• PRODUCTIVITY

Interior design hacks for a more productive office

June, 2019

Practical design techniques to keep a workforce productive.

Busy office managers, business owners and facilities managers are always trying to find ways to make their teams more productive. In a constantly changing work environment, with co-working, home working and flexible hours, it can seem like a challenge to keep your office fresh and inspiring. We look at some proven ways you can use interior design to boost productivity and invigorate and inspire staff. Whether it’s using innovative commercial flooring, changing the office layout or streamlining your workspaces, these interior design hacks are perfect for the modern office.

1) Fun interior design

Pioneering businesses like Google, Innocent and Apple have all championed the idea of fun office design. If an office is fun, staff will want to be there, will be more productive, sometimes staying late and socialising in work too. Though this might seem like a contradiction, the bringing together of work and play is a huge factor in recruiting new staff and rewarding current employees. You don’t need to go as far as Onefootball HQ who have a headquarters with goal posts and a three-lane running track around the office, but these innovative businesses have succeeded in creating fun and unique working spaces that staff want to be in. Some ways you can introduce a sense of fun into your office could be as small as putting a table tennis table in the break room, adding sweet dispensers to the decor and creating more inspiring breakout areas that have light-hearted messages – all these indicate a desire of the business to communicate with staff.

2) Energising interiors

Interior design can be a great tool for motivating and energising your staff, especially the colours you choose for your office. Bright and bold colours which have been shown to increase positivity and productivity include yellow, blue and orange. You can incorporate these colours by using bright office accessories, bold feature walls and colourful commercial carpets and carpet tiling like the Duraflor Bright Ideas range.

3) Think about the senses

We have recently seen a huge rise in the multi-sensory approach to interior design, and this can be a great tool for increasing productivity. Scents like pine, which increases alertness; peppermint, which lifts mood; and citrus, which can be great for waking up and energising staff, can all be used in the office with sprays, diffusers and plug-in air fresheners. Hearing is another sense which has previously been forgotten in office design. Designated quiet spaces can be the perfect way to allow staff to concentrate away from the busy office, and allowing staff to use headphones to block out noise is another smart choice.

4) Facilitate idea generation

Many forward-thinking businesses have incorporated idea generation into their office through interior design. By creating a space for staff to store and introduce concepts, you can encourage creativity and new ideas. This could be by having a whiteboard anyone can write on, a wall where staff can stick post-it notes or a meeting space for discussing new ideas with the whole team. Having a space for ideas clearly marked from the rest of the office allows staff to read the ideas, have a bit of exercise and feel motivated and involved with the business.

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