Top 5 design trends to boost productivity
Finding ways to boost productivity isn’t always easy. Teams often find themselves looking at employee initiatives or incentivising performance. However, sometimes, it’s as simple as designing the working environment appropriately.
Take a look at the top 5 trends for boosting productivity in the workplace, all of which you’ll find included in our flexible workspace when Urban HQ opens its doors later this year.
- Bring the outside in:
Placing plants within an office space and ensuring that there is ample natural light entering the building creates a connection to the natural environment, ultimately leading to happier and healthier employees that are more productive.
A number of studies have indicated that indoor plants can reduce stress levels in work environments. Providing plants for the office also offers a visually enhanced perception of your space.
People with direct exposure to daylight have been proven to sleep 46 minutes longer on average than those without daily exposure to sunlight. This results in employees starting their workday more rested and less stressed.
Numerous studies have also shown that Illuminated spaces with natural elements improve creativity and boost morale, as well as reducing eyestrain and headaches.
- Create some getaway space
If employees are under excessive pressure or stress, they can begin to feel unproductive and trapped at their desk.
Creating a dedicated relaxation area within your workplace means that staff members can break out, take themselves away from their routines, clear their minds and give themselves a space to breathe and rejuvenate, thus reducing their stress levels and resulting in much higher productivity.
- Add some colour
Many workspaces use the same palette of neutral, bland tones which can create a sterile feeling environment, lowering mood and sapping creativity. However, introducing brighter colours can positively contribute to happiness, productivity and even physical health in a workplace.
Blue is recommended as it has been proven to have a positive impact on productivity and is frequently used in open plan workspaces, yellow can inspire creativity and is best suited to areas designed for collaboration, whilst green can have a calming impact and can reduce fatigue due to being less harsh on the eyes.
- Make room for open plan spaces
Although quiet relaxation spaces are important, especially for confidentiality purposes, open plan spaces can actually provide a significant productivity boost.
If individuals encounter a problem, an open plan working environment enables colleagues to simply turn to eachother without having to schedule a meeting, meaning the issue is resolved more quickly.
Open plan offices are also more sociable than their alternatives. These types of offices improve the happiness of employees as they feel more relaxed and can also help people integrate better into teams.
Collaboration comes more naturally in a workplace where there are no barriers, therefore, when teams are working together, it is much more beneficial to have everyone in the same room to get things done as productively as possible.
- Install modern IT infrastructure
Employees may feel exasperated and unmotivated if forced to rely on outdated IT infrastructure that does not meet their business needs.
Ensuring access to high-speed WiFi can make it easier for workers to complete a higher number of tasks within a shorter period of time, resulting in increased productivity levels overall.
Design-led, flexible workspace could be the solution to all your productivity problems. Contact Urban HQ today to book a tour of our productivity-enhancing show suite: space@urban-hq.co.uk