Small Office Design Ideas to
Boost Productivity
When you walk in your office, do you notice things feel cramped and stale? Are employees skirting around filing cabinets and huge partner desks? Does your office feel like drudgery and paperwork? 
Your office should be a vibrant place full of excitement and energy. Playing with some small office design layout ideas can breathe a new life into your office. Read on to get some ideas on how to make your office a better, more productive place to work.
Get Flexible
Every solution doesn’t work for every person, and even if you find a layout that works well for a while, your employees may burn out on that system after a while. One of the best ways you can encourage long-term productivity in your employees is to set up a flexible layout. Find out more about flexible layouts that work here.
Try adding some hot desks where any employee can go for a change of scenery when they need it. If you have some smaller offices or rooms that aren’t being used or could be repurposed, make those media rooms or quiet spaces where employees can go when they need to. You could also use a conference room as a group workspace when you aren’t hosting meetings there.
Get Fresh
One great step towards a more productive office space may be to get new furniture. If your current layout isn’t working, there may not be a lot you can do with the furniture you have in place. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and ditch the old for the new and exciting.
Get desks that can convert from sitting to standing as needed or that are on wheels for easy rearrangement. Look for geometric tables and minimalist furniture that can bring employees closer together without taking up a ton of space. Get rid of cubicles, scan filing cabinet files and shred the old paper copies, and use the newly free space to create a more effective workflow for your employees.
Get Lit
Humans are shockingly tied to our circadian rhythms – energy cycles that fluctuate with the presence of natural light. It’s what makes us more alert in the day and sleepier at night. So if your office is a dark cave, your employees are going to feel sleepier, more depressed, and less productive.
If you can, open up any windows you have in your office and bring in plenty of natural light. If you don’t have any windows, create some with daylight LED lightboxes. You may also want to create a napping nook where employees can go grab a power nap, but more light in the office will decrease the coffee abuse and increase your productivity.
Use a Theme
One great to add some energy and personality to your office is to use a theme. White paint, white floors, and white furniture can start to create a sort of snow-blindness that makes our brains wander more. While you don’t want a pattern so bold it’s distracting, adding a little fun to your office can make your employees happier in their workspace and therefore more productive.
Use company colors and logos to decorate your office in creative ways. This can make your employees feel more connected with and loyal to the company without shoving branding down their throats. Bring in snazzy light fixtures and some potted plants for a breath of the outdoors.
Be a Good Neighbor
Desk neighborhoods can be a good way to encourage collaboration, connection, and friendship among your employees. These desk groups allow employees to share a sort of sub-office with each other. Having another person nearby when you’re working can keep you more connected and more productive.
Navigating desk neighborhoods will take a little extra effort in management, however. You don’t want to stick two employees who can’t stand each other at the same desk grouping. If possible, let your employees create their own desk groupings, and keep those as flexible as the rest of your office layout.
Create a Space to Relax
It’s important to create a little life-work balance in your office space. Many boxes think that the office has to be only work-focused, but that leads to burnout and less productivity than a little more leniency. Your employees should feel happy and relaxed when they’re at the office.
Create a space where your employees can relax and unwind a little bit. This could be a fancy coffee bar, a meditation space, a power nap room, or even a bulletin board where employees can post pictures of their pets. Little joys like this will make your employees happier at work and thus more productive.
Talk to Your Employees
The most important thing you can do when you’re rearranging your office to be more productive is to talk to your employees. Implementing changes at random can lead to more worker dissatisfaction, not less. You may be changing things that aren’t causing a problem or creating solutions that don’t work.
Ask them what the problems are, and ask for their input on the changes. Talk to them about what would help them be more productive and what would make them happier while they’re at the office. Getting them involved in the process will help them feel more invested in the company and the solutions you implement.
Trying to figure out how to implement small office design layout ideas that increase productivity can be tricky. Keep things flexible, get some great lighting, and provide a space for your employees to unwind. But most importantly, keep your employees involved in the transformation process.
