The modern workplace is focused on staff and their experience interacting with the space. It’s not just about the physical workplace anymore but more about how the space makes staff feel and what it’s like to work there. Office design is a powerful tool that can help to attract (and retain) the best and brightest talent, so companies are investing more and more to create spaces where staff love working. In the working environment where the line between work, home, and social life becomes increasingly blurred, it is the look and feel of the workplace experience and how enticing it is to come to work every day that ultimately attracts the employees that a company craves.
TDS Office is your #1 source of commercial furniture buying guides, and office design ideas for companies and entrepreneurs. Our goal is to help create effective workspaces that help organizations achieve their strategic goals. We share design ideas and tips on how to create professional environments with a personal touch.
Office furniture is one of the most expensive investments that you will end up making if you open a new office for your business. Desks, chairs, filing cabinets, coffee tables, those things all mount up. Choosing furniture for the office, which you’re comfortable and productive in, is very important, but it’s no easy task.
A comfortable chair can have a great impact on the performance of the office staff. The best office chair is one that will allow people to have the perfect posture while sitting and doing the task. We’ve rounded up some of the best chairs and the best armless office chairs available, as well as some tips and tricks on how to pick the perfect model for you.
Office equipment such as printers, fax machines, and computers often cost businesses thousands of dollars to buy. The right equipment improves your processes, productivity, innovation capacity, and bottom line, so you should invest in it wisely. Making informed decisions and planning are essential for getting the best value for your money.
Lighting is an integral part of office design. According to research, office lighting influences the concentration and health of employees, as well as mood and motivation. Since the lighting in an office plays such a big role in everyday productivity, it’s crucial to invest time and money into getting right.
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Design Ideas and Furniture Pieces for all Types of Office Layouts
Office layout design often reflects the corporate culture and a company’s mission. The office space set up should reflect the needs of the employees. A good office design is not only functional but provides comfortable work areas for your staff. As an entrepreneur, you should pick an office layout that can encourage your employees to provide quality results while enjoying a comfortable working environment.
Private Office
In most workplaces, private offices exist but are limited to high-level management. The executive office usually has a large work surface, like an L-shaped desk, an abundance of storage, and meeting space.
Open Plan Offices – Shared Office Space
Open-plan offices are the key to nurturing a more collaborative environment at the workplace. Having come a long way since a sea of cubicles, today’s open-plan offices are the perfect mix between shared spaces that spark communication and focus areas that offer more privacy.
Meeting Rooms
Conference, training, and boardrooms are often very technology-intensive and often multi-purpose rooms. The furniture chosen is critical to how functional the room will be. Traditional meeting rooms are moving from enclosed spaces, so open meeting zones are becoming more popular and widespread.
Support Spaces
Office support spaces typically include storage rooms, file rooms, mailrooms, copier areas, service units/coffee bars, and telephone and communications equipment rooms. Support spaces also include rest areas, with different furniture options, including café tables, coffee bars with high stools, computer carrels, lounge seating, and even recliners or ottomans.
Home Office
A home office may only be a few feet from your bed, but it is still an area where work should be done. Your office furniture should be comfortable enough to feel like you’re at home but professional enough that you can successfully mark tasks off of your To-Do list.
How Office Environments Affect Employees
Numerous reports and studies explore the relationship between the physical space and business performance metrics, productivity, and what employees value. That is the reason most companies are starting to pay attention to the way they organize their workspace.
Productivity
A study cited in U.S. News & World Report had 600 software developers in 92 different companies complete the same series of coding and testing tasks. Each developer had to keep a log of the amount of time it took to complete the tasks. The study found that the programmers in the top quartile were 2.1 times more productive than the average programmer and outperformed the worst programmers by a ratio of 10 to 1.
The greatest similarity among the best programmers was quality workspace. Nearly 60 percent of participants in the top quartile were satisfied with the level of quiet in their workspace. These programmers were also satisfied with their privacy and ability to divert their calls in their offices. Meanwhile, less than 20 percent of programmers in the bottom quartile worked in that kind of office space.
Privacy
Open-office floor plans have been a huge trend for years now. However, as much as lack of walls can drive collaboration and interaction, there is evidence to show that a lack of privacy can have an effect on employees as well. A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that noise and a loss of personal space are among the main sources of workspace dissatisfaction. The solution is to get the best of both worlds; having collaboration space for coworkers to meet and share ideas in a more relaxed atmosphere, but also giving employees a space to go and have private meetings or work in distraction-free zones.
Health
Employee health and well-being have the most obvious effect on productivity through employee absence on sick or compensation leave. The physical environment of the workplace can greatly affect the health of the employees. Ergonomics plays a key role as it increases employee well-being as it allows performing tasks under optimum conditions; it also helps prevent future injuries and reduce fatigue. Another important factor is the quality of air in the workplace, which is controlled by appropriate ventilation systems, air conditioning, maintenance, control of humidity levels, and even the use of plants.
In terms of a productive environment, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The only way to create an office layout that boosts productivity is by gaining a thorough and in-depth understanding of what would work best for your company.