3 Ways to Use Your Office Layout to Boost Productivity

When you think of poor productivity in the office, unnecessary coffee breaks or time spent on social media might come to mind. Oftentimes, however, an office’s layout can have a major impact on how well employees perform.

Common Productivity Killers

Before we dive into how layout can fix your employees’ poor productivity, here are a few common productivity killers that might be keeping your team members from concentrating on their work.

1.     Noise

A noisy office can quickly drain productive employees. Unpreventable noises like raucous laughter, nearby construction, or a broken copy machine can be hard to tune out for people, particularly when creativity is a priority.

2.     Coworkers

It’s true. Coworkers can create some of the worst distractions in an office. Whether they’re talking too loudly on the phone, interrupting workflow for non-essential questions, or constantly clicking their pen, the toll employees can take on their colleagues can absolutely destroy productivity.

3.     Visual Distractions

It’s a cold, hard fact: the people closest to the bathroom or the coffee area are going to be distracted throughout the entire day. They just are. With people coming in and out of a space multiple times a day, it’s difficult to ignore the movement and focus on work.

Putting Your Office Layout to Good Use

Although these distractions are annoying and can quickly diminish even your best employee’s productivity, almost all common distractions can be fixed with a new office layout. Here’s how.

1.     Install Private Cubicles or Modesty Panels

We’ve talked a lot about open office layouts in our previous blog posts, and while they’re great for collaboration, team-building, and more, sometimes they can have the opposite impact on productivity. Modern modesty panels and private cubicles allow everyone to have their own, distraction-free workspace where they aren’t as likely to be interrupted or distracted by other employees walking around the office. Before you roll your eyes, know this: cubicles don’t have to be the isolating, death zone for creativity they once were. They office layout experts at Nolt’s can help you find the perfect set of cubicles to marry productivity and collaboration.

2.     Incorporate a Quiet Area

If your company culture is based on collaboration and a free-flow of ideas, you may want to stick with an open office. To combat the distractions, you can use room dividers to add a quiet section to the layout for employees who need time to focus in a non-intrusive environment. This way, your team members can decide for themselves where they want to work based on their personal distraction limits.

3.     Add an Entertainment Space

If you think your employees would be able to focus more in a cubicle or office, think about adding an entertainment space instead. Even though you have cubicles, it doesn’t mean your employees can’t have fun and relax with coworkers. Create a space away from the working areas where people can relax, play games, eat lunch, or just hang out with their coworkers. They’ll be able to get all their socializing done in that space without bothering anyone else.

Figuring out what solution will best fit your team’s needs can be difficult, which is why we’re here to help! Stop by our showroom, and we’ll help you determine exactly what furniture will fit into your layout to produce a productive team!