NextDayScreens | Rap Industries Ltd

What Makes the Design of the Office So Important?

Chances are, if you are looking into re-designing your office, then you have already begun to understand the impact that it can have on the efficiency of your business. From the colour of the walls to how big the windows are, there are a range of different factors which can influence how effectively employees can concentrate and the length of time in which you can expect them to remain focused. Some of the greatest office designs are simple in theory, but in the planning phase, the design must be tailored and adapted to the space in order to make it as effective as possible.

The key to creating an ideal office design, is being able to balance privacy with a collaborative work space. This means ensuring the means are available for staff to press on with work when required, while still having the means to communicate with others when their schedule permits. Such a setup is challenging to establish, but with the necessary due care and attention taken beforehand, an ideal design such as this is attainable and can provide significant benefits in areas which you may never have considered before.

Lighting

If employees are going to be sat at their desk for the majority of the day, then this first factor is important to consider. While it is necessary to have light of any type in the rooms to stop eyes from becoming strained, it is even more integral to allow natural light to flow through. Large windows, glazed screens or even skylights are all different tools which can be used to allow natural light in. Being exposed to this as opposed to synthetic light helps employees to sleep for longer, concentrate more, think more creatively, thereby helping to improve their mood and reduce stress. All in all, a lot of benefits to be had here.

Comfortable Furniture

If your office is still equipped with rickety old chairs, then they should definitely be the first thing which you throw out. Especially in situations where staff can be sat down for up to 8 hours a day, the prospect of doing so on a seat which is firm and squeaky is hardly going to get their mood up. Ergonomic desk chairs and comfortable seating in break spaces are hugely beneficial long term. Your employees are less likely to have issues with back or neck problems and it can also help to boost concentration as that perennial squeaking noise will finally be thrown out.

Keep The Space Clean and Tidy

It does not take an individual with OCD to become stressed out at the sight of a cluttered office space which makes it impossible to find things. With the advent of computers, there is no excuse for having paper lying around and for offices to be looking like a dump. Encouraging employees to keep their work space tidy can further benefit them as it helps to keep the mind tidy and focused on the task at hand.

Colour

As you are reading this, you probably have not been taking much notice of the colour of the environment around you. The walls, office partitions, and even your mug may appear minor, but colour can have a significant impact on the mood of your employees. Shades of red can help to bring out passion and aggression, while yellows are much better in creative spaces. It all boils down to what we associate colours with. So for example, when we think of green, one of our initial responses is grass and the countryside, which we immediately begin to associate with being calming and soothing. So while your company logo may be red, splattering that around the office whilst people are trying to be creative is less likely to result in the fantastic designs which you may have been hoping for.

Temperature

Temperature is quite obvious and there is no trickery of the mind involved. If the office space is poorly ventilated, then staff will begin to get too hot, stress levels will rise and before you know it you will regret having that fancy floral centrepiece over an air conditioning system. If the temperature is monitored and maintained throughout the day, then that is one thing less for employees to worry about.

Noise Levels

Noise levels are a factor which we feel very strongly about. There is nothing more frustrating than having to listen to the IT guy (or whoever else for that matter!) clicking a pen for 6 hours a day. This is particularly an issue in open office spaces where it is very easy for sound waves to bounce around and when there are over 10 people sat in an office, this just causes volume levels to rise and rise throughout the day. The unpredictable nature of sound waves also makes it one of the harder factors to address. While there are some more elaborate suggestions available, as a rule of thumb, introduce lots of soft surfaces like carpet and office screens for example, which can help to soak up the ambient office noise before it becomes too much of an issue.

Ensure The Space is Organised

If your business is growing, then this is great news for your company but bad news for your office design. More employees as a result leads to increasing noise levels, further distractions and it could potentially slow your growth levels down. So when re-designing, consider where desks are going to go, are one team going to be crammed into a corner when the space can be more effectively used by someone else? These are the types of issues which will only arise when the re-design is all said and done.

Brand The Space

Finally, you should treat your office like a showroom, even if you are only having visitors once a month. Having your branding visible creates the perception that you are established, trustworthy and that ultimately they are in the right place.

If you are reading this at work, then take a minute to look around you. Chances are that if you are reading this, you are probably procrastinating. No worries, we have all been there, but consider why you are procrastinating? Is the work mind-numbingly dull? Are you looking forward to going on holiday next week? Or are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by the buzz of chatter emanating from across the office? Whatever it is, it’s safe to say procrastination is often the direct result of becoming distracted.

The best working environments are those where we can get on with work in peace and quiet, not having to listen to what your colleagues did on their weekends or the seemingly perpetual phone ringing. This is a very common issue with the most popular design of office space – the open plan office. When interior designers first conjured this idea over 40 years ago, the ability to combine semi-private spaces with collaborative work areas appeared like a stroke of genius. The reality has been quite the opposite, in fact, in the UK alone, approximately 1.5million of us work from home as a result.

What is Privacy?

Privacy is quite a broad term and it means to be able to seclude yourself and then express whatever information as you please. In the world of CCTV cameras and supposed tracking over the internet, the whole idea of privacy has come under threat. That’s a whole can of worms which we won’t be looking into, but the same premise which causes us to feel unease at the thought of being watched, is the same reason why privacy is so important for concentration. Unless you have a magic switch which can flick off the environment around you, chances are your productivity is being hindered by loud voices, slamming doors, phones ringing, children screaming, and a whole myriad of other factors.

While many people claim to be able to multi-task, the fact is that while it may be possible to do two things at once, it is incredibly difficult to concentrate on one without neglecting the other. Being able to focus is something which some are able to grasp better than others, and it is the others in particular who are most affected by audible or visual distractions. Whether you are studying, working or even just planning, the ideal environment would be a controlled space with nothing but you own thoughts.

So Why Do We Become Distracted?

Distractions and concentration are complexities in the brain which we are only just starting to get to grips with. Just like a machine, everything we do takes up resources so when we start to get hungry, those resource levels are low and we lack the necessary fuel to complete what we are trying to do. For example, if you slept less than usual last night, then as a result you are more likely to become distracted as your body has not had the chance to rejuvenate those resources and you are being hindered because of it.

Another major issue outlined by David Rock, explores this ever connected world which we live in. While workplace designs are gradually improving to help individual efficiency, things we may consider minor such as our mobile phones and the internet are soaking up a huge amount of our time. This all leads to a pretty vicious cycle; lack of resources means we struggle to focus, which then leads to becoming distracted, but by the time we get back to working, we have exhausted a lot of those resources on time wasting activities such as social media.

What Can I Do About It?

Just because you regularly become distracted easily does not mean there is no hope for you. As mentioned earlier, there is a growing number of people working from home who can control the environment around them, cutting down on the number of temptations and distractions. Therefore, providing an optimal environment for concentrating. Unfortunately, many of us do not have the luxury of completing our work whilst sat on the sofa wearing pyjamas. So, the trick is to plan ahead to attempt to stop the distractions before they begin.

If you can’t help but look up the instant there is movement in the office, then look into adding Office Screens to help keep your mind focused on your work. If the noise around you is simply becoming too much, then try out listening to music through some headphones (calming music with no lyrics, the latest hit single or your favourite 90s track are going make the distractions even worse). If your phone keeps vibrating all over your desk with all those group chats you regret joining, then now is the time to switch your phone off for an hour or two so your mind can focus on one thing at a time.

There are many tools out there to help you to stay focused. If you have ever found yourself searching for a blog online only to find yourself mindlessly logging into social media every day like you have done for the past 365 consecutive days, then there is help out there. For example, StayFocusd can be tuned with all the sites you visit and once you have spent long enough browsing through Twitter, the app will block you for the rest of the day. Pretty handy when you are used to watching hours slip by in a day!

So to put things simply, identify those factors which constantly leave you distracted and learn to ignore them or get rid of them altogether. Some are unavoidable, so look at your options to cover or mask them and with any luck, you should see your productivity soar!

If visual distractions are becoming a constant thorn in your side, then we can help. Here at Rap Industries, we manufacture Next Day Screens which can provide instant relief in the office so you no longer have to have your concentration broken by activity in the office. If you need any more information, you can give us a call on 01733 394941 or send an e-mail to sales@rapind.com.