That's what Facilities Managers and Office Managers around the world are asking themselves about the office spaces they're responsible for organising. How can they set up a space that's not just a place to shelter all employees, but one that's a strategic tool for productivity, collaboration, and growth?
What makes an office environment great is different for every company. A lot of it has to do with a company's culture and how employees there like to work. And the right office environment can set employees up with the right situation, tools and motivation to grow and develop.
Want to get inspired by examples of what your workplace could look like? Check out some highlights below:
Hot Desking
Thanks to wireless internet, laptops, and tablets, employees are finding they don't necessarily need to be chained to a single desk. Instead, they can move around their space more, technology in tow. And some companies have taken this to the next level by eliminating personal desks and opting for a configuration called "hot desking."
Hot desking simply means no one in the office has an assigned desk or seating area. Instead, when you come in to work in the morning, you can sit anywhere you please -- from open tables or desks set up with cables and monitors, to more public spaces like couches and chairs. For this to work, a company should take special care to create spaces in the office that can easily be reconfigured for different tasks and evolving teams.
Music Rooms
To give employees a place to blow off steam at work, why not add a music room to the mix? For the musically inclined, going into the company music room to playing music alone or with coworkers is one way to do it. (And for the non-musically inclined, let's hope that music room is super soundproofed.)
At LinkedIn's headquarters in Mountain View, California, employees can jam out in a music room that's stocked with high-end music equipment like drums, guitars, keyboards, AV equipment, microphone stands, and even stage lighting. Check out the garage doors on the left in the picture below: When the weather's nice, they can open those doors and play an open-air show. I hope Park can have one of these... Dont think our neighbours would be best pleased though...
Taking Pets to work
Whether or not allowing pets in the office boosts or hinders productivity is an often-debated topic. But there are a lot of companies out there that do allow folks to bring their pets to work, and they have a lot of good things to say about it -- it improves work-life balance, serves as a social catalyst, and helps people de-stress.
For example, letting people bring their pet to work means those people don't have to worry about leaving their pet to sit at home all day or paying a dogwalker. It also eliminates the worry of rushing home at the end of the day to feed or let a pet out -- so they can focus more on work and getting stuff done later than usual if they need to.
Plants and Greenery
It isn't too hard to believe that spending time around nature and sunlight and fragrant greenery is good for the soul. But now, there's scientific research to back that claim.
Researchers have found that adding plants and greenery in an office can help increase employee productivity by 15%. A green office communicates to employees that their employer cares about them and their welfare, said Psychology Professor Alex Haslam, who co-authored the study. "Office landscaping helps the workplace become a more enjoyable, comfortable and profitable place to be. Some companies have even started investing in installing plants and greenery around the office help make their employees happier and healthier (and boosting productivity at the same time).
For example, Google's office in Tel Aviv, Israel has an indoor orange grove that turns an otherwise normal, collaborative space into a relaxing area that makes you feel like you're sitting outside on a park bench.
We are interested to hear about your office set ups... Any inspiring or innovative ideas that you have going on in your work place?...