How critical is good office design to great productivity?

Have you ever noticed that you walk into some spaces, whether a home or an office, and just get a wonderful vibe? We’re talking about the atmosphere of the place; something that is so essential to employee motivation. It’s simple really - if you don’t feel inclined to work, how will you work well?

Very often, the one thing that gets overlooked while setting up an office is designing for employees. Oh, don’t get us wrong. The best of interior designers and architects are hired, but there are some essentials that only the organisation can help bring to its spaces.

Read on to know how factors like the culture and nature of work should dictate the workspace design, which in turn influences personal productivity.

#1 Office layout – Open or Closed?

An open office is the trend today. Everyone is talking about collaboration and integrated work spaces. Here are some of the benefits that are mentioned.

The office culture: Open offices break down hierarchies, encourage impromptu group discussions and more opportunities to collaborate.

Setup cost: You will not only save costs in design, but the cost per employee also reduces due to the ability to have more seats in the same space.

Communication and privacy: Without walls it is easier to communicate and engage with colleagues, thus fostering better team spirit.

But has anyone given serious thought to how this affects productivity? Open spaces lead to distractions and lack of privacy. Loud conversations can disturb the peace and it isn’t possible to discuss sensitive information without the fear of being overheard.

If you were to measure productivity in an open office system versus a closed one, there is possibly more collaboration but not necessarily better results.

A good compromise is to have open office environment with many small and mid-sized closed meeting rooms for meetings without distracting others. Alternately, if you have offices for all, then have open collaboration areas and meeting spaces for people to collect and talk.

#2 Temperature control

Ventilation and temperature are crucial for creating a comfortable working environment. Not too hot, nor too cold. The right temperature – around 25 degrees Celsius – is known to reduce typing errors by 44% and increase output by 150%!

#3 Lighting

Allow natural light to come into your premises. Do not rely on florescent or artificial lighting alone. While it might not be possible to let everyone have access to natural light, create common areas where employees can congregate for meetings or just talk, which have natural light. Make sure the ambient light is adequate and does not strain the eyes. You would be surprised how dependent productive time is on good lighting.

#4 Noise Control

If you choose to have an open office, chances are noise will be a big issue. Disturbances of people talking, music, telephone calls, and mobile pings can be a big productivity killer. You can create ‘quiet areas’ which can help. Noise cancellation headphones can offer relief to those wanting to focus. Makes sure that employees who need to collaborate most frequently are seated close to each other.

#5 Colours and more

The colours you choose can make or mar how your employees function. It is a science - the study of the effect of colours on the mind and body. But use colours with care. Just as a dull-looking workplace can bring down enthusiasm levels, an office filled with loud colours can be highly distracting. Use colour strategically:

·        Bright colours, like red – inspire accuracy and focus

·        Blue – has a calming effect

·        Red – gives strength and energy

·        Yellow – is the colour for alertness

·        Orange – boosts self-esteem and enthusiasm

Infusing your workspaces with the right fragrance can also affect work and productivity. A research conducted by Takasago, one of Japan’s leading fragrance producers, found that 54% of the people made fewer errors when they could smell lemon, 33% fewer with jasmine and 20% with lavender.

#6 Disciplined chaos

Make sure your people have enough storage at and around their desks. Cluttered workstations sap productivity, by virtue of the time lost in finding things as well as the stress that just looking at the mess brings. Here are some other ways to make sure you are self-disciplined about it at work.

#7 Food for thought

Does your organisation have a cafeteria? If not, you need to give serious thought to taking care of your hungry employees. In the absence of a cafeteria your employees will either have a hurried lunch at their desk or head out for an extended break, every day. Either way, you will have hassled, hungry and irritated employees or many hours wasted daily.

Moreover, well-designed cafeterias are great for bonding and exchanging ideas. Nothing like a chat over hot tea/coffee or a cool drink in a casual setting to spark new ideas, compared to the more formal and structured meeting room environment.

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PS: Personal productivity relies heavily on office ergonomics. Use a time-tracking program, like Sapience, to know more about your work effort at the office. It gives a snapshot of time on core activities, emails, chats, social media, and browsing. Once you know your work patterns, decide the areas of improvement. The Sapience Buddy is like a FitBit @ work to encourage you to adopt improved work practices. As a manager, you can team patterns and start a conversation on whether effort spent on collaboration and core activities is sufficient and balanced. To learn more about personal productivity and time management software, visit www.sapience.net