The concept and design of office spaces have been evolving over time and they are completely different from what they used to be back in the day. Long gone are the days of meaningless desk jobs in cubicles where people hated working from.
They have been replaced with modern spaces having exquisite architecture and design that motivate workers and boost their productivity instead.
Since you are looking to transform your office space for the better and need some tips to spice it up, we have got you covered. Before getting into the details, let’s first cover what we mean by modern office spaces.
Anything modern essentially means that it caters to the needs and wants of people in accordance with the current societal standards. What people in the 90s wanted isn’t what people want today and catering to what people want today is exactly what the word modern means.
That being said, most of the modern office spaces that exist today feel almost like a second home with ample natural light coming in, cozy spaces to chill, and aesthetically pleasing furniture.
All of these factors contribute a lot to a workforce, in terms of productivity, creativity, and collaboration among many other aspects. Here are the top 8 tips to design office spaces with modern interiors.
Open Spaces For More Sunlight
There’s nothing as refreshing as natural sunlight when it comes to lighting in office spaces. Apart from the increased productivity, creativity, and focus, there are tons of other health benefits to natural lighting too.
Sunlight is rich in Vitamin D, improves sleep, reduces stress, and alleviates seasonal depression among others. Having open office spaces can be a huge game changer when it comes to modern workspaces. In addition to natural lighting, people also get to breathe in the fresh air, which can make a huge difference.
It also eliminates the need to have air purifiers, which most office spaces have. Do you know how people go out to get some fresh air to take a break from work? Well, why would they need it if they work in open spaces close to nature?!
Breakout Zones / Multipurpose Spaces
Breakout areas in office spaces are separate from working areas used by employees for various purposes, hence the name multipurpose spaces. These are usually used for informal purposes that include employees having their snacks, holding friendly meetings, or even getting together and relaxing for a little while before they resume work.
Breakout zones are very important for the workforce to bounce back from feeling low on energy and nothing like getting together with colleagues does it better. Multipurpose spaces can also be an excellent choice to conduct collaborative meetings and increase networking.
Integrated Tech
Since its advent, technology has been changing our lives for the better, especially office workers. Not only that, infusing technology into workplaces takes much less space, keeps everything neat, and increases overall aesthetics.
Integrated tech is a fairly new addition that office spaces have adopted which strives to make human lives easier. This includes the use of technology tools to allow businessmen to focus on the more important aspects of a company.
Digitizing all documents and avoiding paperwork as much as possible, using tools to analyze databases, managing spaces and integrating SaaS (Software as a Service) applications among others can bring about a massive increase in productivity levels.
Natural Elements
An extremely popular choice in office design, the presence of natural elements has proven time and time again to be extremely effective in improving not only the effectiveness of the employees but boosting their overall morale and contributing positively to their physical and mental wellbeing as well.
Strategic placement of gardens, flowerpots, and even allowing natural sunlight inside the office space will definitely go a long way in improving how your employees feel about the workplace.
Biophilic Designs
Going hand in hand with the previous tip, biophilic designs is by far the number one trend in the last couple of years that commercial real estate property holders are leaning towards.
Whether it be rooftop gardens, relaxation areas surrounding a fireplace, along with indirect inclusion of nature in the workplace (like stone art and aquariums), the results it brings out on employees are quite undeniable.
Common elements that are usually considered when going for a biophilic design include natural lighting, air and ventilation, water bodies, plants and vegetation, animals (feeder roofs to attract birds, aquariums, creating a pet-inclusive environment), natural landscapes, and the incorporation of fire compliances, to name a few.
Hot Desking
With the rise in popularity of coworking spaces, the concept of hot-desking has slowly stepped into other types of workplaces as well.
If you’re unaware of this popular concept, hot desking can be defined as an office-organization system that allows multiple workers to use a single station at different parts of the day, usually on a “shift” basis. The desk will contain everything the employees need, from simple plug point to other desk essentials and begin working.
This will considerably reduce the real estate space that you require to manage the same levels of the workforce – by as much as 30-40% according to studies.
This will particularly come in handy if you’re either looking to scale up your workforce, but don’t desire to spend too much on real estate, or if you’re looking at some of the “High Value” Real Estate spots, where every square inch is extremely, extremely valuable.
Colour Psychology
As extensive research and multiple studies have concurred, human beings tend to react differently to the different colours that they are surrounded with. Depending on the culture that you decide to implement for your workforce, choosing the appropriate colour scheme will act as a natural catalyst to this process.
For instance, according to multiple studies, Red is often associated with productivity, while Blue is associated with creativity. Yellow, amber and orange aids in communication and decision making, while green creates an environment of peace and calm.
Depending on what matters most for your business, and what you feel would be best to stimulate your employees, an appropriate colour scheme should be chosen. Remember, never underestimate the importance of colour psychology.
Glass Partitions
One thing we’ve noticed is the increasing popularity of glass partitions in workspaces. Not only do they look categorically stunning, but they also come with other benefits including high customizability and the increased number of opportunities to play around with lighting and colours to name a few.
The one very popular aspect of glass partitions that really captures the attention of the modern workforce has to be the increased perception of openness and transparency that glass partitions bring while allowing individual employees to maintain their privacy.
End Note
If your workplace still consists only of endless rows of cabins and cubicles (the bullpen, as many like to call it), your office space desperately needs an upgrade.
Employees absolutely do not want to feel like they’re stuck like rats in a maze, which, unfortunately, is the commonly associated feeling with the workspaces of the past.
The transition to a more colourful, vibrant, nature-filled workplace is extremely crucial to improving not only your bottom line but your employees’ creativity, productivity and overall happiness.
