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It’s no surprise that modern professionals spend a lot of time at work. In fact, the average person will spend around 90,000 hours (over ten years) of their life at the office. Given that fact, it’s wise for business owners to create office environments that are welcoming and comfortable. One of the best ways to make employees feel at home (while at work) is to create a vibrant workplace kitchen area. Here are six tips that will help business owners achieve that goal:
Layout Considerations
A workplace kitchen is a space for everyone, and that’s a theme we’ll revisit again and again in this piece. As such, it makes sense for businesses to position kitchens or lunch rooms in areas that are easily accessible to all employees. On the other hand though, kitchen placement shouldn’t detract from other elements of office design.
Set Etiquette & Cleaning Rules
A clean kitchen is a happy one. Unfortunately, some employees may leave dirty dishes or crumbs after making lunch for themselves. And there are few things more irritating than cleaning someone else’s mess. Make it a point to set hard etiquette rules for kitchen use and explain them to all new employees. No business owners want to deal with 1) filthy kitchen ares or 2) employee drama stemming from something as trivial as a stolen bag of chips.
Be Mindful of Smells
For better or worse, kitchens are smelly places. Whether a smell is a pleasing one (like a pizza coming out of the oven) or a not-so-pleasant one (a freshly opened can of sardines) scents and aromas emanating from a kitchen can serve to distract employees who aren’t on their lunch break. Good interior design takes this into account and limits smells –– both good and bad –– leaving the kitchen area.
Furnish Properly
Many workplace kitchen areas also serve as an office’s lunch room. (Some even function as a de facto break room too.) Because of this, it’s important that kitchen areas have plenty of comfortable seating possibilities. Note, always make sure there are enough tables and chairs to accommodate everyone in your office in addition to any visitors who may stay in for lunch.
Invest in the Necessities
Sure, office kitchens need basic amenities like a fridge, microwave, dishwasher, etc. But modern professionals may also decide to take “working lunches.” Great lunch rooms have plenty of outlets and a strong WiFi connection as well.
Follow Design Best Practices
Vibrant colors, natural lighting, ergonomic furniture –– these are great resources for professionals to use in workplace kitchen areas as well as other rooms within an office. It also stands to reason that a workplace kitchen should match the tone and feel of an office at large. Lastly, if a business owner really wants to go the extra mile, they can stock a pantry full of free snacks for their team members.
Final Thoughts
At Key Interiors, we have years of experience refurbishing and redesigning offices of all shapes and sizes. We can help you create the ideal office for your team! Contact us here to get started, or check out our eBook on office renovations for more information on our processes: {{cta(‘be9ee934-8da3-4f57-9a54-072b3b5e3be0’)}}
