Office designs have come a long way in the past 100 years. In the early part of the 20th century, office spaces – as they were then – were seen to be restrictive and impractical. The idea of the open plan office was conceived out of a need to promote more interactivity in the workplace. This ideal quickly became just another way of cramming more workers into an already crowded space and so the cubicle design was conceived as a solution to this new problem of depersonalisation. Nevertheless, the open plan design crept back into the workplace, transforming into the pod-like arrangement that many offices still use today.
Rebelling Against Uniformity
In more recent years, however, some companies have rebelled against this traditional way of arranging individual workspaces. One such well-known example is Google. Their offices are known as being some of the most innovate and well-designed business environments in the world, incorporating a huge array of different features – such as sofas, rooftop gardens and industrial canteens – which are all designed to promote creativity and employee satisfaction.
Out of Reach Offices
Google offices are beyond the capabilities of most businesses. They’re huge, expensive and designed to be out of reach for other companies, thereby conferring upon Google an elite status amongst office workers worldwide. Although, some of their ideas are easily translatable for modern companies with smaller pockets, who wish to provide their own employees with some measure of workplace comfort.
Attend to Basic Needs
In the first instance, the best thing a business owner could do for their employees is attend to their basic needs. Amenities such as lighting, accessibility and agreeable temperatures can all be easily achieved and should be according to your responsibilities as a business owner. Even something so simple as installing Pure Air Conditioning will make all the difference when summer comes around.
Easy Ways to Score Cool Points
If you want to go one step further, providing thoughtful extras is a great way to show your employees that you care about their happiness and wellbeing. You don’t need to go the whole hog, like Google, and install beanbags and futuristic sofas in every available space. Instead, think about providing fresh fruit, giving your staff a free lunch once a week, or offering them reduced gym memberships as part of a company-wide scheme. This might not have the in-your-face cool appeal of a futuristic staff lounge or hipster-inspired boardroom, but your employees will probably think it’s pretty cool that their company cares enough to do what they can.