Design ideas for efficient and healthy offices

usiness leaders the world over have been trying to implement new ideas for office design to boost creativity and promote workflow and efficiency for decades, but which office setups and designs actually work?

There are many factors that contribute to productive office design. What works for some offices won’t work for others. Office managers and leaders must understand their employees and what they want to truly give them, as well as the things they need in an office space. Paying attention to office design ideas has never been more important than it is right now, with many workers returning to offices and resetting expectations around how in-office work should operate.

Keeping workers productive and happy is always a top priority for any business. Here are 10 ideas for office design that create a productive and happy workspace

Office design ideas

Five Ideas for Office Design With Your Workers in Mind

The Hybrid Office Setup

After the COVID-19 pandemic, workers have discovered the wonders of a more flexible working environment, specifically offices that allow for some workers to be at the office and some to be working remotely. It’s no coincidence that, as one example, 85% of workers in the UK prefer some form of hybrid working environment, allowing them to work from home or in the office as they see fit.

What does a hybrid office look like? A true hybrid working environment should provide workers with the benefits of working in the office that they can’t replicate at home. One of the main advantages of working in-office instead of at home is the opportunity to communicate in person. Bosses and workers can schedule all the Zoom meetings they want to stay on the same page, but if a business values bringing people together at least some time in-office, it has to set up a space that is conducive to smooth, non-disruptive, in-office communication.

As such, open meeting spaces and informal areas to talk among workers are key. There also should be areas where workers can get the quiet concentration time they need and utilize at home. So spaces for quiet concentration and loud collaboration are needed.

Focus on the Entrance

Taking the time to set up a welcoming and eye-catching entrance space to a business has been an office design idea since long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with more people than ever-changing jobs and rethinking how they want to do business and work, the entrance, the reception desk, etc. should act as a positive introduction to the brand and the business.

For new employees, a welcoming entrance area reinforces their decision to join the company. For prospective clients, they can see they’re dealing with a successful business that values their work and their workers. And for everyone, a well-designed entrance area creates a positive first impression.

Use Natural Light

With most office workers spending between 80 and 90 percent of their time indoors, the use of natural light in their workspace can have eye-opening effects. This is one of the most popular ideas for office design because natural light has been shown to help workers deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder and other common mental ailments, particularly in the winter months.

Not only do workers want space with plenty of natural light, designing office space with this emphasis can help lower heating and lighting bills in the colder, darker months. This can be improved without blasting holes in your building. Opening the space up by bringing down opaque walls and cubicles creates a more natural feel, and replacing walls with translucent panes of glass or other materials keeps light flowing throughout the office.

Sustainability and Fresh Air

We touched on a sustainability concept in the previous idea, but many offices are taking sustainability and natural areas another step further by opening parts of their workspace to the outdoors, creating an oasis of inspiration and comfort for workers in the warmer months.

These open areas, such as balconies and rooftop patios, can also help create a natural ventilation system, bringing in fresh outside air that hasn’t been recycled endlessly in the building. Numerous studies have found that increased natural air has boosted employee productivity.

An Ergonomic Approach

Studies around the world are now prevalent enough to tell us clearly that sitting 8+ hours a day every day is bad for our health. A modern office should take this into account by spreading out work spaces and break areas, encouraging workers to get up and walk around regularly throughout the day.

This is only the tip of the iceberg in office improvements. There are many avenues and options available for building a better workspace.