We’ve talked before in articles about the science behind making your Kent or London office design and workspace “people perfect” before. By ‘people perfect’ we mean putting people at the heart of the office design and refurbishment.
There have been numerous studies showing that the office space we work in can affect our productivity, creativity and mood. Given that office space can have a serious affect on psychological health and well-being as well as performance and the fact that we can spend more hours in the day at work than at home it’s worth considering how you can ‘make your workspace a better place for your staff’.
Based on studies, many businesses are beginning to recognise the importance of optimising workspaces by tailoring them to the staff that work in them. This type of people-centric design has proven to be very effective in helping to recruit, and even more importantly, retain staff.
How Does Office Design Affect Staff Recruitment?
For example a survey by Furniture123, which surveyed 1,014 UK workers, revealed that 53% of office workers would refuse a job if they don’t like the office or working environment, 41% of surveyed workers said outdated décor would put them off a job offer and 38% would be put off by a lack of natural light. 32% of respondents said broken or outdated furniture would also influence their decision, with an equal number understandably being put off by a dirty or unhygienic workplace.
Mark Kelly, marketing manager at Furniture123, said: “The data shows that companies need to pay attention to much more than salaries and benefits, when trying to attract top talent. The average UK worker spends 8,060 hours a year at work, so it’s understandable that the environment can be a deal maker or breaker for many. Employers looking to attract the most talented staff in their field should keep this in mind when inviting candidates to interview.
It’s not so easy to change the location of the office, however they can ensure that there are onsite catering facilities and breakout areas for lunch, and even arrange car pools or an employee bus service that connects to local transport links. Also ensuring the space is always kept clean and tidy, furniture is in good condition and the décor feels fresh and modern is a great place to start.”
How Does Office Design Affect Well-being and Productivity?
In a further study (PDF) entitled “The Relative Merits of Lean, Enriched, and Empowered Offices: An Experimental Examination of the Impact of Workspace Management Strategies on Well-Being and Productivity” two experiments were conducted. The first experiment was in an interior office in a psychology department, the second was in a commercial city office. 4 independent conditions were examined by looking at the impact in each office which is either (a) lean (office space which is uncluttered without any personal items and deliberately stark), (b) decorated by the experimenter (with plants and art), (c) self-decorated, or (d) self-decorated and then redecorated by the experimenter.
In this study they looked at the impact of these conditions on well-being and productivity. In both experiments, better outcomes were observed when offices were decorated rather than being stark or ‘lean’. Further improvements in well-being and productivity were observed, up to 32%, when workers were allowed to have an input into how the office was decorated. Furthermore, these improvements were reduced if the input of the workers in making the office ‘their own’ was then changed or removed.
In another report, “The Next 250K” published in September 2017 by Leesman it was found that of the 250,000 employees surveyed in the report only 57% of employees that were surveyed, agree that their workplace enables them to work productively.
The findings of the report show that many employees find that their workplace fails to support them and in fact obstructs them from being productive.
Further to this only 18% of workplaces surveyed after a refurbishment noticed any increase in productivity. In these cases design and refurbishment work was carried out without the collaboration with office staff. End users were not consulted nor did they have an input into how to make the office layout and design better resulting in a less than beneficial result of a refurbishment program.
People-Centric Office Design
Clearly when it comes to Kent and London office design and refurbishment it’s important to get staff input. In offices across Kent and London office design must involve the people who will be using the office space. Employees need to be given a say in how and where they work day to day, but also how this space should look.
Effective Kent and London office design should take into account staff opinions on how their office layout affects their productivity and how, when it comes to making changes to the office layout and design, a refurbishment could improve how they work. Employees who are part of the refurbishment process are more likely to feel invested and connected to their workplace.
It’s no longer just about making sure things are ticking along, it’s about looking at whether an office space is working for your business and staff to its fullest potential and looking at, in collaboration with staff, how it could be improved to make it better.
As work evolves, and we move forward, so too should our work environments. It’s vital that to when making improvements, that they are made, not just for improvement sake but to improve staff health and well-being, productivity and creativity. To do that and to ensure that a refurbishment is successful companies need to involve their staff in the refurbishment process.
How Can JBH Refurbishments Help?
JBH Refurbishments have 25+ years of experience in Kent and London office design and office refurbishment.
From employing computer aided design (CAD) to show you exactly how your workplace will look once the refurbishment is complete through to design and layout ideas to materials and work ethic JBH Refurbishments offer the full refurbishment package. To have a discussion on how we can help your Kent or London business please contact us on 0333 207 0339 or via our contact form.
