20 years ago, office design trends were all focused on cubicle layouts.
The idea being that they encouraged more focused work by eliminating distractions. However, in the last few years, ideas about the ideal office space have started to change as the traditional 9 to 5 day is becoming less popular.
New research suggests that everybody works efficiently in different ways and enforcing strict working hours in a non-flexible office environment isn’t the way to get the best out of your employees.
Instead, it’s better to allow people to choose their own hours so they can work when they’re most efficient.
Modern office spaces are designed with this flexibility in mind and they’re increasingly including relaxation areas and open plan offices with multi-purpose work stations.
If your company is still operating out of an old style cubicle based office then you’re behind the times and you need to seriously think about modernising.
These are some of the more basic changes you can make to bring your office into the 21st century.
Key Fobs For Doors
It’s vital that you’ve got some kind of locking mechanism on the office doors to protect yourself from theft but you can also use it as an opportunity to keep tabs on your employees.
Getting a key fob system instead of a simple code lock means that you can keep a record of who is coming in and out of the building and at what time. That makes it easier for you to track whether employees are late or not.
If you’ve got a lot of salespeople that are in and out of the office all of the time, it’s useful to see just how much time they’re spending at the office to help you improve their efficiency.
These nfc products don’t just come in the form of a standard key fob either. The contactless chips can be put into all sorts of different products like wearable bracelets.
Standing Desks
People are often against the idea of standing desks until they start using them. While people think that it will be tiring to stand all day, the opposite is actually true.
Sitting down all day affects energy levels and makes employees less efficient. If you install standing desks it will improve your employee’s overall health as well as making them more efficient.
Open Floor Plans
Communication is key to the successful running of a business but the old style office with lots of walls and divisions is counterproductive to that.
Having an open plan office without any of those walls and separate offices breaks down barriers between members of staff and encourages cross departmental collaborations.
It’s been proven to encourage group problem solving and improve efficiency around the office in general. It also creates a sense of community and collective effort as all staff members are together in one office.
Business owners are sometimes put off the modern office design because they think it’s counterproductive but that isn’t the case at all. If you’ve been resisting the changes in the ideal office space, it’s time to modernise things.
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