5 office design hacks that could make your workers happier

A happy workforce can make for a more harmonious, pleasant office. Research suggests that it can also help people to get more done. Experiments conducted by a team at the University of Warwick found that happiness can make people work harder and be around 12 per cent more productive. So, what can you do to make your staff members feel content and engaged in their work environment? Keep reading for five simple but effective office design hacks that may make your employees happier. 1. Give workers a place to unwind Offices can be busy and sometimes noisy, and this is well known to lead to an increase in stress among workers. It’s no surprise then that many businesses are now looking to find design solutions that help employees to relax and unwind during the working day. One business that understands the importance of this issue is meditation app developer Headspace. At its headquarters in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, it’s created a Silent Room free from technology where personnel can go to unplug from the world and spend some time de-stressing. The space can be used to meditate alone or with a group in total quiet, or it can be used as a place to listen to relaxing music. There are plenty of other ways to give workers a chance to decompress too. For example, you could create a games room complete with features such as pool tables and games consoles where staff members can go to socialise. Another top design tip is to provide quiet areas away from your main open plan workspaces where employees can go to focus on individual tasks when they want some peace and quiet. Giving people the chance to get away from their desks, whether it’s simply to work in a more calming setting or it’s to switch off during a break, can be a great way to reduce stress levels in your office. 2. Learn to think outside the box Let’s face it, office design can be a little formulaic at times. If you want to impress your workers and give them a more enjoyable space to use, it pays to think outside the box when you’re planning the different areas within your workspace. For example, take the boardroom. Traditionally, these areas are dominated by one large table surrounded by chairs. Instead of taking this approach, why not mix things up by including multiple seating arrangements that encourage more informal dialogue and can be perfect for smaller groups as well as larger ones? The same principle applies to other areas within your office. In your meeting room, you could include seating solutions ranging from floor cushions and sofas to armchairs and high stools in order to give the space a more relaxed, dynamic look and feel. When it comes to your staff canteen, consider making it a multi-functional space where people can not only prepare food and eat, but can also socialise and listen to music. By learning to think outside the box when it comes to office design, you can give your workspace added personality and make it a more fun and creative place. 3. Take steps to enhance worker health When people suffer from ill-health at work, whether it’s a bad back, eye strain, excessive stress or something else, it’s hard for them to feel happy. Unfortunately, traditional office environments can trigger or exacerbate these problems. However, there are ways to help your employees avoid such issues. For instance, by making sure workers have access to comfortable, supportive seating and ergonomically designed workstations, you can reduce the risk that they’ll suffer back and neck strain, as well as a range of other musculoskeletal disorders. You could also offer your personnel height adjustable desks that allow them to cut the amount of time they spend sitting down during the working day. Given the dangers posed to health from excessive sitting - which include an increased chance of diabetes and cardiovascular events - these desks can play an important role in protecting people’s health. Try to ensure your heating and lighting levels are suitable year-round too. Encouraging your employees to cycle to work by offering secure storage for bikes in your office is another way to promote improved health. A healthy workforce tends to be a happier workforce, and if your employees are feeling good, they’re also less likely to take time off due to sickness - so it’s well worth bearing these suggestions in mind. 4. Encourage the personalisation of workstations Offices can be impersonal spaces, and there’s a risk that this may make employees feel detached and isolated. To stop this from happening in your company, you could encourage your staff members to personalise their own workstations. OK, so mini-fridges and games consoles might be a step too far, but family photos, small plants, stress toys and other personal items can bring desks to life and make people feel more at home in the office. As well as brightening up workstations, these things can help workers to show another side of their personalities and they can be great conversation starters. 5. Embrace nature The presence of greenery in offices is well known to help lift people’s moods, and it can also increase productivity. According to a study led by Dr Chris Knight from Exeter University, the presence of just a few houseplants can raise productivity in workplaces by as much as 15 per cent. If you want to take things a step further, why not think about incorporating green walls into your office? These living design features can make a style statement and completely transform the look and feel of your workspace. It also pays to let as much natural light as possible flood into your office. One way to do this is to use transparent or translucent partitions in your office, as opposed to opaque partitions. These design suggestions don’t have to cost you a lot of money, and taking even just a few of them on board could help you to create a happier workplace.