At SpeedPro East Bay we love creating Office Design and Office Interiors. From reception areas to employee workstations to break/lunch rooms, we’re here to help you engage with employees.
The American Society of Interior Designers’ research found that those who like their office environment are 31% more likely to be satisfied with their job. A carefully considered workspace design leads to a less stressful and more productive office.
From an article written by our founder Edward Owens for Authority Magazine, here are five things you should do to design office spaces that people love to work in.
1 . Interaction.
Give employees a space to get away from work for a while. We’ve done game walls, coloring walls, and recognition walls, where folks can leave each other notes throughout the day, week, month, etc. to interact with their environment and fellow employees.
2 . Nature and Art.
Big natural scenes on walls allow employees to drift off a little bit, ocean scenes, forests, landscapes, cityscapes, artworks, etc. Allow people to take a mental break while they are sitting at their desks.
3 . Company Values.
It may be cheesy, but adding visible mission statements, vision statements, and core values reminds employees why they’re doing what they’re doing. Photos and statements from company clients highlighting why they work with the company and how the company improves their lives and business are a great morale boost. Designs showing what the company does, what it produces, and how it helps people with its products can also give employees a sense of accomplishment. Timelines show where they’ve come from, where they’re at now, and where they’re going.
4 . Function.
We’ve done floor-to-ceiling whiteboard walls and we’ve seen photos of them completely covered with ideas, arrows, flow charts, computer codes, etc., starting on one wall and moving around the corner to the next wall, eventually covering all four walls in a space. Multiple people working on ideas together on a big surface is energizing.
Reception areas are good for company branding like Raised Lettering and Logos. Let people know where they are as they walk in the front door.
Sometimes offices with lots of windows need help with a little privacy. We are here for that as well, and we can brand that privacy, and provide textures and patterns to break it up a little.
5. Fun.
Business should be serious, but people should have fun. The San Francisco Bay Area is notorious for big high-tech companies offering employees unlimited beer, cereal, and napping spaces at work. Mid-sized and small businesses have to compete with that for employees. Offering a fun place to work, where employees enjoy the space, create a culture, and work (and play) with each other, in an environment less serious, is a way to compete.
