Office design for employee well being
Have you ever thought about how the design of your office affects the well being of your employees? We’ve written before about how office design can improve productivity, but the other side of this is that it’s important to ensure our employees are happy and well, as well as productive.
These days employee well being is an integral part of business strategy for most major names - and many smaller names too! People are beginning to understand that a happy, healthy workforce can be a major asset to a business, and that an unhappy, ill workforce can be a major risk. Nobody wants to work for a company with unhappy staff, and we’ve all been in situations where we’ve walked into a place and thought, This place just doesn’t feel good.
Study after study has shown that focussing on employee well being can see a marked improvement in productivity, fewer sick days, better staff retention and increased morale. But how does office design fit into this?
Actually, office design can be more important than you think for employee well being. Here are 3 key points to consider:
Providing privacy to employees. Open plan offices are brilliant for a variety of reasons, but they can also cause a problem when we are dealing with a sensitive issue. This could be personal meetings, but also things like sensitive phone calls with clients, or even a client meeting. We supply and fit Baux Acoustic Panels which are made from recycled wood and provide excellent sound proofing in partition walls which can help to provide that level of privacy and quiet when needed.
Providing a choice of work space to employees. Something as simple as being able to choose where to work can make a big difference to employee well being. With a bespoke office space design, we can use partition walls to create break-out areas and meeting rooms as well as co-working spaces so that your employees have a choice as to where they work, and with whom. This can make a big difference, especially for those who collaborate regularly with other team members and might otherwise spend large portions of their day in a cramped space at someone else’s desk in order to be able to work together.
Providing natural light to energise employees. Natural light can be crucial when it comes to employee well being. Nobody wants to spend eight hours per day under fluorescent lighting with no idea whether it’s raining or sunny outside. As we have come to understand things like Seasonal Affective Disorder more, the importance of natural light has been shown to be more important in helping people to feel good at work. We can’t knock holes in your walls, but we can help you to make the most of the natural light you have coming through your existing windows. With glass partitions you can have your open plan office broken into sections, but still maintain that natural light we all need.
Here at Space Partitioning we are experts in designing bespoke offices, helping you to make the most of your space. Get in touch today to see how we could help you.
