Four Ways Your Office Can Inspire Creativity
A company’s office is its center of operations. It is the lifeblood of the organization. It can be a reason employees perform well at their jobs and are inspired to find creative ideas and solutions to problems. However, if not designed correctly, an office may be stifling employee creativity.
Some principles of creative workplace design are common sense but are worth repeating while others are more nuanced and therefore easily missed. When considering designing a new workplace or remodeling an old one, keep the following four areas in mind.
Diverse Spaces
Collaboration is critical to modern companies seeking to advance and grow. Providing employees with a variety of spaces that make collaboration easy and fun can increase overall employee engagement. Great office design incorporates ample power outlets and a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the space. Having diverse spaces and allowing employees to choose work environments based on their needs will increase workplace creativity.
Solitary Spaces
While collaboration is important, sometimes work needs to be pounded out alone. A significant amount of an employee’s time is spent doing solo work activities. When employees can’t concentrate to accomplish these tasks, productivity and creativity suffers. While individual offices may be out of range, allocated specific areas of the office as quiet zones can boost employee satisfaction and productivity. If quiet isn’t an option, providing noise-canceling headphones may be an acceptable alternative.
Company branding
An impersonal office space does nothing to inspire employees. Designing an office that has subtle reminders of the company’s brand, mission, and vision can remind employees of the company’s purpose. Wall decor, furniture, and color scheme are all great ways to reinforce company values in design. Workplace creativity is boosted by employees who feel connected to their company’s mission and vision. These employees are more likely to feel engaged, produce creative ideas, and yield more quality work.
Lack of Choices
Every employee has different needs and prefers different functionality in order to achieve their best work. Offices that can give employees freedom of choice to perform required tasks have more engaged employees as a result. Adding the option of working from home can also play an important role in employee satisfaction.
These four areas of focus can help create a better office design that results in more engaged, productive, and creative employees. Having a well-designed workplace can help your organization compete in business and drive innovation. If workplace design isn’t part of your current strategy, it should be.
