Increasing productivity through effective use of office space

Numerous studies have shown that productivity is heavily linked to how office spaces are used and managed to encourage employees’ productivity, innovation and efficiency.  Some studies have shown that as much as $15 billion is being lost annually in the United States because of poor consideration to managing office spaces by companies – big or small.

In Nigeria, where the concept of ‘working from home’ has not caught up, almost all formal employees spend most of their hours in offices – which means to get the best out of them, they must also feel comfortable.

Let us think about it: a person who wakes up looking forward to going to his/her office is more likely to be more productive and receptive to new ideas than a person whose working environment creates an illness, real or imagined.  And I would imagine this is especially true for a city like Lagos.

Lagos can be very stressful with endless traffic jams, noise, poor quality of life. Sinice office spaces can be where people find their ‘centres’, their creativity, it is wise investment decision to create an appealing office space for employees regardless of the size of the company.

In creating office spaces that serve the purposes of function, innovation and wellbeing, the first step is to work with the organizational facilities management team, to review what currently exists and how it can be improved.  This process has to be done with the consultation of staff members, looking first at the seating arrangement – to do Open Plan or individual offices?

Both have advantages but it is important to look at what will work best for the employees and goals of the organization.  While Open Plan helps to break down barriers within the organization, it does not necessarily work best for all employees, and individual rooms provide opportunity for privacy and personalization of offices.

Other things to put into consideration include office lighting, making sure it is as close to natural light as possible.  Dim lighting, too bright lights can cause productivity to diminish, create health problems like recurrent headaches and, in some instances, even cause depression for employees.

The type of chairs and tables to use, how to position them to ensure proper sitting, and distance between chairs and computers are important.  Make sure air quality is taken into account as poor air quality, either as a result of too cold/hot offices, clutter, poor ventilation, dirty carpets etc. can cause a lot of illnesses especially for those who are allergic and/or asthmatic, contributing to inefficiency through frequent sick leaves.

The color scheme has to be taken into consideration when designing and arranging office spaces.  Light tones are usually the best for offices.  Common equipment like printers, scanners, staplers etc. must be put together in one room, and in a room where going to will cause minimum noise and distraction.  This means that most staff members at some point will need to stand up, stretch and get their circulation going, as they go to those rooms to perform those functions.

Finally, to improve staff wellbeing, there should be dedicated rooms for staff relaxation and brainstorming – lounges, breakout rooms, eating areas or small gyms.  Investing in a system where exercise instructors come to the office three times a week to take lessons in aerobics, zumba, yoga etc. is also a good way of using space creatively and for re-energizing employees.