office floor planThe time of rigid corporate office buildings is way behind us. Although they are still easily found, the connection made between them and the work related stress is why they are soon to become a relic of past. The growing impact of business psychology has helped create satisfied workers and increased their productivity. The importance of motivation is getting more accepted as well as the concept that the number of hours spent at a desk is not as important as the quality of the work done. One of the most important components here is a good working environment consisted of people within a company and space itself. I leave it up to you to build your team but I’ll assist you when it comes to space with several useful tips.

Open up space

No matter how big your office is, you can make it seem spacious by knocking down unnecessary walls. Have open work stations where people can communicate with each other without leaving their desks. This will improve the communication between people and speed up overcoming obstacles.  Imagine if you got stuck doing something, instead of sending an email or making a phone call, you could simply pop your head from behind your screen and ask the most appropriate person. Also, whenever you move around the open-space office, you are passing by your colleagues and you can get the feeling of being in touch. Have communal areas where people can have their lunch or coffee and brainstorm.

Create offices with a view

Not every office can be at the street front and have a great view. Not every office within your company can probably afford to have a window. This is why you should make something worth of seeing within your walls. Have a cozy piece of nature inside, build an indoor garden with natural light if possible. Nature is said to have a relaxing effect so you can use it to help your employees relieve stress. Help natural light break through the office as much as you can. Install lights that resemble daylight.

Set up meeting rooms

Not every conversation can be held in public, especially if you have customers coming to the office. They may not feel comfortable discussing their queries in front of everyone. Also, if you want to add some structure to the brainstorming mentioned above, allow your teams to use the meeting rooms whenever they feel a need and resolve any issues or plan strategies quickly. A meeting room should be inviting and made so as to evoke creativity.

Add some color

Now that I have mentioned the look of the meeting room, furniture, paint and wall art is what can do the trick here. Equip the entire office with comfortable, practical and quality furniture. You cannot expect for someone to focus entirely on a task with an achy back. Spread your brand image through the entire office by using the recognizable colors. Create contrast as it is daring and exciting. You can use different themes for different departments and thus create a feeling of belonging and comfort for each worker of the department.

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Allow privacy

You and some of your employees may be spending a lot of time on the phone.  In this case, an open space concept is distracting as there may be a lot of noise. I still speak against conventional walls in all rooms apart from restrooms. You can use glass to create noise barriers, walls if you like, but with less sense of detachment. Office and commercial window tinting is just a thing to use for executive offices or meeting rooms. You can also use blinds for this purpose.

Invest in all senses

I already spoke about nature and visuals as a way to relax. You do not have to organize meals for your employees to satisfy their taste buds, but a little touch you can make is to make their beautifully lit, spacious office smell nice. Choose whatever you find the most appropriate, I would go for something fresh to match your little garden. While you are at it, play some suiting music, perhaps it is better to go for instrumentals. However, you know your people, if they can agree on something everyone likes and is not too distracting, let them have it. Of course, this type of democracy is only doable in a smaller office.

Talk to your people, consult your HR and make sure you are always in touch with their feelings regarding their job satisfaction. Do whatever you can to make them happy and the workload will seem lighter, and every task will be an adventure.