Designing a harmonious workspace may be one of your top priorities as a boss.
After all, this is crucial if you want your employees to remain happy, motivated and engaged in their roles.
However, knowing how to set about creating an office that promotes harmony between employees can be a challenge. To help you overcome any design hurdles, here are three steps you can follow.
1. Plan your layout to perfection
The layout of your office will have a massive impact on the morale of your workers and on how well they get along with each other. Open plan offices are by far the most common style of working environment now and, while these rooms certainly have their merits, they also have potential flaws. For example, if you’re not careful, open plan areas can become too noisy and distracting, increasing the risk of tension building up between colleagues. Luckily, there are a number of ways to avoid this. One simple technique involves using room dividers in the form of floor or desk screens. Specialist suppliers like Furniture at Work™ now offer screens with foam cushioning for maximum sound absorbency. You can use these design features to cordon off temporary meeting areas or to separate louder departments, like sales or customer service teams who tend to talk on the phone a lot.
You might also want to consider creating designated breakout zones where colleagues can go to hold informal meetings. By giving people a specific place to go for these discussions, you can discourage them from having impromptu meetings at their workstations within earshot of those around them.
2. Take steps to minimise stress
If stress levels build among your staff members, tempers are much more likely to flare. There are a number of simple office design tactics you can employ to help minimise stress and thus lessen the risk of conflict. For example, by making sure your personnel have access to comfortable seating that promotes healthy posture, you can prevent them from getting aches and pains as a result of sitting at their workstations. Meanwhile, ensuring lighting levels are correct can reduce eye strain and help to keep morale high.
You should think carefully about storage too. A messy office tends to be a stressful office, so it’s important to provide employees with plenty of drawers and cabinets where they can keep their documents and other workplace essentials.
3. Pay attention to the finishing touches
Some simple interior design finishing touches can also serve to keep workers content. For example, incorporating greenery into offices in the form of pot plants is known to have a positive impact on morale, and including attractive artwork on the walls can also boost people’s mood. In addition, you might want to allow your staff members to use personal items to adorn their workstations. From family photos to stress toys, these accessories can make people feel more relaxed and at home in the workplace.
By bearing tips like these in mind, you stand a good chance of creating a harmonious office. Ultimately, this is good news for your employees and for your business as a whole.
