We are the working species and a lot of us spend significant time in the office, however obsolete office space designs could be harming our physical and mental wellbeing. Likewise, it is slaughtering our work efficiency. The recent study revealed that office goers spend more time sitting than the retired people, which is one of the major reasons associated with heart issues, cancer and type II diabetes.
That is the reason, most successful projects hires forward-looking designers and aim at developing projects that cure rather than hurting people’s health. Going past the officially omnipresent standing work areas and social “breakout couches,” the workplace of today and even near future is – harmonious, happy and healthy. Here’s the means by which it starts to come to fruition.
Since 2014, designs like ‘Biophilic’ remained in buzz, which as per the trend terms implies it ought to be absolutely over. Not really!! With natural components shown to boost wellbeing by 14% and productivity by close to 10%, it is still about ‘Go Green’. And this time, the practice should go beyond keeping a few potted plants at the window pane. The upcoming commercial projects in Noida are handling planet’s issues indispensably through renewable energy sources, green web hosting, carbon offsets, locally sourced food and grey water recycling.
It is important to understand the fact that even the outdoors has to be functioning. From ages we believed that stepping out and a few seconds in fresh air can do wonders for the concentration then why not embrace this freshness in the office space. One can have running track or flower garden on the rooftop, allowing the employees to unwind and have meetings with difficult clients.
Forget picking between cubicle or open-plan, conference suite or breakout space – today’s office space is active and lively and can be all of the above. Employees according to their mood can have customized surroundings with a few features like – portable walls, removable corkboards, and modular furniture – all that are proved to have positive impact on productivity.
You might think that you are technology savvy – you are the one, if you answer these questions as ‘Yes’. Do you have the capacity to entertain your clients using a virtual desktop? Or you have the capacity to walk your board members or partners through floor-to-roof half-yearly earnings graphics? If both answers are ‘No’, then hone up, you are still a caveman. The future of office space is all about Virtual reality and augmented reality.
Employee’s productivity and creativity decreases when their seats are stationed far away from a window, 7.5 meters away to be precise. Exposure to daylight reduces stress and anxiety. Translucent panels and skylights are excellent options but at times they are not practical. Natural spectrum bulbs and table-top UV lamps are a few nifty aids that help in fulfilling the shortfall of natural light.
At the end of the day, what is important in a 21st-century workplace is another ever-prominent popular expression: INDIVIDUALITY. One-size-fits-all days are gone. The perfect working environment today is probably going to be as peculiar and loaded with one of a kind changes as the idiosyncratic startup IT houses, with each one of them re-imaging the office types in its own quirky way, making workers feel valued. And that is how it should be.
When surveyed among 2000 employees, almost half of the corporate employees stated that the look and feel of the workplace does affect their work and rest confirmed that typical office space increases their stress levels. The factors that are important for a successful workplace are – relaxed attitude that comes when the environ they are working at is cool and stress free.
So, next time you invest in a commercial project, do check the points mentioned above. Because only a relaxed and stress-free environment can boost employee productivity, which is the chief motive of every business.
