10 Office Features to Dramatically Increase Productivity

An office designed around high productivity will benefit landlords, business owners and employees alike by allowing those who use it to focus on what they do best.

Not only do the most carefully planned offices attract top talent, they spark creativity and foster innovation in ways that elevate the whole business.

The result is a more positive and productive space for both people and companies to thrive and reach new levels of success.

Here, we talk about a selection of just ten office elements to consider adding to your next fit-out, improving efficiency and well-being of those who use it.

 

Digital Detox Zone 

While the office may be a physical place, we’re often still there when we leave, with our phones keeping us connected via emails, calls, and notifications from a plethora of apps – The average person will receive 120 notifications per day from emails alone.

The lines between our work life and personal life have been blurred for a long time but often overlap. All of this connectivity, while useful, leads to a stressful lifestyle.

This is why digital detoxing is necessary for those who feel overloaded or just need to concentrate on their thoughts.

Screen-free zones are created with comfortable seating, plants, calming colours and soft lighting.

Being particularly useful for mindfulness and creative thinking, overall, all of this improves focus, well-being and job satisfaction.

 

Zoning 

Reduce costs by providing the right space at the right time without building extra walls.

Open areas: Dedicated rooms are great for focused meetings, but an open collaboration zone can be just the ticket when more casual discussions are required. These are hop-in-and-out areas with open seating and small tables.

Semi-enclosed: Quick decisions and private work are a perfect fit with semi-enclosed areas that are easily accessible without doors, while still offering an element of seclusion. This is achieved through slight acoustic deadening with partial walls or a high-backed booth.

Quiet zones: Similar to Digital Detox Zones above, except laptops and phones are welcome in these dedicated rooms or private areas to work on those important deadlines. Comfortable seating with various table sizes are cocooned with walls or partitions of some kind.

Social areas: Intended to bring people together, these spaces were traditionally the kitchen or water cooler. Now, more areas are created to be as welcoming as possible to foster a sense of connection and nurture internal relationships. Trust is built and ideas are sparked via a more natural way of communicating.

 

Meeting Pods 

Taking the concept of zoning one step further, pods offer peace and quiet when it’s needed most.

Whether that’s a quick meeting, somewhere to concentrate, or even just to relax for a few minutes. Pods offer much needed flexibility that would otherwise involve a lot of planning, time and money.

Available in a variety of sizes to fit any office and styles to suit your environment, they include seating, a table, power socket and space for a screen.

While being more cost-effective than creating a room, you can even take them with you when relocating, and the usual building regulations don’t apply for an extra room.

 

Collision Points

We touched on this back in Zoning, but it’s worth expanding because the best ideas come from spontaneous collaboration.

A relaxed vibe emerges through extended kitchen seating, or purpose-built lounge and gaming areas. Offices tight on space can even strategically place a coffee machine with comfortable seats for a place to connect away from the computer.

Those who visit these areas are prepared to socialise in a way that doesn’t happen in more planned and formal settings, sparking more creative ideas.

Salesforce–a global leader in enterprise software–even reduced desk space by 40% with the sole purpose of creating these collision points for employees who might not otherwise connect.

 

Organic Modern Design

  

As top talent is increasingly selective about where they work since the status quo was suddenly upended from the pandemic, particularly ambitious organisations are investing heavily in creating a more natural environment.

An organic design language traditionally used for retreats, has more recently been adopted by the corporate sector to provide an atmosphere that is instantly calm on arrival. A stark juxtaposition to the traditional harsh lines and cramped spaces born from a reliance on efficiency.

By infusing natural light, textures and flora, office environments are transformed into areas where productivity and well-being flourish, inspiring a higher level of output.

Those allowing for the hybrid lifestyle find an increase in voluntary attendance and extended levels of peak performance.

Organisations utilising elements of organic modern design aren’t reducing efficiency, but rather prioritising the performance of all those who attend.

 

Biophilic Design 

To be fully productive is to be mentally at ease. To be at ease is to be around nature, or natural elements. Everything else in this list is also important, but there’s an inherent connection that needs to be made in all of us which yearns for the natural world.

We may not be aware of it very often, but studies have shown that including natural elements such as water, plants and sunlight have a calming effect. Even in the office.

Stephen Kellert, the pioneering theorist who coined the term said that it “continues to be critical to people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing”.

Not to be confused with Organic Modern Design directly above which includes everything in the room, Biophilic Design is focused on certain features: ‘living walls’ with real plants; running water; natural materials such as wood, stone and bamboo.

As with Organic Modern Design, though, Biophilic Design will also contribute to better health and wellbeing, with fewer sick days.

 

Flexible Workspaces  

Office-goers aren’t created equal: Some prefer the quiet life, some thrive in an open setting; Personalities won’t be the same. This is where flexible workspaces come in.

Being able to offer areas for introverts and extroverts alike, enables everyone to find their comfort zone. In doing so, they’ll be able to focus on getting in a different kind of zone.

Quiet areas within a large open plan room–divided by plants taken from the Organic Modern Design language above–provide privacy to concentrate for those who need it. While the same room still caters to extroverts.

Pods can also be added for times when silence is a necessity, allowing them to be moved when the company expands to a larger premises.

Whiteboards that turn into tables are also handy for these areas when impromptu meetings are held. They can also be folded up and stored flat against the wall when not in use.

 

Modular Furniture

Not only is modular furniture a great way to fill a space in exactly the way you want, but colours can be adjusted to suit the brand and fit the culture.

Collaborative areas can be created for small teams, only to change with the inclusion of quiet zones when dynamics or the size changes.

Another useful reason to include this flexible approach is in a city with space demands a premium, forcing businesses to think outside of the box. Adding storage that doubles as seating, or chess pieces in a breakout area doubling as stools, anything is possible.

Speed is a particular benefit where spaces can be created easily, quickly and affordably during a rebrand or new fit-out. Seating and tables can also include power points to ensure those who use it stay productive.

 

The Coffee Shop Effect 

Entrepreneurs, freelancers and contractors require freedom to perform at their best. This is the driving force behind one of the more recent office features: the coffee shop.

Not to be confused with the usual high-street chain, this is a larger kitchen that feels like a coffee shop, just for employees.

History shows these areas as those who needed somewhere casual for business meetings where a tavern has the wrong vibe.

Today, where laptops and the nomad lifestyle are prevalent, a coffee shop is just as much for work as it is for socialising – two benefits for one room.

The wider concept is activity-based working, where rooms can facilitate more than one type of work. Those who aren’t tied to a desk through hybrid and remote work, or just prefer the flexibility, can choose exactly the right setting for the work at hand.

 

End-of-Trip (EoT) Facilities 

Fitness improves physical and mental health for a more efficient workforce, so it makes sense to encourage this where possible with thoughtful facilities.

Commuters and those who exercise nearby will find EoT Facilities useful to feel comfortable at work from showers, changing rooms, lockers, bike storage, and even useful features such as hairdryers and irons/steamers.

This also benefits the business in another less obvious way where it encourages commuting in ways other than a car, lessening the demand for parking spaces and extending the life of existing office spaces.

 

Maximise Efficiency with a New Fit-Out 

Get the most from your office space by combining elements found in this article.

Find out what your space would look like today. Speak to one our office specialists on 01275 464 220 or send a message.