Is your office making you unproductive?
Having trouble concentrating at work? Blame the office.
A new study has shown that many corporate offices are to blame for stifling employee productivity. Global office design company Gensler found that companies’ attempts to provide an open plan layout for staff to collaborate – have compromised workers’ ability to concentrate.
Despite the fact that open plan office layouts have been proven to enhance collaboration and communications, some workers are finding it hard to focus in a noisy, open-plan environment.
Ask yourself these three questions to find out whether it's your office, or just your job that's preventing you from working productively:
Are you sitting near the right people?
Are you sitting close to co-workers that carry out similar activities to your own? Office plan layouts should be designed in such a way that it groups people according to their respective team or nature of work activities.
For example, if your role involves focused work such as accounts, writing code or reading documentation, you may not appreciate sitting next to a co-worker who is continually on the phone.
When designing your space plan, consider the nature of work for each individual employee, and create dedicated quieter and noisier areas of the office according to task-related activities.
Do you have enough space?
Do you have sufficient space per employee as well enough square footage overall? Make sure you allow enough space in between desks for staff to maneuver and not feel too crammed. Be aware of where your walkways are, and avoid placing too many desks near to the walkways as this can be distracting for workers.
Use this handy Office Space Calculator to work out your space requirements and ensure you are allowing adequate square footage for the amount of staff you have.
Do you have adequate Light and Temperature?
Consider environmental factors within your office such as how light the space is. Good office lighting comes from a blend of natural sources and artificial lighting to aid comfort and sustain levels of concentration.
Temperature too is a contributing factor to productivity. If you occupy a new office building, comfort cooling systems allow for optimum levels of temperature to be controlled at a central level. But at the very least, you should aim for sufficient heating and air conditioning units to be controlled locally.
Make sure you design your office in such a way as to improve employee productivity, rather than hinder it.
Use the Tenant's Guide to Office Design for ideas and inspiration and always consult with an Office Fit-Out Company when planning your office layout.
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