from home policy. It’s becoming more important to young employees to strike a suitable work-life balance. One way to do this is to let your employees work remotely sometimes.
Allowing this type of work to occur will let your employees know that you trust them to get work done wherever they are. They’ll appreciate that sentiment and most likely treat the policy with respect. Your office shouldn’t feel like a prison, it should feel like a hub where they can be productive.
7. The Break Room
One of the worst things about traditional office spaces is the horrendous lunch room that you always find. Do something better for your employees. You should have comfortable couches and chairs, a few tables to eat at, and all of the necessary appliances that you’d find in a normal kitchen.
This is the place where they’ll be hanging out during their break, so it shouldn’t be a complete disaster. Like we said earlier, make sure that it’s being cleaned regularly and install a dishwasher so dishes don’t pile up. Keeping it clean will go a long way in making it a place where people want to eat.
8. Functionality
Functionality in the office is usually a bit overrated. As long as it works for you and your workers, it’s fine. There are some basic principles that you should abide by, however, so that your layout is not detrimental to your employees’ happiness and productivity.
Give each and every employee a good amount of space to work with. They shouldn’t be closed in behind their cubicle, nor should the be arm-to-arm with the person beside them.
The other thing to be mindful of is where different departments are placed. Departments that interact more frequently with one another should always be placed close together so that employees don’t have to walk long distances every time they’ve got a question.
9. Poll Employees
The best way to ensure that all of your employees are happy with the office space is to ask them. Poll the room before you make any major changes and you’ll be able to find out exactly the direction you should go.
You don’t want to be the boss that makes large-scale office space changes without asking your employees. They should feel appreciated and that their opinions are relevant.
Make Your Office Work
There you have it. Follow these tips and you’ll have a happy office environment in no time at all. You should know by now that happy employees will make for a happy boss. When your employees are content with being in the building, more work will get done, which will put more money in everyone’s pockets.
To read more posts about making your business work, visit At Your Business.
