Space to Relax at Work is the Key to Increased Productivity for 1 in 5 Office Workers

13.5% of people surveyed said that less clutter, such as excessive wires and papers around the office, would improve their productivity. Interestingly, one survey showed that the number one turn off for potential clients or prospective employees entering a company’s workspace was clutter, so it’s not just current employees that are affected by a messy office. If you opt for a more open plan office design, with dedicated areas for relaxing and collaborative working, then dealing with excessive wires and mess is something that needs to be considered. Cultivating a wire-free workplace driven by flexible-technology might seem daunting but from a financial point of view, the benefits could be huge. As well as increasing productivity, ridding your office of wires means a reduction in individually wired work stations, which can decrease power and cooling costs and provide a healthy return on investment.

Perfect the basics

Getting the basics right goes beyond technology; it also incorporates amenities that are used every day by staff, but which many people might not give much thought to how they impact on productivity. 8.7% of people surveyed said that better amenities such as toilets, showers and kitchen facilities would improve their productivity at work. This might seem like a small issue when compared to installing cutting-edge technology and introducing agile working but in our experience, getting these basics right can make a huge difference. When we were asked to re-design the offices of the UK’s biggest outdoor store, Go Outdoors, one of the company’s key issues was unsatisfactory amenities. Impractical showers, worn-out WCs and a dull canteen were all having an impact on employee satisfaction and therefore productivity. Updating these and bringing them in line with the company’s brand might seem like a simple thing to do but it had a huge impact how valued Go Outdoors’ staff felt.

An added extra

Games rooms are a relatively new addition to workplace design but they shouldn’t be seen as a gimmick. As this article in Entrepreneur states: “Instead of encouraging people to work through the weekend, perhaps we could have a happier, more productive workforce by encouraging them to have fun in the office during the week. The result might well be a happier, more productive workforce — and business growth.” Games rooms can offer a retreat for employees to relax and unwind in, as well as collaborating on ideas over a game of pool or ping-pong. Not all age groups see the benefits of such a space though, just 5.4% of participants in the 55-64 age group thought that introducing a games room to the office would improve productivity. This is in stark contrast to people in the 25-34 age group, where around three times as many people thought including a games room at work would have a positive impact on productivity. Other age groups appreciate the benefits of a games room are 35-44 year olds as 13% believe that having a games room at work would improve productivity and 14% of 18-24 year olds agreed. Only 5.4% of 55-64 year olds surveyed thought a games room would increase their productivity in the office: