There is no greater risk to productivity than a cramped and messy office. Numerous studies have shown that employee motivation can decrease significantly if they feel trapped or uncomfortable during the workday. It can also lead to more time lost as a result of employees taking sick days.
One easy way to counter this issue is to ensure that the workplace is airy, clean, and tidy. To get the most out of your space, these tips and tricks for an organized office are a great place to start.
Everything in Its Right Place
Having files and old paperwork everywhere not only looks ugly but can take up precious space. Some people work well in clutter, but generally, it leads to people feeling unmotivated because they literally think that their work will never end. There are ways that the office furniture and layout can help with that.
Having designated work areas for your employees to organize in their own unique way is helpful, as is having rules regarding clutter and filing. Desks with some storage for necessary documents and materials are useful, as is having different compartments in the drawers so that they can organize stationary instead of leaving it in disorganized chaos.
Hide the Wires
The use of electronic equipment requires lots of cables and plug sockets. In the past, this led to a messy mass of wires as far as the eye could see. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be the case these days. Many devices can connect wirelessly, which eliminates some of the wires.
For the devices that do need to be plugged into power, there are many innovative furniture designs which incorporate wire management systems and charging stations for mobile devices. Ultimately, the office looks a lot nicer without wires visible everywhere.
Save the Trees
One great way to take care of file storage is to go paperless. Many offices around the world are investing in cloud-based storage systems that enable them to skip the printer queue altogether. There are so many different solutions out there now that it is possible to manage your calendar, appointments, notes, and documents all within one system.
The benefit for offices is that there is less paper floating around, which makes it harder to lose documents. It also eliminates the need to wait for printers or to worry about where you are going to store all your documents when you don’t need them on hand.
Make Use of the Space
The actual dimensions of your office will have a major impact on the type of layout you can use. However, it is quite scary to realize the amount of dead space in offices around the world. Areas such as nooks and crannies, and structural features like pillars, often get complained about, but they are actually great places to utilize.
For example, the wall space in awkward areas can be used for whiteboards, note boards, or storage space for office stationery. Some spaces might not be ideal for a desk, but they might be big enough to fit a coffee machine or some shelving units. The key is to be creative and not discount any areas of your office.
