Space Planning and Employee Productivity

As the Covid-19 pandemic fades away, more and more people are moving to an office setting. How your space planners design the workspace has a direct correlation to the productivity of your employees. Put yourself in the shoes of your workforce and imagine going to a place that is cluttered, crowded and generally uncomfortable. You wouldn’t want to work in a place like that, would you? Same applies to your employees. A workspace must be planned, designed and built professionally. High quality, custom fitting solutions can ensure that office supplies are properly arranged and there is enough space to walk around.

You also need to take into consideration the maximum number of employees your workplace can accommodate. If you are in a business like a restaurant or a bank which will get a lot of visitors, you need to take into account the needs of your customers as well. Not only it is important to provide a comfortable experience to both your clients and workforce, but it is imperative that they both do not impact each other’s behavior negatively. Imagine a mismanaged fast-food restaurant where there is no queue for customers at billing counters. So, you have hungry customers with low blood sugar, each trying to muscle their way to get their order first while your employees get burned out with stress and hostile behavior. Great space planners always take into account the need of all parties involved in order to make a business successful. And a generic, off-the shelf solution will rarely work. You need to make the most out of your available space and for that you must always go for custom fitting solutions.

Your space planners must also take many other factors in account. You need to ensure that do not go over your budget. Also, make sure that there are provisions for enough parking spaces, restrooms, storage areas, private cabins and any other space that is relevant to your business. Using custom fitting solutions will allow you to efficiently utilize the available area. It should neither be too cramped nor too spread out. Both can make people uncomfortable. The temperature of the workplace must be maintained at about 24 C (or 75 F) so it is neither too hot nor too cold. Depending on the location, you may have to invest in a good heating or air conditioning solution.

The next thing on your list is to make sure that the work environment is extremely inviting. Using the right colors, wall decorations and comfortable furniture can significantly improve productivity levels. If you are planning to have a cafeteria within your office, you will be surprised to see the difference a free, good caffeinated beverage like tea or coffee can make. Many companies these days are also investing in play zone with pool, table tennis and other games which not only reduce stress levels of your employees, but also help you in building healthy working relationships within your organization.

The future of your office must also be taken into account. If you are seeing an immediate growth in workforce in the near future, make sure you take a bigger space than your current requirements so you can expand quickly and avoid the hassle of moving to a new location. You do not want a situation where you are cramping up the space to accommodate new employees. This will make your old team uncomfortable and may promote some hostility towards the new workforce.

Lastly, ensure that your office is easily accessible. If you open a business in a location with poor public transport, people may be hesitant to work for your company. If you are expecting customers to visit your office, then the ‘ease of access’ becomes even more important.

Final tip- Many people use navigation these days so ensure that your workplace is listed accurately on Google Maps.