A study from Forbes magazine suggests that the majority of people create their first impressions of something in 7 seconds. If this is the case, a reception or welcome area can become much more than a place for visitors to wait. It can be a place to let the visitors know who you are and what your company is about.
A reception area can also be a place to be used as a public or communal space, creating a warm atmosphere. A more relaxed environment for those informal chats in the office on soft seating. Not just a place for visitors to wait, but rather a setting thriving with activity.
The BPS found that the average UK worker sits at their desk for 6 hours a day. Multiply that by 5 days a week equalling 30 hours, that becomes 1560 hours a year. Activity, posture and diversity are paramount when considering a workplace for someone who spends that amount of time at a desk.
One desk does may not fit all though, be it bench, single or height adjustable. Even when working at your desk, certain jobs may require different parameters. For example if certain teams may need much larger work spaces than others. To keep your work force motivated you will want to look at style, colour, ergonomics and shapes. These small things may lead to a big change in their productivity.
Global leaders in social behavioural studies “Procedia” found, that in the majority of the top FTSE 100 companies, the use of workforce collaboration for tasks and learning brought a positive response in social, physiological, academic and assessment areas. More and more companies are stepping away from the solitary working methods and expanding their horizons by allowing in house collaboration to create great things.
Collaboration and the expression of ideas are most efficient in an environment that promotes such actions. For example, Interactive boards, new technology and tools such as group video conferencing allow workers all over the globe to instantaneously be in the same place sharing ideas at the same time.
With most industries going towards open plan offices and collaborative working, workers may find it difficult to find spaces for focused private work. Dr Ned Hallowell’s findings allowed us to see that the average worker is distracted momentarily in the workplace every 3 to 4 minutes.
In a world where time is money, moments of privacy and focus are vital to achieve certain tasks. One on one meeting rooms, conference calls booths, detailed reporting desks and quite areas are just some of the ways thinking spaces can be used successfully.
These can be canteens, cafes, breakout areas or reception areas. Social spaces are fast becoming a staple must have in an office workspace. They can be multipurpose, on one hand a place of relaxation and rejuvenation, but also an environment where ideas and conversations may spring up naturally, due to the relaxed nature of the environment.
Inspired by companies such as Google, the use and merging of office and social space has been brought in to create a more inspiring place to work. Giving colleagues more connection to the company, in turn will giving them a better connection to your clients.
