5 Office Interior Design Ideas to Improve Productivity

Are you still spending your workdays sitting in a square cubicle in your office? If so, then maybe it’s time to give a breath of fresh air to your workspace and improve productivity in the process.

Why Office Design Matters to Productivity

With the myriad of modern workplaces that come with the latest office design trends, many millennials are tempted to just pick the most aesthetically pleasing. Who wouldn’t want to work at Google’s playground offices?

However, office design matters not only for aesthetic but also for improving productivity. Studies have shown that office design does indeed have a big impact on how well employees perform throughout the day.

Good design is, first and foremost, functional – aesthetic only comes second. That said, you don’t have to be an architect or interior designer to do minor renovations that could drastically improve your productivity. A good way to get started is by asking yourself, “What do I need my workplace to do?”

Once you have an idea of the functionality that you want, then you can check out which of these five interior design ideas you could apply to your office:

Collaborative spaces

Cubicles are so 90s – in a not-so-good way. They were made to fit as many employees as possible into a given space without considering its limiting effects on the creativity and performance of employees.

On the contrary, collaborative design allows, well, collaboration between teams while also providing some degree of privacy from distractions.

One example of collaborative design is a semi-enclosed workspace, which is ideal if you feel limited by small spaces but want a place where you can focus on work.

Active design

It’s a fact that exercise has several benefits for our physical health. But did you know that it can also supercharge your productivity?

Research shows that exercise not only puts your health in an optimal condition, but also releases chemicals in your brain that makes you feel happier. And when you’re happier – that’s right, you become more productive.

So before you grab a cup of coffee, why not set up a standing desk instead? Or if that’s too mild for you, you can set up a pull-up bar on your door frame so that every time you pass by the door, you can pull off some reps to pump wakefulness in your brain cells.

Adopt a minimalist approach

Less is more when it comes to productivity in the workplace. Minimalism helps you achieve this by de-cluttering and removing the things you don’t need until you have only the essentials that allow you to be effective.

Do you often read books to expand your knowledge and give you more ideas? Instead of simply putting the books on your table (and adding to the mess), try installing an open shelf on the wall beside your desk, so you can still have access to your books, while having a cleaner, more organized desk for your ideas.

Acoustic interiors

Focus is a key factor to increasing productivity. That’s why collaborative workspaces that improve office acoustics are seeing a renaissance in the latest office design trends.

But you don’t want to remove noise altogether. Rather, you should strive to meet a balance between complete silence and extreme noise.

Want to improve office acoustics without resorting to traditional cubicles? Try sound-masking! Or better yet, start adding more of the next idea…

Indoor plants

Who said you can’t get a breath of fresh air while working? Indoor plants are not only a great way to spruce up and give a fresh vibe to your desk, it’s also a great productivity booster, as research has shown to boost employee productivity by up to 15%.

And don’t worry: you don’t need to have a green thumb to be able to have office plants. There are many low-maintenance options available, like the Snake Plant (for low-light areas) the Neon Pothos (for those who forget to water their plants daily).

Conclusion

Improving productivity doesn’t have to be boring. With these interior design hacks, you can transform your workplace into a powerhouse that not only makes you look better, but also puts you at your best!

These are just a few of the many interior design tips that can help your productivity. Do you have any other tips in mind?

About the author:

Jen Dela Cruz is  Sales and Marketing Manager at Figari Inc where she manages the planning and implementation of sales, marketing, and business development programs for existing and new markets.