A high office morale is one of the most important attributes that all companies and managers strive to achieve. There are some benefit perks that a company can give to keep good employees happy such as paid-time off, health benefits, and retirement benefits.

But what can employers do to make a welcoming work space that can influence workers to stay longer and work harder? An obvious first step is using a service like Alta Foodcraft to provide coffee and snacks to keep them energized and nourished to stay focused.

Office Morale and Decor

A less obvious and more surprising morale booster is providing an aesthetically modern and pleasing office. The office is not just a place to create a good impression for visitors and clients. Office design can significantly affect morale and productivity.

Everyone prefers to do their work in a pleasant area that they would be proud to boast about to their friends and family, but if an office is set up in a way that can become distracting or awkward, performance will suffer. All companies are different and experimentation may be necessary to find the right office design that best suits their work flow.

The “Do’s” of Office Design

Customization According to Specific Departments

One of the most crucial concepts offices fail to address is considering each unique departments and members needs. Separating these different skill sets job duties can help increase productivity and office morale.

For example, people working with sensitive financial documents need a closed office, engineers need an isolated but open space to keep up the constant collaboration without distracting other departments, and creatives like marketing and graphic design overwhelmingly prefer privacy and complete quiet.

Use of Glass

Natural light; yes, that means sunlight, is an extremely important factor for office design. Compare this to the Summer and Winter seasons. In general, most people are happier in a space with a plethora of light versus a depressing dim-lit area.

By the use the of glass, employers can effectively provide an office area that appears more uncluttered and can provide a metaphorically clear space for free thinking. Light helps with happiness, energy, and morale.

Interactive Walls

Make every wall, every window, and every desk able to be written on. In a meeting and need to build on an idea? There’s wall wall or table directly in front of them to draw it out.

With this strategy, every employee is less than arms length away to jot down some notes or write out their thoughts. Ideas can become contagious—walking around the office inspires employees from seeing and absorbing all the ideas that are constantly being exposed to them.

In a subconscious manner, we can make connections in ways not normally created if only limited to a pen and paper.

Creative Work Spaces With Function

This may seem obvious, but can be easily overlooked. Letting your employees loose with desk decoration and gadgets can help foster productivity. You wouldn’t withhold smart phones from a sales team or a computer from a software engineer.

Allowing workers this same benefit in a more ambiguous sense will allow them to work at their best and maintain high office morale.

The “Don’ts” of Office Design

One Size Fits All

With customization comes growth, but with standardization comes stagnation. Understanding the unique needs of each employee and department is crucial to success. Someone that needs personal space and quiet would lose focus being stuck next to a chatty salesperson that is constantly on the phone with clients.

Shy away from a set office structure and consider shifting and organizing people into their prefered areas if possible.

Closed, Low-Lit Offices

An enclosed area can harbor feelings of being stuck and no employee wants to work in an area where they feel grounded. Staring at a dull beige wall all day would add no benefit to creativity versus a clear glass office that pours in sunlight.

Cheap Office Furniture and Technology

Going the budget route is bound to result in a long-term loss. Without the ability to perform their jobs efficiently with the proper technology, offices will never reach their full potential.

Likewise with poor office furniture, an employee will not feel excited to come to work and these items are bound to break eventually, causing you to purchase on a more frequent basis.