The fact is that most adults spend most of their lives working. When you consider that, it becomes obvious why companies that care about their employees decide to retrofit their office space every once in a while.
A well-executed contemporary office retrofit most commonly focuses on three major objectives and those include sustainability, ergonomics and the overall well-being. What this means is that if you’re considering subtly modernizing your office space to boost productivity, you should focus your efforts on both the needs of your business, as well as the needs of your employees. Therefore, you will have to pay special attention to all of these steps until you reach the most favorable solution.
EMBRACE SUSTAINABILITY
Virtually any business can hugely benefit from embracing sustainability in our office, so it only makes sense that you should look into different ways you can make yours more earth-friendly. Here, you should focus on both reducing the energy costs of your office space and increasing its energy efficiency levels. This can be achieved by implementing numerous solutions, such as computer-controlled lighting and maintenance, and carefully positioned HVAC systems.
LOWER THE OVERHEAD
Furthermore, consider how you can lower your company’s electricity usage. Natural ventilation, plenty of natural light and solar energy can contribute a lot to your office’s sustainability. This way not only will your office space be more eco-conscious, but your overhead costs will be significantly lowered as well. If, however, it is not possible to add more windows to your office building or there really is no way you can use natural sunlight to keep your offices bright, consider illuminating the space with eco-friendly, energy-efficient LED light bulbs. Not only do these waste significantly less energy but they are also excellent at mimicking the natural light.
FULLY IMPLEMENT ERGONOMICS
As an innovative bachelor’s degree in interior design is teaching us, the main purpose of design is to improve the material side of life, and fully implementing ergonomic principles is just that. The term ergonomics in the context of a working space denotes so much more than simply comfortable furniture. It actually means focusing on creating a comfortable work environment in every sense of the word. Your new office interior should be able to accommodate your employee’s capabilities and limitations and provide them with a comfortable environment that will discourage fatigue and discomfort. In terms of the office furniture, you should focus on desks and chairs that are able to support your workers and the weight of their arms, lifting the strain from the neck and shoulder area.
CATER TO EACH INDIVIDUAL
Additionally, it would be best to go with desks and chairs that can be adjusted height-wise since not all of your workers are equally tall. Furthermore, make sure that computer screens are placed so that they encourage a healthy head position, i.e. the top of the computer screen should never be above the eye-level of the particular worker that’s using it. Finally, the monitor should be placed at least an arm’s length away from the worker, and the keyboard and mouse should also be easily reachable, to prevent unnecessary strain.
THINK ABOUT THE OVERALL WELL-BEING
When retrofitting an office space, you should observe and treat it like a unified whole. What this means is that every new addition to the office has to be in perfect harmony with the space, as well as the people working there. Therefore, make sure that the offices your employees are working in are completely safe and pleasant to spend time in. When choosing wall paint, make sure you go with zero-VOC and lead-free paints to ensure that your workers are spending time in a safe and toxin-free environment.
MAKE THE SPACE MORE WELCOMING
If you want to make your office space truly welcoming, you should start by allowing your employees to personalize their working stations. This way they, themselves, will be allowed to create their own microsystem where they will feel content which will, in turn, boost their motivation and productivity. Also, make sure you add plenty of greenery to your new offices. Office plants are known to have a calming effect on employees and are excellent natural air purifiers.
When conducting an office retrofit, you should be considering so much more factors than simply the color of the walls and the furniture and layout you want to implement. You have to understand that your employees and their comfort should always be your first priority and that the décor and style should only encourage it further, not hinder it.
Article written by interior design aficionado Lillian Connors