4 Office Construction Design Tips That Maximize Productivity

Office Construction

Quality office construction should take designs that maximize productivity in mind.

In the past few years, most office design discussion has centered around open-concept offices. They were intended to increase employee cooperation and improve innovation. And for the most part, they do, but when an employee’s job requires thought and concentration, open offices may actually make it harder to get work done. The open layout could lead to lots of distraction. Some business owners may perceive this as a decrease in productivity. So if you’re looking for ways to increase the productivity of employees in your office, what design trends should you look to? Here are four construction design tips to consider for your office.

Allow For Movement

Productivity is not going to be increased by chaining employees to their desks. In fact, study after study shows that movement refreshes and reenergizes people, and improves employees’ productivity. Here are a couple of suggestions for design for movement in your construction plan. The first is to position bathrooms outside of the main office or cubical area. You don’t want them to be too far away, but you do want them to provide a short walk. Another way to design for movement is to include long hallways where people can stretch their legs. Finally, if a possibility, consider including outdoor areas that encourage movement and have enough space for people to move around comfortably.

Let In The Light

Many studies have shown that natural light improves happiness, satisfaction, and productivity. Fluorescent lighting, on the other hand, causes fatigue, headaches, and eye strain and can decrease productivity. If your space doesn’t have adequate windows, consider adding more windows or adding skylights. 

Limit The Noise

Look for ways to decrease the noise in the space, and you could increase productivity considerably. Research has shown that background noise distractions decrease productivity by as much as 66%. Private offices or enclosed cubicles are one way to do this, but you may not have the space or the budget for it. Instead, you could consider using noise-dampening materials and white noise machines to limit the spread of the sounds. 

Improve Amenities

A large part of employee productivity is employee satisfaction and providing amenities is a good way to improve satisfaction. They don’t have to be super advanced or complicated amenities. Think about (and ask your employees) what services they would actually use. Maybe their productivity would be better if you had onsite childcare so they didn’t have to leave early to pick up their kids before the daycare closing time. Or maybe they’d like healthy vending machine options.

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