Traditionally speaking, interior office design hasn’t been something that employers have considered important when it comes to employee happiness. However, in recent times, a successful office refurbishment has become an important player in the discussion about employee morale and productivity.
A good way of looking at how interior office design can affect employee happiness is by relating it to wellness. A recent survey documented aspects of the office that employees should have access to, for the benefit of their wellness, and the results that came back were not positive:
- Only 56% of employees said that the design of their office encouraged movement
- 22% said that their office possessed greenery
- 78% said that their office had quiet rooms, however that still means that nearly 1 in 4 offices don’t.
These factors are just some features of interior design that can have a direct link to employee wellness.
Where companies need to improve their office interior design
One key area that companies should look to improve on, in terms of interior office fit out, is space management. It’s important to gain a good balance between open space, where employees can engage and bounce ideas off each other freely and private areas, where employees who need a bit of peace and quiet to refresh their minds can go. Basically, the delegation of space in the office should reflect your workers’ preferences and how to get the best out of them collectively and as individuals.
Another area that companies should be improving when refurbishing the office is colour. Bland and boring offices with dull colours don’t exactly promote creativity whereas offices painted and decorated with bright colours have the potential to perk employees up as they walk in to work in the morning. It is however important that companies don’t use colours that don’t resonate with their brand. For example, it would it really make sense for an environmental company to paint their office in any colour other than green?
How interior design can boost employee happiness
One way of boosting employee happiness through an innovative office design is by letting employees design their own office space themselves. A study from the University of Essex discovered that productivity increased by 32% when employers allowed their staff to design the office that they worked in. Of course, these designs would have to be within a budget and within reason but giving your staff the creative freedom to design their workspace instils a feeling of trust which statistically boosts productivity.
One final aspect of office design to look at is lighting. It’s imperative that the design of your office allows outdoor lighting into the office from all angles, so the positioning and size of windows are key. Bright lighting inside the office is also important as working in the dark can not only negatively affect eyesight and cause headaches but it’s also said to have a negative effect on mental health.
Bringing it all together
Employee happiness is so important and always has been, because a happy worker is, generally speaking, a productive worker. By implementing our office interior design tips, businesses can ensure that their workforce is more productive than ever.