While some employers have embraced the remote work revolution, there are many others who still favour the traditional shared workspace approach, and there are good reasons for doing so. Not only does going into the office make collaboration easier during joint projects, but it also means that employees have instant access to the support and resources they need to succeed. This approach also makes the company culture stronger, and good managers can tweak the office space to enhance the productivity of their team.
For example, many offices today are transforming into smart offices, where the design of key elements in the workspace helps improve workers’ focus, energy, and satisfaction, helping the business to grow as a result. This article discusses a few of the most effective office design interventions that can help your office make the transition into a smart office.
1. Ergonomic Desks
Desks come in many shapes and sizes, but until recently they were mainly designed with aesthetic and spatial considerations in mind. Little thought was given to the humans who had to use them. Fortunately, those days are coming to an end and ergonomic desks are becoming the norm. Also known as adjustable desks, these are desks that allow workers to sit or stand at them, which helps to prevent people from incurring a lot of the harms that come with long periods of sitting. They are better not merely for the posture of employees, but also for their circulation. Both of these things have a direct impact on productivity. Poor posture can lead to straining and physical discomfort, which can be incredibly distracting. Meanwhile, poor circulation means that people are not getting all the oxygen and nutrients delivered to their brain and other organs that they could, resulting in reduced energy and even cognitive impairment.
Studies have shown that ergonomic desks lead to fewer reports of back pain and fewer employee sick days being taken.
2. Integrated Technology
Integrated technology is usually what we associate with the adjective “smart,” so this is naturally an important feature of every smart office environment. There are many ways to approach the integration of technology in the office, but the goal is always the same – to make workflow as efficient as possible. This can mean leveraging technology such as AI to automate routine tasks and prevent them from taking up valuable employee time, storing company materials on a cloud server so that they can be easily accessed at any time by anyone who needs them, or just reducing office clutter by installing wireless charging stations instead of having messy wires all over the place. There are also numerous solutions to choose from when it comes to making communication and collaboration between employees easier.
3. Flexible Layouts
Most projects require a mixture of collaborative tasks such as meetings and periods of intense individual effort. To make them as productive as possible, these require very different environments. This is why most offices have meeting rooms, however, you then have to deal with the hassle of making sure there are no clashes between different teams wanting to use them. This usually means that they have to be booked, which just adds another task to people’s workloads. Many businesses today are opting instead to create open spaces that foster collaboration, but where items like movable partitions are available to create privacy when it is needed. Wireless technologies and movable furniture also help to create a versatile workspace that can be adapted for whatever is needed on a given day.
4. Lighting and Acoustics
In its attempt to imitate daylight, fluorescent white office lighting often accidentally ends up reminding people that they are not outside, and is widely despised as a result. Many people also dread the clicking and clacking of keyboards and ringing of phones that serve as the acoustic backdrop of many an office environment. Businesses are now starting to take these concerns seriously, investing in solutions such as intelligent lighting, which provides a level of brightness that reduces strain when using screens but still promotes alertness. It also fluctuates with the amount of natural light outside, which not only feels nicer for employees but also helps reduce energy use.
When it comes to office sounds, there are many solutions available to create a quieter and less distracting working environment. Acoustic ceiling tiles and carefully placed sound-absorbing panels are effective, fairly low-cost solutions. Some companies have even gone a step further and installed white noise machines to block out distracting sounds.
Conclusion
The advantages of upgrading your office to include some smart solutions are multifaceted. The results of things like intelligent lighting turn up directly on your bottom line by reducing your energy bills, while boosts in your employees’ productivity will show up over time. But that’s not all. Your investment in a smart office can help attract top talent as it sends a clear signal to them that you are serious about your employees’ well-being and the future of your business, and it will also help to retain the staff you have.
