Tag: designing offices

Designing a Healthy Office Space to maximize employee happiness, productivity and communication.

Whether you’re moving your company to a new building, or just looking to refresh your office, we have some advice on what floor plans and designs will be best for your company and your employees.

Open floor plans were popular in the 1990’s, and they were designed to help your company boost communication among your employees. But, communication and collaboration may be distracting and cause employees to become less productive. So, we’re here to help you decide how you should layout your new office space, and how you can get a healthy mix of collaboration and productivity all under one roof.

The Huffington Post wrote an article about offices rethinking the open floor plan design for businesses. “People have different needs throughout their day—times they want to collaborate and times where they just need to think by themselves,” said Ethan Griffin, CEO of Groove, a marketing company.

 

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When Griffin was planning his business’ new office space he wanted to incorporate an open floor plan that included a library with books, couches and a fireplace. This space also has an unwritten rule of “no talking” in case someone needs quiet time to relax. Additionally, Griffin added private workspaces for those who require solitude and silence in order to get work done.

According to the International Facilities Management Association, 70 percent of American employees work at an office that has an open floor plan. Some companies are realizing that this open work environment creates less productive employees.

Twenty-five years ago, the open-office floor plan began trending, but today, building private work spaces is trending, according to Sonya Dufner, a director of workplace strategy at Gensler, a design firm.

 

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However, evidence suggests that even though it may cause some distractions, knocking down your offices’ cubical walls can generate good, productive conversation and promote a sense of community.

Environmental psychologists and designers who have studied this workplace dilemma said there’s “no one-size-fits-all solution.” Different workplaces have different needs and methods of functioning. More specifically, different departments within your company have different needs. Some may need communication to occur sporadically throughout the day, and others may not.

“Workspace should be designed as carefully as you would design the cockpit of the Dreamliner,” said Jennifer Veitch, an environmental psychologist with the National Research Council of Canada. Veitch also preached that not giving your employees a suitable work environment can deter from productivity.

When you design your new office space, be sure to keep your employees in mind. Note which departments will need more quiet time, more quick communication or which ones will need a mix of both. So, explore your office and employee needs and come up with your perfect office floor plan.

 

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At The Quality Group, we’re your commercial relocation specialists. Founded in 1987 in New Orleans, LA, The Quality Group serves the Gulf States with comprehensive commercial moving services from move planning to furniture installation. No other company puts in the time or preparation that we do to make your move stress and hassle-free.