How to Make the Most Out of Available Office Space?

There is so much more to an office space than just an area where business procedures happen, and employees work. Being in an office for the majority of the week practically makes it another home for employees; therefore, it is important that office space is treated with much attention that it becomes a great working environment for maximized productivity.

Here are five tips you can do to maximize your office space.

Evaluate how much space you have

Whether you are starting to design your office space from scratch or planning to make some changes here and there to maximize the space, the first thing that you need to do is to have a good idea of how much space you have in your office. It is quite easy to do this when you have an empty office space for designing but if you are planning on changing the office design, bear in mind to get rid of the unnecessary things or impractical furniture that take up space. Remember to keep the space at its minimum but still effective.

three people shares a work table

Tip: choose a practical furniture design that will take less space for possibly double function.

Sometimes, it’s all about proper lighting.

People often take lighting for granted as this does not necessarily extend the physical space. However, the idea of space also concerns the perception of space; thus, how you design and position your space lighting can affect whether your office space would feel ‘spacious’ or ‘crowded.’ Remember that lighting affects productivity. A bad choice of lighting may cause employees to feel more bored or sleepy or may feel restricted in their creativity.

Go for soft colors that feel calming to the eyes. Avoid dark and flashy colors as they tend to emphasize wall boundaries.

In terms of furniture, opt for lightweight and pale-colored to reflect light, adding to your spacious intent.

Be open to a Work-from-Home setup.

When there is limited office space, you can opt to have some employees work remotely. Of course, these employees should be evaluated on their productivity despite the setup. Besides, some employees prefer to work at their homes’ comforts and become more productive in this setup. Should you decide to go for this method, you need to make sure that employees get your expectations right in terms of their deliverables and that communication should always be available when needed.

To make the setup more efficient, have employees on WFH set up to have adequate room office lighting and caution them to avoid unnecessary background noises during meetings.

A Work-from-Home setup may be more advantageous compared to extending office space since real estate becomes more expensive these days. Additionally, if your employees can deliver the same amount of productivity in a remote setting, then why not spend more on space when you can invest in your employees? In this day and age, the workforce should be at the center of labor.

Create variety in the workplace

Employees prefer to have a variety of spaces in the office. This gives them a practical, functional, and organized understanding of the entire space. This is where you decide to divide your available office space into activity-based zones’. Really consider this because productivity, recruitment, and retention efforts are associated with creating these mini-work stations in the office.

One zone should be allotted for collaborative or group work. Couches or longer tables are appropriate in these areas. On the other hand, individual zones should be created for tasks that require less distraction. For instance, writers need a quiet workspace away from the loud group discussions. The good thing is, these individual zones typically need minimal desk space.

Involve employees in the process

Finally, you need to involve employees in these spatial changes since they have clearer ideas about how space functions around them. Before you go around changing anything (although you have the authority to do so), you can call everyone’s attention for a meeting where you all discuss what is better with the limited office space. In this manner, the employees can also input suggestions and ideas so you all can create an efficient design that works for everyone else.

This also makes the employees feel involved in the decision-making of the business or company they work in.

Bear in mind that in the process of maximizing your available office space, the human resource should always be at the center. After all, office space is home to tasks and workload, and you need to ensure that whatever changes are done, the environment remains healthy and continues to stimulate productivity.