7 Ways To Get a More Productive Office Space

Boosting productivity is a top goal for many companies. While leadership, training and coaching can all play a role in promoting a more productive workplace, the office itself can also impact worker performance positively or negatively. Following these tips will help you to create an environment that is conducive to productivity:

1. Think Carefully About the Flow of Traffic

Try this experiment. Take a piece of poster board, draw a diagram of your office and mount it on a cork board or whiteboard. Mark where a typical employee sits with a magnet or thumbtack. Then use yarn to map out the journey an imagined member of your team would have to take to make copies, pick up a printout, refill their coffee cup and go to the bathroom. Think about how their path would deviate if they have to refill paper or change an ink cartridge. You're likely to find that the layout of your office doesn't allow for the best possible flow of traffic. Rearranging things can allow workers to spend less time walking the space and more time seeing to the tasks of their days.

2. Make It Simple To Collaborate...

Set up areas in your office where teammates can get together to discuss projects and work together. These spaces don't all have to be formal conference and meeting rooms. Comfortable sitting room areas where employees can relax while they chat can also spark creative collaboration.

3. ...And to Get Privacy as Needed

Although open and shared spaces can foster teamwork, they can make completing sensitive or difficult tasks more challenging. Make sure that you retain a few private offices that employees can escape to when a task requires privacy or complete concentration.

4. Don't Put Your Office in a Service Desert

Employees will struggle to focus on their work when they're worried about how they are going to accomplish personal tasks. If your office is an out-of-the-way location, you're adding to this problem, as your team will find it harder to do things like drop off dry cleaning, pick up prescriptions, get a haircut or complete grocery shopping before and after work or on their lunch breaks.

5. Keep the Environment Controlled

It's hard to maintain your focus when you're shivering cold or boiling hot. Keeping the thermostat precisely controlled can help to ensure that your team is comfortable and able to get the job done. Plus, using smart technology-enabled thermostats can save on your utility costs by allowing you to automatically adjust the temperature when no one's in the office.

6. Use Natural Light to Your Advantage

Natural lighting has been found to boost productivity in the workplace, making it important that your sunniest views aren't hidden in rooms that are used infrequently like a conference room. When natural light isn't available or needs to be supplemented, use LED fixtures that mimic daylight illumination. These save energy while helping to prevent eye strain.

7. Provide As Much Support and Flexibility As Needed

In the post-pandemic era, many of your employees will be dealing with the trauma of the last year and may still have a home situation that hasn't completely returned to normal. Keep schedules as flexible as possible, and provide employees with opportunities to receive counseling or therapy as needed. When employees have less stress at home and are caring for their mental health, they'll be more productive in the workplace.