Could A Breakout Area Or Games Room Really Raise Worker Productivity?

Fortunately, sterile, drab office spaces are gradually becoming a thing of the past. Over recent years, an increasing number of companies have started incorporating fun and inspiring recreational spaces into their office designs - and there’s a good reason for this. It is now widely understood that letting personnel relax and enjoy some downtime during the working day can promote wellbeing, inspire creativity and increase productivity. If you’ve overlooked the latest trend of having a breakout area or games room in the workplace, you could be missing a trick - and here’s why. Creating a home from home Today, many employees spend long hours in the office. This can lead to an unhealthy work/life balance and cause unhappiness and low job satisfaction - and there’s no doubt that the feeling of being chained to a desk all day long only adds to the problem. To get the most out of your staff and maintain high morale, providing a comfortable and stimulating workplace is crucial. By including casual ‘chill-out’ areas where employees can unwind as they would in their own homes, you can help to break down the barrier between work and leisure time and enable your employees to feel more at ease in their surroundings. In turn, this can stave off those dreaded Monday morning blues and help to make personnel feel more contented in their roles. Lowering stress levels It’s well known that spending long periods of time doing repetitive tasks is bad news for our mental wellbeing. Without enough breaks during long stints of work, it’s easy to become frustrated and irritable, which can lead to increased stress levels and potentially even raise absenteeism. Studies have shown that having regular breaks at work can prevent people from feeling mentally burned out and it can improve their happiness. With that in mind, employees need to have the chance to detach themselves from their responsibilities and escape the pressures of their everyday schedules to be able to work to the best of their ability. One way you can encourage this is to have dedicated areas away from staff members’ workstations where they can blow off steam. In turn, this can drive down job-related stress and improve concentration levels - both of which can enhance productivity and performance. Boosting morale Games rooms, entertainment spaces and lounges offer the ideal chance for workers to engage in social interactions and have fun, which is a sure fire way to boost morale. Whether it’s playing a game of table tennis or enjoying a catch up and a coffee with a colleague, a simple change of scenery is sometimes all it takes to improve people’s mood and stimulate motivation. As well as enhancing employee satisfaction, bringing a sense of informality and playfulness into the workplace can also have a positive impact on your bottom line. By promoting a company culture that values worker wellbeing, your staff will be happier and therefore more likely to excel in their roles and go that extra mile for your business. This is why increased worker morale can translate into better customer service, improved client relations and more custom for your business. Preventing procrastination Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about the weekend while at work? One thing’s for sure, you’re not alone. The truth is, it’s almost impossible to maintain concentration for an extended period of time, and so failing to ensure your employees take enough breaks from their work demands can lead to procrastination and boredom. When people have no time to recharge or re-energise, they become easily distracted, make more errors in their work and are less efficient. While some business owners and managers may argue that taking employees away from their tasks is counterproductive, it can in fact have a positive impact. Allowing your personnel time to step away from their duties can actually help to restore the concentration and energy they need to remain engaged. By taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, people are more likely to stay focused on their goals and be able to prioritise workloads better. Stimulating creativity Taking time to relax during the working day can also stimulate creativity and innovation. In fact, some experts claim that the mind is better at problem solving and coming up with innovative ideas when it is in a relaxed state. This would suggest that those ‘eureka’ moments are more likely to happen when people are removed from the stresses and strains of the normal working day. Studies have also shown that some of the most successful business ideas arise from impromptu discussions in informal settings rather than through continued periods of focus. So, if you are looking to inspire imagination and get those creative juices flowing, encouraging your employees to have some downtime could be the answer. Increasing collaboration Another benefit of having communal areas in the workplace is that it increases collaboration. More and more companies are now following global brands like Google and creating playful and fun work environments to improve employee engagement, increase communication and promote knowledge sharing. However, there’s no need to spend a fortune splashing out on state of the art cinema rooms or extravagant meeting pods to get your employees to mingle. Simple improvements, such as providing a comfortable seating area, can go a long way in terms of strengthening work relationships. Even having a pool table on site can encourage healthy competition and increase the chance of workers socialising with people different departments. Remember, breakout areas can be multi-functional spaces used not only for social purposes and relaxation, but also for more productive team activities like meetings and brainstorming sessions. With so many benefits associated with having recreational areas in the workplace, it’s easy to see why this is becoming such a popular trend in office design. For more ideas on how to create an inspiring and effective workplace and bolster productivity, why not browse our website further and take a look at our full range of products? If you have any questions about our office furniture, you can get in touch with our team by phone or online form.

June 24, 2016 | View: 308 | Categories: ROOT