Today’s workforce is evolving faster than ever. Are your office layout and furniture in need of an update to match the modern employee? Below are a few ideas of how to create a workspace that fosters comfort and collaboration while still maintaining productivity.

The Open Workspace

Just as the name indicates, the open plan means everyone is out in the open; from the leadership team to the interns. People can easily see and hear one another and tables, ergonomic chairs, and storage systems are arranged so that those who work on similar tasks are in close proximity.

Collaboration Stations

An evolution of the open plan is a collaboration area. These stations seat a small group of teammates together at a shared table with a goal of generating ideas and collaborating. Be certain to allow each person enough space for their devices and a few personal effects. Lastly, to ensure that each employee feels like they have their own space, you can add privacy shields for informal boundaries.

Comfort Areas for Laptop and Tablet Users

Consider establishing a section of your office with comfortable lounge seating, reception sets, and pods. This allows employees to work on their own with a higher level of concentration compared to when they are in the immediate vicinity of others. It can also serve as an option for small, impromptu meetings.

Sit-Stand Desks

Sit-stand desks, also known as adjustable height tables, allow employees to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the workday. After the phrase “sitting is the new smoking” became popular, so did these workstations. Studies show that standing, walking, and moving around throughout the workday promotes circulation, back health, alertness and a whole host of other health benefits. These desks can be arranged in open layouts, traditional layouts or hybrid layouts.

Hybrid Options

Not ready to let go of your cubicles? It’s okay! You can keep them but still make changes to your office that your employees will appreciate. Consider adding a comfort area or a few high-top tables and chairs for those who are itching to break out of their cubicles. Or add a brainstorm room – a room with a wall-sized whiteboard, a table, comfortable chairs and colorful paint on the walls. Using a combination of traditional and open ideas can be a perfect solution to the different preferences of your team and the constraints of your budget.

  

Fun & Sun

When designing your office space, try to provide as much natural light as possible. Also consider bringing the outdoors inside with things like plants, flowers, rocks, wood, or a water feature. If natural light isn’t abundant, you can always change the color scheme of the office to incorporate bright colors and designs. Some organizations even use monochromatic colors to designate teams and departments.

Don’t stop there. Add an area where employees can go to take a mental break with some fun and games. Set up a mind teaser and game area that includes favorites such as:

• A Rubik’s cube
• An Etch-a-Sketch
• Puzzles
• Jenga
• Dominoes
• Ping pong
• Foosball
• A deck of cards
• Simon
• Rock’em Sock’em Robots

Or any other fun games your team may enjoy.

Today’s workforce is a mixture of differing generations, values, and ideas. To maximize production and efficiency, it’s sometimes necessary to go the extra mile to provide comfort and inspiration to all team members.

When you’re ready to make a change that suits all your employees, Office Furniture EZ can help. We’ve traveled throughout the United States and seen all kinds of office layouts. Let us know what you want to accomplish, and we can help. Get started by requesting our Free Site Survey so we can take measurements, note electrical connections and devise a plan to maximize your space. From there, the sky is the limit.