Modern office design is all about matching business needs with employee well-being. There is no one right or wrong workplace plan, as every company has unique needs that influence the choice of individual design elements. But these needs can — and do — change over time. Thus, a good office design is one that can evolve to meet new demands when they occur! At some point, an open floorplan might be suitable. At other times, it might make more sense to have individual offices or team-sharing suites. Of course, there is always the cubicle layout, a popular office design born in the 1960s that many organizations still make use of today. Indeed, approximately 60% of American workers spend their work lives inside a cubicle. And while that might have worked well without any modifications 50 years ago, today’s employees often want a different type of workplace setting to facilitate their highest level of productivity. The good news is that companies don’t have to initiate a complete office redesign to ensure employee wellness or efficiency. Oftentimes, a small office renovation can do the trick, such as adding cubicle doors. Cubicle doors can improve your office’s privacy without costing you a lot of money or downtime. Here’s why that’s important:
Privacy Often Equals Safety
Personal space is a valuable commodity. It not only helps protect us from physical dangers, it helps shield us from mental stress and discomfort. During a pandemic, personal space also helps keep us away from germs. An easy way to provide more privacy in an office, and, thus, further ensure that your employees are mentally and physically safeguarded, is to add a cubicle door to each cubicle station, separating employees so they are less exposed and are able to concentrate more fully on their work.
Privacy Preserves Security
Adding a cubicle door to a cubicle means both corporate data and employees’ own personal details are kept confidential. Information security is a big deal these days, with federal and state regulations tightly controlling the way customer information is stored and shared. Creating a barrier between employees and the rest of the office allows companies to protect sensitive data from prying eyes, as well as allows employees the space they need to conduct personal affairs without an audience.
Privacy Inspires Creativity
Privacy also inspires creativity by providing a quiet, restful space for reflection, discovery and innovation. A cubicle door closes off employees from the chaos of the surrounding work environment, permitting them uninterrupted time to concentrate on the work at hand, think outside the box and, hopefully, develop new insights. The result: increased ingenuity and productivity!
The Key Advantage
Research shows that natural sunlight improves employee health, boosting their mood, improving their sleep patterns and encouraging longer nightime sleep duration, better sleep quality and more physical activity for those with access to natural light during working hours when compared to those without it. To foster a zen office design, remove obstructive window coverings and/or arrange mirrors to reflect light where needed. You could repaint walls using white or light colors to help brighten the room, as well.
Focus on People, Not Things
The real focus of any zen office design is people, not things. Many traditional office designs center around workplace efficiency, arranging square footage in ways that maximize workflow. Zen office design, however, puts the needs of people above the needs of the company, connecting people to each other instead of to a specific area or item or any particular aesthetic ideal.
Add in Decorative Accents
A peaceful environment soothes the senses. Think about adding a water feature, artwork, and plants to generate a relaxing tone throughout the office space. The sound of moving water, coupled with living plants, evokes a feeling of serenity that science shows can “reduce stress and increase creativity and focus,” all desired results of any zen office design. To the same end, pretty artwork can also be added with little effort.
The Key Advantage
Of course, an experienced office design partner helps companies explore all types of design elements, suggesting the best ones to match any and all issue(s). To learn more about adding cubicle doors to your company’s office design or other possible design features that might improve your employee’s well-being and/or efficiency, please contact Key Interiors.
References:
https://nuserve.co.uk/news/5-steps-achieve-complete-office-zen
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2014/08/natural-light-in-the-office-boosts-health
https://blog.vantagefit.io/create-zen-office/
https://www.healthline.com/health/natural-light-benefits#ways-to-get-more-sunlight
https://som.medium.com/for-a-better-workplace-put-people-first-2d3dcabc5f30
