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Why natural light should be a key office design consideration

Design your workplace for happy, healthy and productive employees by simply maximising natural light in your office.

Forget office slides, treadmills and artificial grass, the one simple thing your employees can’t do without at work is natural light.

Natural light and employee health and wellbeing

Natural light is important for our health and wellbeing. When deprived of it for long periods, many people will suffer from disrupted sleep, low moods and fatigue.

Getting enough natural light during the day is important for regulating our circadian rhythm, which impacts our sleep patterns. One studyeven found that people exposed to plenty of natural light at work slept on average 46 minutes longer than those who worked in windowless offices.

Natural light helps to improve sleep and lower stress levels to create a rested and happy workforce.

Natural light and productivity

As well as benefiting employees, business owners also reap the rewards of an office flooded with natural light.

A recent studyfound that employees exposed to plenty of natural light at work are up to 20% more productive than those deprived of it, so natural light will benefit your bottom line too.

Office design and natural light

Use these tips to maximise the natural light in your office or speak to an experienced office design company like our team here at Millennium Storage and Interiors.

Arrange furniture with natural light in mind– Take the location of windows into consideration when arranging office furniture. Avoid obstructing windows or putting desks behind furniture, instead, ensure all desks are positioned to receive maximum natural light.

Use glass partitioning – If your office currently uses solid office partitions, consider switching to contemporary glass partitions to allow natural light to flow freely through the space.

Window size– If your windows are very small or old, it is worth considering updating your office windows, the more windows the better.

For help and advice designing your office for more natural light,get in touch with our team of experts here at Millennium Storage and Interiors by giving us a call on 01942 603 344.

Brief Guide To Breakout Furniture

October 9, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Ever heard of breakout furniture? If you haven’t then you’re probably not up to speed with the latest innovations in office furniture.

There’s a buzz word for most things nowadays and that includes a specific type of furniture called breakout furniture. Now before we go into breakout furniture we need to understand what a breakout area is in an office.

The definition is actually as the name suggests, a place to break away from the desk and hold informal meetings or take time out for a break.

So you may actually have a breakout space without even knowing it but for some or even most offices, the breakout space is little more than a battered old sofa someone moved from their house and a cheap coffee table.

Breakout furniture doesn’t have to be this way, however, when there is the opportunity to make these spaces livelier and engaging.

A well thought out breakout space complete with office pods or even booths where people can use their phones can make for a much more happy and relaxed work environment.

If you are planning to fit or plan a new office layout, give us a call today to discuss the options available.

Points To Remember About Introducing Hot Desks

July 5, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Hot desks are part of a new way of working where no one member of staff takes ownership of a desk in the workplace. The hot desk provides a space that anyone employed or associated with a company can use to do their work.

Hot desking isn’t right for every business of course. Many business owners prefer their staff to be at the workplace full time occupying a space they can call their own. For others where being office based isn’t essential, hot desks are ideal and will save the expense of renting large office spaces that are only half full.

The main points to remember when introducing hot desks is to discuss this with employees first to make sure they are on board with the idea.
Some people like to have their own space and some permanence in their work arrangements while other staff who are in and out of the office a lot may not be too concerned.

Once introduced, hot desk areas should be kept clean and tidy and staff should be instructed on keeping hot desks clean and tidy. There should also be a booking system where people know when they can use the hot desk in advance.

Is It Time You Had An Office Refurb?

May 5, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

In business you’re either growing or you’re shrinking so it’s important to always be moving forward and that includes the design of your office.

Taking care of the office, however, often ends up low on the priority list during busy periods or when a lot of effort is being put into growing a business. Yet appearances should never be ignored and your office will provide prospective clients and customers with their first impression of your business when they walk through the door.

If your office is looking a bit tired and dated, then refurbishing your office can freshen things up and inspire confidence. It is often the smaller details that contribute to business growth and a well maintained modern office can create the kind of lasting impression that provides a good return on your investment.

Also with the holidays fast approaching staff are likely to have their minds on their next holiday and if their surroundings are dull and drab this will only hamper productivity. So there you have it. Refurbishing that tired old office might actually pay for itself with all the benefits it provides.

If you would like to find out more about our office refurbishment services, give us a call today.

When To Use Cantilever Racking

January 20, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Cantilever racking is a type of storage system which is used for all sorts of purposes and typically appears in builder’s merchant yards and factories. Like any racking system, cantilever racking is very versatile as well as being strong.

Cantilever racking is at its most useful when used to store longer lengths of materials and items, which typically consist of sheets of wood, steel, tubes, pipes and so on. A cantilever system can also be used to effectively store odd shaped items which might otherwise take up a lot of space in a warehouse or other storage facility.

The typical cantilever systems we see in use today are used to store items that can be up to 10 metres long and up to a 30,000kg in weight. The arms used are usually around 2 ½ metres with adjustment possible depending on the size of materials stored.

The other great thing about using cantilever lever racking is the ability to add to it over time as storage requirements increase. You can simple add to the bays as time goes on to massively increase your storage capacity.

Cantilever racking can be used indoors and outdoors (as long as it is galvanised). Please get in touch if you would like to know about the racking systems we have available.

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 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.

Home Office Tips

June 7, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

According to a recent survey by the Office for National Statistics, 13.7% of the nation’s workforce work from home. That’s nearly 4 million people but how many of those individuals have an office fitted to meet their needs?

Quite often working from home means using one of the main leaving spaces such as the kitchen lounge or even the bedroom. The problem is, this can be quite uncomfortable and distracting if a person is sharing a house with family members.

This is unavoidable if the house is too small to be separated into dedicated work and living spaces, but if there is extra space then this can easily be turned into an office. It will even save money on office rental which can then be ploughed back into business growth.
Solutions include converting old stables into offices, garden rooms if the garden is big enough.

The best home offices make creative use of space which provides a clear separation from home life.  It is much better to have a small space dedicated to work than have your office incorporated into a part of a dining room or kitchen for example.

At least then you will have some kind of separation from home life. Also get yourself a dedicated office line rather than use your main house number. Constant calls from sales people can make life particularly uncomfortable when you may be relaxing after work!