According to a Gallup poll, the average full-time employee in the U.S. works 47 hours per week. Where do employees spend the majority of that time? At their workstations. What’s more, another study showed that the average employee only has 150 square feet of space to call his or her own. With space that cramped – and, let’s be honest, often uninspiring — it’s no wonder employee productivity suffers as a result. But employers take heart! These office workstation layout ideas can help boost employee satisfaction and productivity.
Office Workstation Layout Ideas for Employee Satisfaction & Efficiency
Height-adjustable desks, like Teknion’s desk, seamlessly adjusts between sitting and standing without interrupting workflow. Consider complementing sit-stand desks with adjustable monitor stands or arms and ergonomically-minded chairs for your employees’ comfort.
1. All About Office Ergonomics
The health and wellness of your employees is critical to your company’s own health and well-being. Healthy employees are more satisfied with their jobs, engaged, precise and productive during the workday and take fewer sick days off. Poor workplace design or lack of ergonomically-sound furniture can lead to a fatigued, frustrated, and less productive workforce, which impacts your company’s bottom line and overall vibe of your office space. To boost productivity and office efficiency, consider providing ergonomically-minded furniture options, such as:
- Adjustable workstation desks, standing desks, or even treadmill desks to encourage movement
- Height-adjustable task chairs with lumbar support to reduce discomfort
- Accessories, such as an ergonomically-designed mouse and keyboard wrist rests, monitor stands/arms, headsets, and adjustable document holders
Divider panels and modular walls, like Teknion’s Leverage Panel System, create personal spaces out of open floorplans to balance collaboration with privacy for your workforce.
2. Divided We Stand
Collaboration is a focus these days, as it should be, but we also need to keep individual productivity in mind as well. Every employee needs a bit of privacy for head-down work or simply to take a breather to regroup. Plan your workstation layouts away from particularly noisy walkways, common areas, or bathrooms to minimize noise and distraction. To balance that open feel with private, personal space, consider using:
Case goods style furniture collections, like JSI’s Swish Collection, pictured here, are ideal storage solutions for open office spaces to keep desktops clear and maximize workspace surface area.
3. Keep It Organized
With so little desk space to work with, employees in open offices need to find creative ways to store and organize their office supplies and essentials. Make it easy for them by sourcing workstations with built-in storage or adding on desktop accessories to existing workstations to maximize your employees’ work surface space. Before selecting workstations for your office, consider the type of work being done at each workstation, the space available for the desks and other key pieces of office furniture, and your budget. With endless workstation options to choose from, it may be wise to enlist the help of a commercial office furniture broker and space planner to help. Here are just a few of the many options to choose from to keep workstations nice ‘n’ neat:
- Case goods style desking systems with built-in storage
- Rolling storage or project carts
- Desk organizers & storage accessories
Modern workstation lighting solutions, like OFS’ “Tambient Lighting” is perfectly-adapted for open office environments while catering to each worker’s personal lighting preference.
4. Let There Be Light
More specifically, the right kind of light. A Cornell University study found that access to natural light can increase alertness and another study found that the absence of natural light and outdoor views can leave your employees feeling tired and gloomy. So, it’s a no brainer to let natural daylight penetrate throughout your office space and illuminate your workstations wherever possible. Don’t have a lot of natural light to work with in your office space? No problem! We’ve got a few tips to help maximize what natural lighting you do have to work with or at least give the illusion of natural light in your office space.
- Utilize glass partitions and mirrored accents to keep the natural light flowing throughout the entire office
- If natural lighting isn’t an option, choose artificial lighting that mimics natural light. Consider adjustable task lamps that take up minimal desk space to maximize desk space
- Get creative with lighting solutions, such as adding LED lights under cabinets or workstations
- Don’t forget to position computer screens parallel to windows to reduce glare!
Even with employees giving so much of their time, companies are facing an estimated $330 billion in lost productivity per year, according to the Gensler Institute. Now may be just the time to put these office workstation ideas in motion to inspire your employees to do their best work.
Like What You See Here?
For help bringing these office workstation layout ideas to life, book a tour of our showroom or contact us for a complimentary design consultation.
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