What does neuroscience have to do with office design?

What impact does the design of your office have on staff productivity and morale? The answer may surprise you. The phycological impact of the space in which you and you staff spend most of your waking hours is critical to productivity and wellbeing.

Over the last few years, researchers in workspace science have been investigating the link between the space in which we work and the quality and quantity of the work we produce. Some of their findings may surprise you:

Higher ceilings can lead to more creativity and broader thinking, while lower ones encourage focus
A low level of noise is good for productivity, while a very rowdy or completely silent space has the opposite effect
Proximity to other colleagues enhances both working relationships and collaboration between teams
Being able to see nature aids concentration and wellbeing, if you don't have a view, place real plants around the office. There's no doubt that working inside isn't entirely natural, so transplanting as much of the outdoors inside will make a huge difference
As with sound, lighting levels needs to be set just right; not too bright and not too dull
Colours can enhance productivity, focus and mood with blue being good for creativity and green increasing feelings of calm. Knowing which shades to go for is a fine art but it can make a genuine difference to the environment you work in
Personalisation is far more important than you might expect and teams perform better when they have some input into the design of their workspace.

Open offices are the norm now as they make the best use of space when, especially in big cities, space can be at a premium. However, new research suggests that open offices are not for everyone and there can be increases in output and collaboration when people have smaller spaces in which to work and mingle. There's no one size fits all approach to office design.

You don't have to be a neuroscientist to get the very best out of your staff with excellent office design, we can help you. Drop us a line now to find out how workspace science can help you and your business.