Blog

Our senses are the medium through which we live our lives. They’re how we experience the world around us. Sight is perhaps the most prevalent and the one people pay the most attention to when they plan space, but there’s another sense that’s just as important, one that’s often understated… We’re talking about sound.

Covid lockdowns created a new way of work—primarily work from home (WFH)—and, as it appears that things are finally getting back on track, many workers are reluctant to return to the office. While there are many ideas floating around about how to get workers back, from financial incentives and free lunch programmes to mandates, there’s one area that should not be overlooked — the office itself.

People who work in an office are likely to spend most of their time in that office. Logically, it should be a space that inspires people to do their best work. The way we feel in our workspace can have a significant impact on how productive and motivated we are as well as on our morale. Let’s take a closer at the impact of a fit-out on productivity and morale.

The world has changed, and while this presents a number of challenges, the solutions we engineer will generate new opportunities, not least in how we revolutionise the office, but in a way that not only saves time and money, it needs to deliver massive benefits for our health, wellbeing and productivity also.

Productivity and safety are paramount in the work environment, but both are underpinned by order, which is why knowing how to organise your office with an efficient workflow is essential. Here are some tips on how to efficiently organise your office for better workflow:

Where previously employers actively sought technology solutions to increase productivity, improve efficiencies and reduce costs, it is office employees who, in 2022, expect their employers to make life easier and better with modern technology and office design solutions. Research by global human resources company Randstad reveals that employees expect easier options for completing routine tasks, while 4 out of 10 reports leaving an employer because the company did not have access to the latest technology.

As COVID looks like it may become endemic—in other words, always with the community—the future of how we work and where we work becomes even more critical; and business leaders need to make decisions that will balance their employee’s health, productivity, culture, and the desire for better work-life balance.

When you consider that having staff crouched at their desks, hunched over their monitors or slumping in their seats is not only bad for their health and productivity but can infect the mood of the entire office, it’s hard not to be surprised by the rise and rise of the adjustable desk. Bearing in mind that sitting has been labelled the ‘new smoking’, it’s hard not to see why professionals want us to sit less and move more, but do standing desks make any real difference to the bottom line?