What makes a good workspace

If you have employees coming and going, colored bins or files can act as signals as well as storage. Consider how different colors facilitate different kinds of work , and color your spaces according to what needs to happen inside them. Blues and greens improve focus and reduce fatigue, reds inspire passion and energy, and yellows promote optimism, development, creativity, and innovation. Design for good airflow in the first place, and check your ventilation systems regularly to make sure healthy air is reaching all corners of your office.

Hide the wires, hide the cords. An untidy space can clutter the mind because distraction attacks all of the senses. Clear surfaces also leave space open for spontaneous collaboration. Invest in desks and tables that are designed to internalize the wires. Keep your space visually spare by providing plenty of storage and offering technology options that promote a paperless environment. The demand for more flexible work environments means one-to-one desk assignments may not serve your company anymore.

If you think your resources are going to waste, the Internet of Things can help. Sensors for just about anything will talk to apps on your devices and help you operate more efficiently. Based on recent psychology and neuroscience findings, here are some simple and effective steps you can take once to improve your productivity for years:.

The simple act of making your own decisions about how to organize your workspace has an empowering effect and has been linked with improved productivity. Craig Knight, Director of the Identity Realization workplace consultancy, showed this in a study with Alex Haslam involving 47 office workers in London. Those workers given the opportunity to arrange a small office with as many or few plants and pictures as they wanted were up to 32 percent more productive than others not given this control.

They also identified more with their employer, a sign of increased commitment to the team effort and increased efficiency. If you are an office manager this suggests you should give your staff as much input into the design of their office and immediate workspace as possible. Many companies even give their employees a small amount of money to furnish their space.

Even the simple use of a pin-board to post your own pictures and messages could help you feel that the space is yours with consequent benefits for your work. If you have the luxury of designing your own workspace, consider choosing a layout and furniture that is curved and rounded rather than sharp and straight-edged.

In a study , hundreds of undergrads looked at computer-generated pictures of room interiors and rated those filled with curvilinear rounded , as opposed to rectilinear, furniture as more pleasing and inviting. Another study out this year found that people rated curvy, rounded environments as more beautiful than straight-edged rectilinear environments and that the rounded spaces triggered more activity in brain regions associated with reward and aesthetic appreciation.

This contrast between straight edges and curves also extends to the way we arrange our furniture. Apparently, King Arthur was on to something: sitting in circles provokes a collective mindset , whereas sitting in straight lines triggers feelings of individuality — something worth thinking about at your next meeting if you want to encourage team cohesion. Choosing the right color and lighting scheme for your office is one of the simplest ways your environment can enhance your performance.

For instance, exposure to both blue and green has been shown to enhance performance on tasks that require generating new ideas. However, the color red has been linked with superior performance on tasks involving attention to detail.

Another study out this year showed that a dimmer environment fostered superior creativity in terms of idea generation, probably because it encourages a feeling of freedom. On the other hand, brighter light levels were more conducive to analytical and evaluative thinking. Not as easy to modify, but ceiling height has also been shown to have psychological effects. A study found that a higher ceiling was associated with feelings of freedom, together with a more abstract and relational thinking style that helped participants see the commonalities between objects and concepts.

If you only do one thing to optimize your workspace, invest in a green plant or two. Research has repeatedly shown that the presence of office plants has a range of benefits including helping workers recover from demanding activities and lowering stress levels. Another feature of an optimized office is a window with a view, preferably of a natural landscape.

This is because a glance at the hills or a lake recharges your mind. A visit here will revitalize your mind and compensate for your lack of a view. A place where careers blossom and the bottom line thrives. So what are the essential values and behaviors that every organization must follow to thrive in the future? What can an organization do to ensure that a workspace is a place where employees want to be and not have to be?

Focus on creating a workspace that goes way beyond choosing nice decor or comfy chairs. The success of any great workspace arguably hinges on great leaders. We collate all that information and work it into the next building.

Companies that work out of a Workspace centre thrive as part of a broader business community, but also need the freedom to put their own stamp on their work area. This helps companies instil their own values, while still being part of a bigger collective. Environments have to be designed which enable staff to see that the company means what it says.

Angus says, " Our view is that each customer should be able to have their own branding, that is something that is very important to them. We don't want to overwhelm the building where everyone looks at it and says, "It's a Workspace building.

It is up to individual customers how they fit out their office space. One customer nailed wooden boards to the wall to use as a mood board, while others have beanbag corners to work from their laptops. The basic design of a building is about more than just installing the essentials though; it can have a knock-on effect on workers' productivity and even influence our wellbeing.

Rob says, " There is an inextricable link between work space design, culture, productivity, and health and wellbeing. The London Healthy Workplace Charter, backed by the Mayor, gives employers steps to make their workplaces healthier and happier, which includes the workplace environment. Factors like natural lighting, and private and open spaces that encourage people to talk to one another can significantly impact wellbeing - for example, offices in The Frames are fitted with adjustable glazed windows.

If you walk down the corridors, you will see lots of glazing so that people can look in and see what's going on in those units.