Perhaps you are setting up a new business. Maybe a small start-up or a huge business, either way- you need an office to run your business. Or maybe you already have a business and it’s thriving and opening new opportunities and possibilities for you and you need a bigger office. Or maybe you just need to redecorate your old office. Whichever is the case for you, you should carefully consider it because it’s a matter of big investment and a long term one as well. It’s not like you get to decorate your office every other week. So, you need to carefully lay out the plan and consider a number of factors while setting up an office.
9 to 5 is quite a bit of time. That’s another way of saying that the employees will spend a significant portion of their day at the office so it should be set up in a way that doesn’t encumber them. Long hours can tell upon the productivity of even the most motivated worker, and believe it or not, office decoration does play an important part in it. So, what should you consider before setting up an office? Here are ten factors that you should keep in the back of your mind-
- Workstations: The most important part of any office is obviously the workstation. The employees will spend most of their time at the workstation, therefore it should be built with their need in mind. This is where you need to consider what type of workstation you want. Of course, you could go with the old desk-chair workstation setup but that’s old school and not to mention- messy. A cubicle is the modern workstation that seems a better fit. And we have a decent collection of it here, Not only will it separate individual workstation; it will also allow for customisation- which is important to boost employee morale.
- Ergonomic Chairs: Every time we discuss interior decoration, ergonomics comes up. It’s most important in office decoration. If you need to spend 7 or 8 hours in your seat, it’s probably a good idea to ensure that your seat is comfortable and suitable for you. While a normal chair will indeed serve your purpose, an ergonomic chair will increase productivity and reduce fatigue. So, ensure that there are ergonomic chairs to go with the workstations.
- Open Space: When you are setting up the cubicles, make sure that they are not all set up against the wall and in a congested way. The objective is to set them up with plenty of space around them so that one can easily move around them. Don’t set up too many cubicles in a small space. It will affect the whole environment as well as a large number of employees- and we don’t want that.
- Coffee Space: It does not matter what type of business you are running or how busy it is, setting up a coffee corner is never a bad idea. It doesn’t have to be a full-sized dining; it can be a comparatively small kitchen but you should consider setting up a coffee corner. Not only this provides a much-needed relaxing space, it also helps to organise the food and the snacks. And trust me, cleaning up one coffee corner is much easier than cleaning up every single desk of food crumbs.
- Meeting Space: Have you ever tried to conduct a team meeting at the cubicles? It becomes a disaster, exhausting and very confusing. Those are the outcomes that you never want from a meeting. Which is why, it’s necessary to have a meeting space. Sure, it sounds fancy for the start-ups but a meeting space at the office is an absolute necessity. Always have your meeting space separated from the workspace. It would be ideal to have a conference table (Check out these from our collection) but you can explore different and creative ways that we shall discuss in upcoming blogs.
- Storage Space: Certainly, we don’t need to spell out the importance of storage spaces for your office. But a gentle reminder never hurt anybody. Each cubicle should be equipped with mobile drawers to provide storage space for the individual workers. But there should be office almirahs available as well.
- Lighting: We can’t stress enough on the importance of lighting in decoration. Whether you are decorating your home or office, lighting is very crucial and should be considered from the very beginning. While it would be ideal to have some natural light in your office, we understand that it can be difficult to get natural light in your cubicles. Which is why you should consider bright ambient lights. Or for an alternative approach, explore task lighting with softer ambient lights.
- Paintings and Posters: Large paintings are eye-catching and can be an excellent addition to the very entrance of your office; at the reception desk. They will complement the wall and stand out, make a strong first impression. As for workstations, you can hang up motivational posters and soothing paintings around the room for an inspiring environment. Group photos of team members are also a great addition.
- Boards: Never look over the importance of a board at your office. A notice board is important for reasons that does not need to be pointed out here. But we also encourage the use of white boards. They will make the meetings much easier. One can draw up rough plans for upcoming projects and they are very helpful in team briefings.
- Newspaper Stand: A newspaper is the mirror of the world and every office needs to have at least one copy of a daily newspaper. Even better if you afford more copies of different languages. Of course, there are also magazines. Whatever business you are concerned with, there’s probably some kind of magazine that deal with the issues of your world. It’s a good idea to stay up to date and keep copies of these. They can be a source of knowledge for the employees as well as a good distraction for the guests while they wait at the reception. Either way, a newspaper/magazine stand is productive and a clever way to keep the copies organised.
There so many different ways to decorate your office but the basic and necessary thoughts are common everywhere. And they are common everywhere because they have a productive effect. Consider that before you draw up your office layout. Once you are done with the planning, come explore what we have to offer from our collection here at HATIL.
