A lot of people think that designing your own office is unnecessary but some think it is possible. However, an office is more than just a desk, a table and your computer if we really want to be efficient, productive and comfortable in our work space. After all, we spend a third or more of our day five times a week in that space. More importantly, during these days where work from home is the most viable option for workers to prevent the spread of disease during the current pandemic.
A design is a plan or a concept specifically customized and thought about in the hopes of constructing an object or place to facilitate a smooth flow of an activity or a process. Usually designing works around to meet and satisfy a certain goal while working with materials on hand and its constraints. Several factors that need to be considered in designing a space are the budget, functionality, accessibility, environment, storage and theme or aesthetics. All of these are important in designing a work space that is conducive to your work process, comfort, ease of movement and the volume of office needs that need to be kept handy.
There are a lot of benefits in creating an optimal office design. One of these is the increase of productivity and work focus. Imagine this, noisy and creaky chairs while work is piling up. An unstable desk that's falling off, while an important report needed to be done on a very expensive computer. Sunlight hitting the screen directly while you are trying to read the schedule for a meeting. Office supplies, contracts, volumes of paperwork, machine cables, food and coffee mugs cluttered everywhere while you are looking for the copies of the reports you have to present to the management. Just thinking and visualizing it could fill anyone with a sense of dread, frustration and anxiety. It could cloud judgements, overwhelm an otherwise productive person and take away the focus needed for the tasks at hand for the day. This is how a good office design is important to boost employee efficiency and productivity in the workplace.
There was also a Global Employee study held by Aon Hewitt in 2016 measuring employee engagement and its link to revenue growth of the company. The study showed that good office design equated to a 5% growth in employee engagement that in turn equated to 3% growth in company revenue. The more the company earns, the more its particular brand, prestige and image that it exudes to its clients, investors and stockholders are imperative to maximizing its potential to doing more business. For home business, it is also important to maintain business credibility and leave a good impression with clients during zoom calls or video based teleconferencing.
But how do we go about it? Where do we really start and what is needed to design an optimal workspace that would facilitate your work and boost your sense of purpose? Firstly, you need to think about the things that you need in your workplace. Do you need more storage space for supplies or documents? Do you have any chronic pain that you may need special furniture for? What kind of work flow or movement do you need in your office? All of these can be decided depending on the size of the space available to work on. If you can remember what has worked with you or any other experience people might have had, that might be helpful to narrowing down your choices and making decisions.
However, you also need to consider your wants and your needs that would fit within the budget you are working on. The key here is to prioritize bare necessities like desks, chairs and storage. Then slowly add up to that. The kinds and colors of paint, carpeting, a little art for completeness and aesthetic would give a dash of your personality here and there. You should also consider how long you intend to keep your office or if you like a change of design every once in a while. This would also help you choose what kind and what brand of products you would purchase if you haven't already.
Lighting is also an important factor to consider while designing your office or home office. This is proven to affect so many aspects in the workplace. From productivity to wakefulness, from focus to mental health and even workplace safety is readily attributed to the kind of lighting the workplace has. The kind of paint you choose or the colors of curtains and fixtures could easily tone down or emphasize lighting.
Lastly, you need a clutter free, clean work space where everything is neatly in their space. The things you own would last longer when it is taken care of and stored properly. Good thing is, FlexiSpot is a one stop shop for durable, quality office space products that is worth every cent of your budget. From ergonomic chairs to height adjustable office desks, they have it all. But my personal favorite are the storage options such as the mobile File Cabinet which is a durable steel cabinet that can accommodate files up to 330 lbs. So it is spacious enough for important documents. It also has two utility drawers and one utility tray and one free stationary tray where you can keep office supplies and other work tools.
Not only that, the Mobile File Cabinet can be moved to another space easily especially when you are cleaning or reorganizing the layout of your work space. It also comes in quirky fun colors if you're going for a brighter aesthetic and safety lock features to lock in valuables if needed.
Not everyone has a need for much storage, but as work goes on documents and office stuff would eventually pile up. In time, a filing cabinet would still be needed and it's good to be prudent in deciding which specific storage cabinet and brands to invest your hard-earned money on. Having a durable and solid place to store your things is one of the best options that you can do in creating an optimal work space. When you go on a work day without having to trip on things or worse, lose important documents because storage was not seen as one of the bare necessities and put on the back burner, then you know you're on the right track.
