When the pandemic first started, many offices were forced to close their doors and were left empty as people began working from home. However, restrictions are now lifting, and offices can once again welcome their workers. This break between working in the office provides a perfect opportunity to refresh the office space and make it a place workers will feel comfortable in.
Many people may be nervous about returning to the office, so a simple refresh could be the right thing to do to make your workers more willing to leave remote working behind. A refreshed office space can make the work environment more welcoming and productive, ultimately producing more work. So, if you think this is something you want to do in your office, then here are five things you can do to refresh the office space.
Ask Your Employees What They Need
One of the first things you should do when giving your office a refresh is to ask your employees what they need. Your employees are going to be spending a lot of their week within the office, so it would be a good idea to consult them and find out what they need from the workspace. Particularly with Covid still lingering, it is important to ensure your staff feels safe when they are at work, so talk to them and find out what extra measures they need to feel safe in the office.
Things like hand sanitiser stations or letting people wear masks are both options that can increase your employee’s safety from Covid. Additionally, if their desks are once close together, it could be good to either distance the desk or install clear visors, so there is less of a risk of Covid transmission.
However, it is important if you chose the visor option, to make them see-through, so your workers can still interact with their colleagues and are not boxed into their desks. Ultimately, your employees will know best in terms of what they need from their office space as they may be spending five days a week in the building. Ensuring that your employees are safe and feel comfortable in the office will be beneficial for everyone as they will be more productive, meaning more high-quality work will be produced.
Organise The Space Properly
Another thing you can do to refresh the office is to ensure the space is organised properly. If your office has been closed for a while due to the pandemic, then it could be in a state of disorganisation as you didn’t have a chance to tidy before remote working began. Before your employees start working from the office again, it would be a good idea to organise the space so when your workers do return, they have a nice tidy space to work from.
Organising an office can be a lot of work, so make sure you utilise equipment to help you with the process. Things like these slim shelving units could be ideal if you want to organise your storage room as they can be stacked against each other and store lots of boxes or files on the shelves. Organising the office can give it a nice refresh, and it can give you more overall space.
More space in the office is ideal, particularly in the age of Covid, as although restrictions are lifting, people are still encouraged to socially distance themselves. Some of your workers may still be anxious about Covid, so having your office neat and tidy can allow people to socially distance from one another if they so wish.
Modernise Technology
Modernising technology is another great way to refresh the office space. Technology can get outdated fairly quickly, so do not panic in thinking you need to be modernising the technology every year. Instead, we take a look around the office and find what pieces of technology are severely outdated or no longer work and buy new pieces to replace those. Again, now would be a good opportunity to discuss with your employees and find out from them what is working and what needs replacing.
Outdated technology can seriously impact productivity in the workplace too; if your employees regularly have to restart or update their computers, then they are spending less time working. Modernising the technology in the office will be the best thing for everyone as it means people can get on with their jobs without constant interruptions.
If any of your employees have been successfully working from home on their own devices, then you could give them the option to bring in their own laptops to work on. Their personal devices may work better, and they may be used to things like layout, so providing them with that option could be helpful and may increase productivity.
New Furniture
Getting rid of old furniture and adding in new pieces is a great way to freshen up the office and make it a more welcoming and productive environment. It can be easy to not notice when furniture is getting old, as your employees may not want to complain, or they may have just got used to the way things are. Buying all new furniture will help to transform your office and give it a more modern feel.
Not only this, but poor office furniture can have some serious effects on posture and back health, so it would be beneficial to everyone to update the office chairs and additional office furniture. In addition to the effects poor office furniture can have on back health, reports show that they can also have an impact on productivity.
If the office chairs are not properly supporting your workers’ backs, it can lead to them feeling uncomfortable and restless. This, in turn, will lead to a lack of productivity and an unwillingness to work. Updating the office furniture, particularly the office chairs, will benefit not only your employees but also the productiveness of your business as a whole.
Have A Proper Break Room
Another way to refresh up the office space is to ensure that it has a proper break room. Taking breaks or taking a full lunch hour is so important during the workday as it gives our minds a chance to reset and recharge so we can continue to work for the rest of the day.
Although taking breaks are so important, many offices do not provide their workers with a proper break room, so often people will end up taking their lunch at their desks. Eating at your own desk can be detrimental as you are not giving yourself a proper break from your work, and often you will end up cutting your break short so you can start working again.
Make sure that your office has a proper break room within your business where employees can go to rest and eat their lunch. It could also be nice to install a coffee machine or a vending machine, so your employees have access to extra treats throughout the day. All of these things can help to make the return to work better for your employees, and it can boost overall productivity. Take in these words and do your own research to boost your office space.
