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Category: Home Office (page 4 of 5)

Should Workplace Design Reflect Your Branding?

How many workplaces do you know that have interior spaces that reflect their branding?

Depending on how many you will have seen the answer is probably not many. Workplaces that reflect company branding are hard to find in most business sectors unless they appreciate just how important branding is to company culture as well as perceptions from the outside.

If you business is branding then there is a good chance you already appreciate how everything present in a business from its philosophy and culture to its furniture should reflect the brand.

It also shouldn’t be forgotten, that when customers and clients arrive at your workplace, their perception of your business can be greatly influenced by what they are seeing around them for the first time.

As everyone knows first impressions are important. If an office has a nice contemporary design that reflects the branding and colours of the business, then this will make those clients and customers feel more secure about doing business with your company.

For staff too, it’s important for them to buy into company culture and the work environment should encourage this by creating a clear sense of identity. Simply spreading a few brochures on meeting and coffee tables is not enough to make those employees feel part of an organisation that is going places.

How to create a positive workplace

February 10, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

It’s often surprising to see how closely some offices resemble the TV version of the office with positivity at best on a par with the staff of Wernham Hogg. While not all of this is down the design and layout of office space, positive office design can at least go some way towards reducing the negative impact of inconsiderate managers and bosses.

One thing is certain, a negative work environment is not just bad for miserable staff members, it can also spread throughout the organisation leading eventually to apathy, lack of motivation and reduced productivity.

Some simple tweaks to the design and layout can have a surprisingly positive effect on everyone in the organisation if carefully thought out.

The introduction of more attractive office furniture will be welcomed by staff members particularly if desks and chairs are looking like they have seen better days.

Another important part of designing a positive office is to introduce a sense of fun. While work time shouldn’t always be fun time, having a laugh and perhaps a game of pool or table tennis with colleagues can give some release from day-to-day monotony. We all as humans like to be rewarded for our hard work.

Lastly areas should be well lit, and there should be plenty of space to move around in. There is nothing worse than being stuck in an office day after day in a crowded room full of colleagues you may not necessarily get on well with.

5 Modern Office Fads They Thought Would Never Catch On

December 20, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Back in the old days the office was somewhere most people wanted to escape from. Nowadays some employees probably find work more comfortable than home particularly with the proliferation of office entertainment and other fads. Here are some of the biggest fads they thought would never catch on…

Treadmill desks
Apparently if you sit down for the best part of 8 hours a day you are putting yourself at risk of all kinds of illnesses. The solution to this is the treadmill desk. This allows workers to get up and walk while they work so they can be on a physical as well as mental treadmill.

The office slide
Many people laughed when they saw Google’s office slide. They’re not laughing now that other big tech companies have fitted them in their office playgrounds.

Table tennis
Table tennis pool tables and other areas to play games have become common place in trendy offices around the country. What better way to unwind after a hard day staring at the computer screen?

Hot desks
These are temporary desks used by staff who like to do their work on the fly. Dated back to some time in the 1990s you still see them in offices today, although habits are changing due to the increased mobility modern technology provides.

The sleep pod
Apparently we should all be having two naps a day to perform at our optimum level. The solution to this is the office sleep pod. More likely to be found in trendy techie type companies, the pods help keeps everyone fresh so they can continue changing the world.

Why Sound Acoustics Is Vital to Office Design

October 20, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Offices come in all sorts of layouts from sleek open plan, to period offices in city centres.

The challenge in both cases is to find a solution that not only creates a sense of space but also provides privacy and a quiet place to work for those employees who need it. So when designing an office layout, a delicate balancing act needs to be struck to ensure that everyone in the workplace will be happy.

Unlike visual distractions, which can simply be screened off or hidden by a simple re-arrangement of furniture and screens. Unfortunately, good acoustics will require a more complicated solution to reduce noise from phones, chatter and colleagues moving from one place to another.

All of this can become very frustrating for those who require peace and quiet to do their best work, which will in turn hinder productivity.

While the modern trend continues to lean towards the open plan spaces which have been seen as the best way to develop cooperation and creativity since the 1950s.

To improve acoustics in your office requires knowledge of how sound impacts on different surfaces and how it is absorbed by others.

This starts with the introduction of carpets, acoustic panels and acoustic screens which can help reduce noise dramatically. Then create separate spaces for collaborative work so as not to disturb those staff members who prefer to work in quiet isolation from time to time.

Is Your Office Layout Influencing Your Business Culture?

October 10, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

The more you learn about architecture and the buildings we use everyday, the more you understand just how much they can influence us.

Do you ever find yourself sitting in a room at work wondering what might be going on in the office across the corridor or do you feel excluded from management who occupy a corner office hardly anyone ever goes into?

Despite open plan offices and glass partitions now being an established part of business culture, you can still be left feeling an unwanted sense of seclusion and separation.

As a business owner, having your office laid out in this traditional manner is more likely to put people off coming to work for your organisation.

The days when people coveted the big office in the corner are now numbered as collaboration is understood to be the key to effective working.

If everyone in your office is crammed into small rooms, then it can be little wonder that conflict between staff members can begin to develop and instead of working as a team, the organisation becomes fragmented.

This can all be changed by a re-imagining of your office layout to encourage rather than discourage collaboration and a more harmonious working environment.

Is Working From Home Losing Its Appeal Compared To The Office

September 25, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Working from home has become boring and more stressful than working from in the office for some lucky employees. So does this mean working from home will no longer be classed as a perk?

According to research the majority of workers now say they work more productively in their offices than anywhere else. This blows away what appears to be the myth that working from home leads to better productivity.

Most bosses will probably agree and will prefer their staff to work from the office rather than home to make sure they remain motivated and free from the distractions of home.

What’s new is that two thirds of workers agree with them according to recent research.

Publicity surrounding the opening of various new state of the art offices seems to point towards offices designed around employees rather than their bosses as firms attempt to create spaces and office culture that encourages people to stay and enjoy themselves in the workplace.

Understanding how employees might become stressed due to a lack of natural light, quiet spaces to unwind and so on appears to be at the centre of new thinking in office design and architecture.

Firms are investing millions in creating the kinds of spaces their employees will feel at home in. The hope is that they will become more productive as a result.

Is This Office In Wales The Trendiest and Happiest In The UK?

September 12, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

The Daily Post recently reported on call answering company, Moneypenny’s, new offices in Wrexham revealing a trendy new multi-million-pound office to rival that of some of the world’s biggest business HQs.

Moneypenny’s aim when designing the new 91,000sq ft building was to create a happy environment for staff. The hope is that the new offices will make going to work a pleasurable for staff in contrast to the majority of offices in the UK.

The office features a treehouse meeting room and even its own village pub, which were all introduced in consultation with staff.

In addition to a pub the offices also feature a sun terrace, a triple height atrium and a restaurant featuring free breakfasts and fruit in true ‘Google office style’. These additions are likely to give staff not only plenty of natural light to enjoy but also keep them healthy and well-fed.

The cost of the new office building came in at £15 million which was according to the company owners the same price they would have paid for a standard brick built office on the same kind of scale.

The challenge for the architects was to design something ground breaking for the same price and it looks like they have achieved it.

Traditional Office Design Turned On its Head

August 21, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Swiss athletics firm, On, has turned traditional office design on its head according to architectural magazine Wallpaper with an office design that makes use of the concept of flow.

While most traditional offices have anything but flow, what On achieved with the help of an industrial design firm was to design an office space that seems to be inspired by the sports products they design and make.

Short distances between departments were scrapped in favour of a single 100 metre strip where staff are lined up at desks, cubicles and meeting spaces. This introduces a constant flow between apartments where the aim was to link everything together seamlessly.

The typical office layout will generally have closed off areas where various departments will be isolated so as to keep particular areas of expertise separate from others. Having a constant flow between spaces means that it is possible to incorporate isolated work stations but also introduce collaborative areas that flow from one end of the office to the other.

Standing meetings can be held at one end while staff can relax and take refreshment at an indoor garden incorporated at the other. Is this a more natural way to organise a natural office environment? Whatever your view it certainly makes you think about how the future of the modern office will develop.

Key Questions To Ask Before Designing A New Office Space

August 11, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

You may be about to embark on planning your new office space. This can be both an exciting and stressful time for staff depending on how they react to change. So it’s important to consider what you do with the space you have carefully.

What’s good about our current office?
Sometimes in the desire to change everything around we overlook what might actually be good about our current office design. Some aspects of the current layout may be there for good reasons so asking this question will help avoid mistakes.

What’s bad about the current office layout?
After a long period of time stuck with the same office design, you naturally start to find things that are bad or annoying about your office. Listing these will help focus in on the changes that will bring immediate benefits.

Does my office need quiet spaces?
Most offices have departments where peace and quiet is a must. Not everyone likes to be disturbed by the constant ringing of telephones and conversations. It is vital to consider sound proofing for areas where people can go to get away from the noise or to take time out to relax.

Have I included plenty of space for collaboration?
There should always be space for staff to collaborate effectively. Not everyone likes to work in isolated small groups closed off from the rest of the office.

Is Office Design and Layout Male Biased?

June 23, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

The writer of an article in the FT this month seems to think so. The article Time to end male bias in office design highlights how male dominated design teams may not consider the needs of women when they plan out office interiors.

The issues raised include temperature setting inside being geared towards males of a particular size and age and even refilling paper trays. The former is the reason why a large number of women will report feeling cold at work.

Women generate 35% less body heat in relative terms than their male counterparts. This means that women require temperatures to be turned up 3 degrees centigrade higher than their male colleagues.

Having a female-friendly work environment may not be top of the agenda for certain business owners however ignoring the little things like heating may lead to disgruntled staff members which could harm performance which is not in the interests of businesses.

Even when it comes to something as simple as filling a paper tray, it seems women are often ignored as to what they can comfortably cop with. Hand grip strength is required to pull trays out of printers and here too men are likely to have the advantage with men consistently outperforming women in this area.

The only hope for women is to be included more in office design teams so that these kinds of problems don’t get overlooked or ignored.