Whether you’re a manager or an employee, we all want to work to the best of our ability, and we want to do well for ourselves and our company overall. We are only human however, and it may be that at times we notice our productivity and our innovation game are on the wane.
This can be due to a number of different reasons, and can be as simple as a problem at home, a relationship issue, perhaps feeling ‘under the weather’ for a while, hormonal problems, health issues, or some other outside influence which is causing you to be distracted from your job.
If you’re an employee, you want to create the most innovative and exciting place for your staff to work, because you will be very aware of how that increases productivity and enjoyment in work roles. From time to time however, things need to be shaken up.
If you find yourself in this situation, either as a manager or an individual, don’t worry; there are many ways to up your innovation game at work.
Incorporate Hot Desks
Office desks don’t necessarily have to belong to one person for the duration of their time in that particular office, and hot desking is a method that has brought a lot of success to many offices. This basically means that nobody has a specific desk, ad when they arrive at work that morning, they can sit where they want to. This can be a great for collaborative working, because people can move around and place themselves close to the other people they need to collaborate and brainstorm with.
This may not work for every office, so it may be something to trial first, to see if it works for your staff. This is the modern office desk method, and it has been shown to bring a more productive environment to many businesses. On the downside, it can sometimes bring a sense of insecurity to some members of staff so again, you need to look at your staff and decide whether this would work for you.
Look at Work Zones
A little like hot desking, the rise of breakout furniture popularity has made it possible for businesses to incorporate work zones. This means that if a member of staff needs to go somewhere quieter to complete a detailed task, they can go to a quiet zone, perhaps equipped with sofas or other modular furniture. On the other side of the coin, if a few members of staff need to discuss a project, they can go to a collaborative zone of the office, where they can talk freely, without fear of disturbing another member of the team.
Consider Comfort Levels
It could be that your innovation game has dropped because you’re simply not comfortable at your desk or work station. Perhaps you need to look into orthopaedic office chairs, either for you or your staff, to up comfort and therefore up concentration and innovation levels. It really can be something that simple.
In addition, look at the layout of the office in general, is there enough natural light? Is the colour of the office stimulating? It can sometimes be that a slight change is needed to boost concentration and productivity, and the in case of focus, blue and green are two colours which have been shown to boost concentration.
There is some research to show that incorporating plants into an office can help to boost overall productivity, possibly up to 15%. This is easy enough to do, and you simply need to remember to water them on a daily basis! Remember to place your plants near to the windows, so they get enough natural light.
Have a Time Out Zone
Some staff work well with music playing lightly in the background, whilst others find it distracting. You could have a vote and find out whether your particular office staff would like to have music played or not, but if the vote says ‘no’, or it is split down the middle, how about incorporating a time out zone? This could be somewhere that soft music is playing, somewhere with comfortable chairs, and basically somewhere your staff can go (or you can go) to have a moment and re-focus. Sometimes we need a five minute break from the computer screen in order to readjust our brains. You will find many office furniture in London choices to help furnish your new space.
There are many other ideas you can look into in terms of boosting innovation, concentration, and productivity in the office, including the possibly of introducing an office pet! There is evidence to support the idea that having an animal in the office could be beneficial but you do have to think about the welfare of the animal itself. This is something you should think about carefully if you’re going to go down that route.
Overall however, the idea of looing at how your staff and you are placed in the office is the best option. Comfort is everything, and if you’re not comfortable, you’re simply not going to be able to concentrate or focus on anything. The only thing you’ll be able to think about is how uncomfortable you are, and then you’ll start to clock watch – an instant work happiness killer. A few tweaks here and there can be enough to change everything, but if you do want a total office overhaul, there are some modern options to look into, such as breakout furniture and zones.