The Architect’s Dozen: 12 Ways to Enhance the Workplace and Improve Employee Happiness

A well-designed workspace should be a destination which fosters and supports employee well-being, serving as a catalyst for creativity and output. Here are 12 ways architecture and design impact the workplace and how you can use them to your advantage.

First – Know your culture

The office is the great moderator of your company culture. It can be a help or a hinderance. Know your culture and make sure your workplace reflects it. This is the strongest way to tell your team what you want your organization to be like.

Second – Make it a place people want to come

Find a way to make it a destination. This means something different to every company (see #1). If people don’t want to come, they won’t. If the office doesn’t feel good, doesn’t work, is uncomfortable…well, do you want to go?

Third – Make it flexible

Do not put everything on wheels. Flexible means people can use the space in their own way. They can move around, they can make adjustments. Spaces are tools for people to use.

Fourth – Remember light & views

Sometimes you just need to stare off into the distance. Find a way to offer views and natural light. If you’re in a boring urban setting you can still find a way. If you can’t, you probably need to move.

Five – Create variety

Everyone works in different ways. Create a way (see #3) to support different work and meeting styles. Offer a way for people to work in different places at different times or for different activities. Create quiet heads down space and public spaces to chat.

Six – Entourage is important

Simple and clean is great. Boring and sterile is not. Buy some plants. Buy some shelves and put books on them. Put pillows on the couch. Put a rug on that sealed concrete floor. Buy some art. Photography is good, real art is good. Discount store prints that resemble drop cloths are not. Your logo is not art. Put it by the main arrival point, that’s enough. Your company colors are great, but they do not need to be the foundation of your décor.

Seven – Choose technology wisely

It’s ok for your billion dollar organization to use a TV with a simple HDMI cord. Too many spaces have unbelievably complex and expensive setups. Control panels, converters, scene configurations, smart boards, you name it. If I can’t walk in and turn it on, it’s rarely worth your time. Simple rules the day. It needs to work the first time and every time.

Eight – Make it an opportunity

Most office build outs are connected to a lease transaction (that’s where the money comes from). It most often means you’re moving. Use this opportunity to engage your staff. They will tell you something about your workplace you didn’t know. Please get excited about creating spaces. Use this opportunity. See #1 – know your culture.

Nine – Buy good chairs

Skip the polished stone conference table, the foosball table, the high panels and even that adjustable height desk. Just buy good chairs. Spend more on the chair (often $750 each) than the desk. This pays dividends.

Ten – Think about Social spaces

Effective social spaces are casual. They are a confluence of conditions. They are rarely a destination. Tucking them away or putting a door on them makes them less effective. They should be along circulation paths or arrival points. They don’t have to be elaborate, they have to be real.

Eleven – Consider sound

This is a hard one. You will probably never get it right for every single person. Moderating sound is important, eliminating it is not. Loud spaces with hard surfaces reflect sound. Do they belong next to quiet heads down spaces? Enclosed rooms need sound absorbing textures. That conference room with an open ceiling and a concrete floor is not going to be fun.

Twelve – Bathroom matters

Architects deal in bathroom humor every day. Yes, we laugh too. I can tell you; no one wants a nasty bathroom. Sometimes they are in your office space, sometimes they’re not. They are always important. Find a building with good ones or get them remodeled. I know they are expensive, but it matters.

Design is much more than aesthetics. Design is a tool towards creating a destination that sparks creativity and connection, supports team members, and improves efficiency. Design matters. The office is the great moderator of your company culture and a driver of success. These 12 strategies will offer you a more efficient workplace and help you create a destination. After all, a well-designed office space isn’t just a place to work, it is a canvas that fosters creativity and sparks innovation.