One thing that pretty much everyone running any business at the moment has had to deal with is the growing need for more and more remote working. During the COVID-19 pandemic the need for remote working has become something that no business can ignore. However, the reality is that this pandemic is not going to last forever and there will come a time when the best thing for many businesses and workers is going to be to get back into the office.
Because of that, now might be the perfect time to start thinking a little bit more critically about your office space. While you might previously have been perfectly happy with it, now is the time to assess it in detail and figure out if it’s actually the right space for your and your employees. With that in mind, here are some ways that you can figure out if your office space is fit for purpose when you and your employees come back to work.
Light
Light is one of the most important parts of any workspace that the vast majority of people never even bother to think about. This is often because the impact of light in the office is more often a matter of how it makes a space feel than anything else. This can often be a challenge to actually quantify. But the truth is that light can make a huge difference to your workforces motivation and productivity. If your office is dark and dreary then that’s going to create a tired atmosphere that makes it a whole lot harder to keep your employees motivated. Plenty of natural light is often the best option for any business. That being said, you also need to be aware of things like glare if your employees are working on screens. There are plenty of commercial window tinting options available to you if that’s something that is causing problems. That way, you can get plenty of light into your office while allowing your employees to stay comfortable.
Safety
There’s no doubt that the safety of the people in your business is a concern that has become a whole lot more forgrounded than ever before over the last year. However, it’s essential that you don’t forget about the responsibilities that you have to your employees, your clients, and yourself to make sure that your office is as safe an environment as possible. For one thing, you need to be sure that the building itself follows all relevant health and safety laws and regulations. Not only that but you should always be sure that your employees are as comfortable at work as possible. The right chairs might not seem like the biggest deal in the world but if you’re not providing your employees with chairs that offer the right amount of back support then you could end up causing serious injuries that can not only harm your employees but end up costing your business a whole lot of time and money.
Space
If there’s one thing that causes more people to lose motivation in an office than anything else, it’s being crammed in like sardines in a tin can. This was a fact before the rise of social distancing and if you expect that people will have the patience for it after the pandemic is over, you’re in for a pretty nasty shock. The reality is that a certain degree of social distancing is a great thing to consider when trying to get the most out of your office space. Not only is making sure that your employees have the space to move around the best way to make sure that they’re comfortable but it’s also another essential ingredient in making sure that they are always as safe as possible.
Layout
One thing that a lot of business owners slip up on is the fact that they don’t really put that much thought into the ways that they arrange their office. The truth is that the way that your office is laid out can have a big impact on the kind of environment that you’re trying to create. If your office one that would benefit from an open layout that would allow for plenty of collaboration or would it be better to create an environment where your employees can focus on their own work. A lot of the time, the answer lies somewhere in between these two places but no matter what you choose, thinking about the layout of your office is something that is always worth doing.
Accessibility
One of the biggest mistakes that too many business owners make is that they don’t pay nearly enough attention to accessibility in their office. The reality is that if you’re not making the effort to make your office a usable and comfortable space to those with disabilities, then you’re just not doing enough. Your office should be somewhere where every single one of your employees can work without feeling discriminated against, not just your able-bodied employees. The best thing that you can do is to discuss these concerns with people who understand the issue directly so that you can be sure that you’re not missing anything.
Of course, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to throw away all of the things that you have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. The truth is that remote working is, in fact, a much better option for a lot of people. After all, many people are able to work far more productively with a flexible schedule and without having to come into the office every day. While the vast majority of your workforce will likely be happy to get back to work as normal, keeping those flexibility options may well be the best thing for some people. Whether it’s in the office or away from it, the key is to think about the things that you can do to make sure that every aspect of your business is built around getting the most out of the people within it.
