According to Forbes, employees engaged in their work are more likely to be motivated and remain committed to their employer. This is why the majority of companies out there do not take employee engagement unserious. To retain top talent and satisfy your employees, you need to improve your employee engagement. An effective strategy in place will help build better work and customer relationships, increase productivity, and create a better work culture. This is why employee engagement is very important. Let us see how innovative offices improve employee engagement.
LIGHTING AND COLOUR CHOICES
Colours have a way of affecting the mood. How well-lit the office environment is also has an amazing effect on working conditions within the office space. According to numerous studies over the years, blue color is known to boost creativity while the red colour raises attention to detail. There are many innovative ways to mix some bright colours with light ones to make the employees focus better at work and be better engaged in their duties. Dull lighting in an office space would produce shadows which will make employees strain their eyes to see what they are doing. This could cause headaches and result in mistakes at work. A very good mix of lighting and colours can help improve employee engagement and you should try it when next you are refurbishing your office.
CREATE A GYM AREA
Another innovative idea to bring to the office is creating a gym area for your employees to visit regularly to replenish their tired body systems. Usually, offices are professionally built for the purpose of carrying out official duties but a section can be set aside to be structured like a real gym house. Some gyming equipment can be purchased but they should be equipment that everyone can make use of so that all the employees would be encouraged to make use of the gym centre. You would be surprised just how important little office innovations like a gym section can be to the employees. The fact that they can have some time off work to exercise and collaborate more with colleagues will help them not just to stay fit, but to build relationships.
EMBRACING REMOTE WORK OPTION
One innovation to bring to the office environment is by allowing some flexibility at work. When the employees know that they are allowed to choose their working environment, it can go a long way to improving their engagement. Nowadays, so many companies have embraced hybrid working options, allowing employees to work from anywhere. This is really paying off and many companies are joining in. Some employees may be doing long distances to get to the office every day and the resulting stress could be a lot before they resume at their desks. Renting office spaces in coworking spaces around where the employees live can be a very good innovation to improve their wellbeing, thereby increasing engagement. In the U.S. there are so many shared office spaces in Atlanta, Denver, New York, Chicago, and Nashville. Renting costs differ with location. For example, renting an office space in Nashville will be a lot cheaper than a look-alike office space in New York.
PROMOTE COLLABORATION IN THE OFFICE WITH INNOVATIVE DESIGN
Team collaboration is very important in an office setting because it is usually what births innovative ideas that can help move the company forward. Apart from thinking out new ways of doing things, it also helps employees to forge healthy relationships. The second family you have apart from your immediate one is your team at the office. Listening to and learning from team members can help everyone reach their goals. So the office can think of an innovative idea to always bring the employees together sometimes and away from their desks. A relaxation room for coffee breaks or helpful office discussions can be created within the office. The chairs there should be more comforting like the pieces of furniture at home. It could also be decorated with live plants to bring more calmness to the employees while they are relaxing. It could be opened during breaks and at the close of business every day. Innovative office ideas like this will help employees look forward to coming to the office every day and therefore improve employee engagement.
FINAL WORD
There are many design ideas that can come to mind when building an office or when refurbishing one. Whatever the design agreed upon, it should be done with the comfortability of the employees in mind. This is because the employees are a big factor in company success and if you wish to improve their engagement, you have to create a friendly environment for them to work in. The tips above can help if you have decided to bring more innovation to the office structure.
Authors Bio: Elliot Rhodes
Elliot has been both an interior and exterior designer for over 8 years. He is happy to plan and design exteriors of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. He helps others with beautifying the outside areas of their homes and businesses. When he has free time, he is writing articles on latest designing trends and projects
