Category: office design

Redesigning your office fit-out isn’t as simple as changing the hallway paint or rearranging desks. It’s more about changing your workspace’s overall vibe, look, and feel. It should represent your company’s desire for growth and inspire your people to work more productively.

Interior designers and contractors in the Philippines are catching up to the competition. They use trends and innovative designs for workplace fit-outs to make the country more globally competitive. Contractors are constantly under pressure to outperform their competitors. This type of shift inspires individuals who are daring enough to redesign an office.

You’re probably thinking that redesigning your office would cost your company a lot of money. In a sense, you’re right. From planning, and designing, to the construction itself, it would require a significant amount of time and money. However, this kind of expense is somewhat unavoidable. It does have its benefits and, if you plan well enough, could quickly return a profit.

 

Here are three ways a redesigned office could enhance your company’s revenue.

 

1. An office redesign can increase employee productivity.

If done well, a new office style will enhance morale and productivity. In 2017, millennials (ages 21–36) held most of the workforce. It makes sense to tailor your office culture and benefits to this generation. Millennials like an open office layout because it creates a high-energy environment that makes them more productive in the long run. And the more effective your personnel are, the more money your clients invest.

Putting your employees in a cubicle wouldn’t work anymore in this day and age.

The overall decor of the workplace has a tremendous impact on people’s attitudes, creativity, and inspiration. You wouldn’t be surprised if you asked your staff about their ideal workplace, and the majority of them said Google or Facebook. These businesses have considered design trends and combined them with the creativity of their personnel. As a result, Facebook was recently awarded the greatest workplace of 2018, while Googleplex is the gold standard for IT campuses.

2. Fresh Designs Attract the Best Talents and Clients

Your office is the face of your company. It is where your employees work and your clients put their investments. With this said, you wouldn’t want people coming into the office and being turned off by how boring the place is.

Redesigning the office to become dynamic and vibrant adds to its overall appeal. It caters to creativity and inspiration for not just your current employees and clients but also those who aspire to be your future employees and clients.

Giving employees a nice spot to unwind and chat with coworkers can raise morale and ready them to travel. Spaces like these might be used for impromptu discussions that generate fresh ideas without the confines of a conference room. Lastly, when applicants see how your office fit-out nourishes people, they’ll say, “I want to work here.”

3. Less is more

The times have changed, and the era of large furniture has gone. Today, space is a precious commodity that no one dares ignore. By investing in the organized use of space, you can avoid wasting your company’s hard-earned money on things that aren’t needed.

Cubicles and dividers are a thing of the past. Sure, they provide privacy, but it blocks communication between your employees. It eats up space meant for interaction and makes the workplace feel like a prison—and in all honesty, that would be the worst-case scenario.

Having a design that can change with your employees’ demands can make them better and your firm more flexible.

In the end, it’s not just about the income anymore. One of the most important things you can do to help your business succeed is to ensure your employees enjoy coming to work. After all, the workplace is essentially the body of your business. It’s best to pay close attention to taking care of it. Eventually, you will reap the rewards—yes, that includes a reasonable return on your investment.

To help you decide if it’s time to give your office fit-out a do-over, please see SDW’s case studies and be inspired by what we can do for you.

Interior office. It goes by different names: gray hell, the box, and Alcatraz. But it doesn’t necessarily have to stay that way. The concept of interior fit-out design allows business owners to re-imagine the design and build of their establishments. Make them more conducive for their employees and make their work lives more enjoyable.

 

Take Google, for example. They have created some of the most creative, unique, and fun workspaces, and the outcome of their work’s creation is still vital to this day. Indeed, their interior fit-out designs have significantly impacted today’s architecture and construction scene, and many other contractors have followed the trend. In doing so, it improved the lives of its employees by leaps and bounds. Take note of these interior fit-out design tips to motivate your employees.

 

1. Greenery and Natural Lighting

 

 

Humans naturally desire to be connected with nature—biophilia, as scientists call it. It would only make sense to let in natural light and add something green to the place humans spend their time; for most adults, that place would be the office.

There have been numerous studies that have proven the positive effects of biophilic design in the workspace. Here are some benefits of having plants near the workstation:

Reduces stress

In 2010, the new University of Technology in Sydney did a study that found that adding plants to the workplace made people feel much less stressed. Results included:

• A 37% fall in reported tension and anxiety.
• A 58% drop in depression or melancholy.
• A 44% decrease in anger and hostility.
• A 38% reduction in fatigue.

Increases productivity

According to 2014 research from the University of Exeter, employees’ productivity increases by 15% when previously ‘lean’ work settings are filled with just a handful of houseplants.

Reduces sickness and absence rates

Some experts argue that adding plants to the work environment can help to reduce the risk of sick building syndrome. Symptoms of sick building syndrome get worse the longer a person stays in a particular building and eventually gets better after they leave.

Cleans the air

 It is worth remembering that nature works miracles daily. Plants employ photosynthesis to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. Every day, your staff could breathe clean air without spending a dime.

2. Maximize space

 

 

 

Every square inch of an establishment costs money. Thus it is prudent to utilize every corner of the office. But it does not imply that you should load the nooks and crannies with useless items; instead, it suggests that you should maximize the available space. 

Here are some solutions to help you accomplish this:

Let there be light

Your office may not have a lot of equipment, but having ample lighting is enough to make it look bigger. Adding more windows that allow natural light to come in may do the trick. It is also known to raise alertness and productivity levels.

Veer away from heavy furniture

Oversized dark-colored furniture may trick the eyes into believing that space is smaller than it is.

Remain flexible

Instead of building concrete walls, use movable dividers or folding partitions to transform your office space. You can also use collapsible or portable tables, desks, and chairs. This way, you can freely use the same pieces of furniture for other functions when needed. With this, you can transform a double-room space into a bigger single room perfect for a small team to conduct collaborative meetings.

Go vertical

There are plenty of ways you can save space by filing your documents. Offices that feature ample wall space make use of a vertical filing system, in particular, to allow for optimal utilization of that wall space.

3. Clutter-Free 

 

Your office is a sanctuary, a holy place where you’ve invested your life’s work. You can’t allow it to become cluttered. Otherwise, your employees will feel uneasy, or worse, someone could get hurt in an accident. Here are some office hacks to keep the workspace clutter-free and maintain the aesthetics of your interior fit-out design:

• Make space for a multitasking message board.
• Create an order with drawer organizers and use the color coding on your files.
• Corral messy cables or go cord-free.
• Divide your office into task-related work zones for maximum efficiency.
• Set up a paper-processing station.
• Schedule regular maintenance.

 

4. Quality Furniture

 

Like any remodeling project, upgrades are necessary to achieve better results. You wouldn’t need to replace everything, but adding quality materials to your office is one way to make your employees feel appreciated. Replacing their old desks and chairs with fine tables and comfortable seats would go a long way in setting the right mood in the workplace.

Spending ample resources to get higher-quality furniture will be worth every penny in the long run. Boring office furniture tends to make employees lazy and uninspired. It also results in people feeling irritated and clumsy by the mountains of work on their desks. Being surrounded by boring furniture, individuals often lose interest in work, affecting their productivity significantly.

 

5. Cozy Lobby

 

 

Your office lobby can also be called the ‘face’ of your company. It’s the first thing that greets first-time visitors, interested applicants, and employees to begin their day. Making the interior fit-out design of the lobby as excellent and as welcoming as possible is imperative.

If you’re a visitor to a company, the last thing you want is a chilly and dull lobby. If you’re a job applicant, it will help if the waiting area is less tense and has comfortable seats. You won’t want to see the same cold and monotonous hall every day if you’re an employee. You wouldn’t want people to think these things when they first set foot in your office. After all, first impressions do last, so there is no need to hold back in designing your lobby.

There you have it. With these tips in your arsenal, your office space will be a wonderland for your employees. They may even get the word out and recommend your company to their peers, and new applicants would swarm in. Your visitors would be impressed that they may finally sign that contract with you. Investing in designing or redesigning your office fit-out would prove to be very beneficial in one way or another.

Do you find interior design interesting? Contact us for a consultation with our professional interior designer. You can also click here to see our portfolio.