Laying out office décor used to be a moot point: buy a desk and a chair per employee and set it up, then repeat as necessary until all your employees have a place to sit. These days, we are spending much longer hours in the office, and it is understood that making the office a more pleasant place to work means that employees will be happier and more productive: a win for both aesthetics and profits! Here are some dos and don’ts of office décor:
Do not be tempted to squeeze too many people into a space that is too small. Instead, offer hot-desking, which allows some employees to work from home, which then means that more than one person can use a workstation each week, while both are still providing you with the same level of work. Hot-desking has another advantage too: when looking for your office furniture Essex/London wide, you can invest in slightly more upmarket pieces as you will be buying fewer of them. When looking for filing cabinets, go tall rather than wide, as this can increase your storage space while taking up as small a footprint as possible.
The days of massive offices divided into hundreds of featureless cubes are long gone and thank goodness for that. Not only were cubicles boring to look at, but they were also depressing to work in and often reduced productivity and stifled creativity. Restricting what employees can see and do might seem like a good idea, but people seldom fit well into small boxes! Go for a much more open plan design of desks and seating and reap the rewards of employee productivity.
With workstations all connected to a central intranet, and laptops being highly portable, there is no need for people to always sit in the same place. Let people move around within the office, and arrange it with inviting arrays of single work-booths, group stations, and even have a few comfortable chairs or sofas scattered throughout. In this way, the office will feel more vibrant and lively, and it will be easier for people to work together on a project, before getting together with others for a different task. When looking for office furniture Essex/London based, do not just examine the desk and chair combo; look at bean-bags, soft lounge chairs, coffee tables and much more. The more variety you consider when searching for office furniture Essex/London wide, the more creative your employees can be.
Colour drives mood, and this is true of both clothing and offices. Did you know that wearing navy blue to an interview gives the odds of your getting the job a slight boost? It is true: navy makes you seem sensible and worthy of employment before you have even opened your mouth! Pro-tip for winter: wearing red makes you feel warmer! In the office, red makes the ambience vibrant and exciting, while orange boosts energy. Greens and browns are very soothing and natural, and blue is also calming, ideal for work environments that need to be relaxed and tranquil. So when you are looking at investing in some office furniture, for example for your reception area, do not just look at the style and size; ask about what colours are available too!
Have a more informal area for tea breaks, lunches and even to work informally. Sometimes all a tired employee needs is to change their view or take a twenty-minute break to allow their brain to recharge. When they get back to work, their productivity will be massively boosted and creativity restored. Having a cosy breakout area is also great for informal interviews with customers and talking to new hires as you explain their duties and make introductions.
Browse all our comfortable range of products including breakout area furniture, as well as traditional filing cabinets, seating and desks, here at Rapid Office, the office furniture suppliers Essex/London businesses can rely on.