Office Refurbishment Improves Well-Being | Westcountry Group

As we all know, employee well-being is key when it comes to productivity. The physical and mental health of your staff is fundamental to their morale both as individuals and as a team. This means that keeping your staff happy and healthy doesn’t just benefit them – it benefits your entire company.

While there are many things to consider when attempting to improve employee well-being, one that is often overlooked is the workspace design. Even in today’s world of hybrid working patterns, staff spend dozens of hours a week in the office, so it’s only to be expected that it will have an impact on them.

In this article, we are going to look at how the right office design and space planning can make your employee’s working environment a more pleasant and productive place to be:

Office Colours

The traditional corporate workspace of muted colours and drab design is long overdue an overhaul. Colour can have a massive impact on your staff. Blues and greens have been shown to deliver a calming influence, while yellows and oranges promote feelings of warmth and cheerfulness. Indeed, there’s an entire academic field dedicated to the psychological effect of colours in the workplace, so take your time to find the right scheme for your team.

Natural Light

Natural light is essential for improving your employees’ mental wellbeing. It helps to release the hormone serotonin, which helps staff to maintain focus, and remain calm, while delivering a general mood boost. Investing in larger windows and skylights is one option. Rearranging your office layout to capture the sunlight better is another. Whichever you choose, the benefits of getting more light into the office are significant.

Bringing the Outside in

Biofilic design is a popular trend in commercial office design these days, and with good reason. The introduction of natural elements into the workplace makes people feel more relaxed and generally happier. Part of it is practical – plant life in the office increases the amount of oxygen in the workplace as well as introducing pleasant, natural scents. The other part is emotional – people like to be immersed in nature. If you can’t take your work outside, then bringing in plenty of greenery is the next best thing.

Your Office Layout

An office refurbishment is the ideal time to reconsider how you and your team use your work space. While open plan offices have been in fashion for decades, there’s no reason not to mix things up a little and introduce new areas into the office, each with its own specific purpose. We’re talking collaborative areas, where staff can meet, mingle, and chat, working on group projects or holding team meetings and huddles without disturbing the rest of the office. How about concentration areas, for those members of your team working on a specific project with a tight deadline, who could do without the hustle and bustle of the main office for a day or two? Of course, you’ll also want to introduce break-out areas, where staff are encouraged to leave their desks at regular intervals to chill out, relax, and recharge for a few minutes before getting back to the task at hand.

A Collaborative Effort

Don’t just assume that you know what’s best for your employees’ well-being – let them have their say. When considering a major office refurbishment, it makes sense to get input from the staff that are going to be working there. Find out what they want from their workplace and what would make them happier. Not every idea is going to be feasible but, by taking their feedback onboard, you’re demonstrating your commitment to their well-being.

For commercial office refurbishment you can rely on in the South West and South East of England, get in touch with Westcountry Group today. We deliver a complete workspace design service, including office design and space planning. Call us on 0330 030 0330 to arrange a free consultation.