How to Use Your Office Space for Maximum Productivity

2/28/2022 | By Marella Gimenez

The traditional office is constantly changing through time, and companies adapt according to the culture and current trends. The trends changed cubicles, desks, furniture, and the overall workspace to improve the work environment and boost productivity.

For both business owners and workers, the time spent in the office is an ingredient to success. We understand that having productive employees is essential in carrying out business processes. Given that, it emphasizes the need for a functional office space that will enhance the employees' experience.

All organizations strive to keep up with the changes in work despite the uncertainty of the future. With that, we are here to help you and your company by giving some tips on how to make your office space more productive.

What has remained the same?

Let us talk about the evolution of office spaces starting from the 1950s. The structure of offices before is somehow similar to what we have now. High-ranking employees have their own office space, while the rest work on the open floor. The open floor looks like a factory setup, where the goal is to see what the workers are doing.

In the 1960s, the open floor evolved into what we call now a cubicle. A three-walled cubicle was designed to give employees more privacy and still have open spaces. In the 1970s, ergonomic design began to dominate the workspace. The work environment was said to be more relaxed since employees had more freedom to work.

In the 1980s, technology gained popularity in work. It was also when employers and employees found common ground in moving the company forward. Technological advancements continued in the 1990s, and open offices returned.

In the 2000s, the workplace began to improve as companies introduced co-working spaces. It encouraged working in teams to achieve a common goal. From the 2010s until now, we challenged the traditional work methods as remote working got introduced. However, the culture of collaboration and community remained.

Looking at the evolution of work, we can see that technological advancement and cultural development significantly impact the workplace. Aside from that, office designs were also significant in shaping employees' work experience.

We realize that we remained at working to increase our productivity and encourage it by optimizing our office space. We saw how office layouts are not only about the placement of desks and furniture. It creates an impact on the employees' experience and performance.

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7 Tips in optimizing your office space to boost productivity

The design of your office space has a significant effect on the experience and performance of your employees. Effective office space can improve your employees' work and boost productivity.

Are you ready to enhance your workspace? Here are some tips on how to make your office space more productive.

Planning an efficient layout

Having a well-designed layout for your office space brings various benefits. Some of the advantages include enhancing employees’ well-being and boosting productivity. On the other hand, having a poor layout design for your workspace may lead to higher stress levels and poorer collaboration and communication.

Planning an efficient layout is more than separating departments and tasks into areas. It is about placing the furniture and tools in the right places in your office space.

For the furniture, we suggest avoiding the unnecessary and uncomfortable ones. You can focus on finding ergonomic furniture that will promote your employees' health. By doing so, you can meet the needs of your employees, allowing them to be efficient and productive at work.

Aside from furniture, it would help if you also took note of the technological tools that your company needs. It would be best to place devices like printers and copiers in the right places where everyone can access them.

Lastly, having an efficient layout is not enough if your employees are not included in the process. While working, you should also encourage your employees to keep their surroundings clean and organized. It will not only keep your office space clean but will also lessen distractions.

Maximizing the use of tech - Connect and collaborate faster and more easily

Technology plays a significant role in this modern world. At work, technology can help you and your employees carry out tasks more efficiently. Technology can serve as a tool rather than a distraction in work with proper use.

Technology can bring various benefits to your company and your employees. Some of the benefits include:

• Boosting your employees’ productivity while working
• Improves the communication process within and outside the office space
• Promotes collaboration between teams in a faster way
• Enables your employees to be more productive
• Eases connection in work, especially to those working remotely
• It helps you organize work processes and oversee progress

Maximizing technology is essential for your company to keep up in this modern world. The future of work also includes technology, which emphasizes its significance.

Allocating space for collaboration

Collaboration is essential for a business to succeed. It solves problems and empowers employees to participate in a company's operations. As business leaders, we want to hear our employees’ thoughts regarding our processes. It will make work easier for them if they know where their output goes.

Apart from technology, your office space can also help promote collaboration in work. To allocate space for collaboration, you can start by focusing on your office space's atmosphere, mood, and physical design.

For the physical design or layout, it is essential to add rooms meant for collaboration. Having meeting and conference rooms in your workspace can help boost productivity. Apart from rooms, you can also make your work environment comfortable and accommodating. You can add couches and ergonomic chairs for quick team huddles.

Allocating ample space for collaboration will make working efficient and encourage a productive environment in the office.

Eliminating distracting noises and poor room lighting

Distractions are everywhere, and they are inevitable. Fortunately, there are some ways how you can eliminate them, especially in your workplace.

To eliminate distractions, the first thing you need to do is identify what distractions affect your employees. Some of the distractions could be smartphones, emails, background noise, clutter, and multi-tasking.

Noise is a distraction that is also inevitable. To solve noise distraction, you can invest in noise-canceling headphones, transfer to a quieter room or area, or make your office space soundproof. It will help you and your employees focus on work and be more productive.

Having poor lighting in your office space can also affect the productivity of your employees. Working in a dark room will affect not only one's productivity but also their health. Hence, your office design should have enough room for natural and artificial light to create a healthy environment.

Befriend plants!

Aside from ergonomic furniture, befriending plants is another way to create a healthy work environment. Having plants in your space boosts productivity and radiates positive energy.

Working in a poorly lighted and ventilated space may lead to headaches and decreased concentration. Putting plants may not solve all problems, but it can help reduce stress related to work.

Moreover, if you want to make your office more productive, adding plants to your office space design boosts creativity. The colors of a plant positively affect creativity, making it a source of inspiration.

Stay more focused with the help of adding scents to your workspace!

Apart from plants, another way to improve your work environment is by adding scents to your workspace. Scents have potent psychological effects that can positively or negatively affect a person.

Scents provide various effects. In the office, scents can drive productivity by helping your employees feel focused and refreshed. If you want to put scents to your office space, you can try the following:

• Pine - This is great for improving focus since it helps reduce stress, enhance one’s mood, and increase alertness.
• Cinnamon - Productive employees use this scent to enhance focus and performance.
• Lavender - This scent is known for its relaxing effects. It can help you and your employees relax while working.
• Peppermint - Its strong smell helps increase alertness and lift one’s mood.
• Citrus (any) is also great for increasing alertness and energy boost.

Before adding scents to your workspace, you should consider employees sensitive to it. If you cannot add scents to your workspace, you can use essential oils to help you get through a workday. You can add scents to your workspace by using scented candles, incense, or essential oils for those working remotely.

Asking what can go beyond the lease and contract

Aiming to have a healthy work environment goes beyond your office space. It would help if you also considered your neighboring offices and surroundings. While arranging the lease and contract, you can ask about the neighborhood and if any construction will happen soon. It is essential if you need a quiet office.

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So, how should an ideal office space be? It is possible to have a happy and productive office environment!

A happy and productive office environment should foster collaboration, inspire creativity, and increase efficiency. Recalling what we shared, there are several ways on how to make your office space more productive. An efficient layout, ample team spaces, technology, plants, and light help foster a healthy workspace.

Start building your ideal office with KMC’s HQ + Hub Passport. It is a private office headquarters that suits flexible working. With the Hub Passport, you can work in any of KMC’s 24 flexible workspace locations. KMC values your productivity by providing benefits such as IT support and fully equipped office spaces.

Conclusion

Knowing how to make your office space more productive is essential for a business and its employees to grow. The tips we shared aim to improve employees' work experience and encourage leaders to foster collaboration in the workplace.

We know that productivity does not solely rely on motivation to work. The employees' surroundings also impact their performance. It emphasizes the significance of having an efficient office layout that works for all.

Planning or improving an office space is not just about moving the desks and furniture. As mentioned earlier, business leaders should include their employees in the process. Allowing them to create an ideal workspace will enable them to raise their concerns and suggestions.

Work is evolving, and significant changes are predicted in the future due to the pandemic. How is your company keeping up with the changes? Use the tips we shared and begin revamping your office space!