Recently we wrote about our fun office build out and how we got a little carried away. This time, we want to talk about the positive effects our office has had on our team and why you should consider changing your office setup. After all, a full-time employee will spend nearly 25% of their life inside the walls of your office space. Your office could be one of the most instrumental factors in impacting employee productivity and happiness. Here are several ways your office setup impacts your team.
1) Your Office Influences Attitude
Every morning when your team wakes up, the first thing they think about is whether or not they have to drive in to the office. Is that a positive or negative thought for them? While office amenities is not the only factor that affects work attitude, it’s not insignificant. Have a goal to make your office a place where people look forward to coming.
“While I may be tired, waking up on a Monday morning, the moment I open the door into our office I realize that I love where I work and I’m ready to grab my coffee and get straight to work!” — Maci Kauffman, Happiness Advocate
2) Your Office Builds Community
How your office is configured can greatly influence the building of relationships within your team. Office arrangement can either encourage community or discourage it. Common spaces, farm tables, and open layouts encourage team interaction. Not only does our team work great together, they all have become great friends too.
“Instead of having cubicles that isolate us, we have open spaces that unify us. It has this feeling as though ‘we are in the trenches’ with each other. We lean on each other’s strength’s and depend on each other to pull their weight, so as a team we can carry out the vision on the organization.” — Katie Runyon, Creator of Awesome Opportunities
3) Your Office Creates Pride and Ownership
When your team loves where they work, they take pride in their workplace. A good sign is when employees give friends and family tours of their office. This also helps with upkeep and adding fresh ideas to make it better. Regularly the team has ideas for how to make things better and take it upon themselves to make it happen.
“While working at Webconnex, I have felt a sense of ownership and pride of where I work. It has been a place where I love to have our friends and family visit to come see where my creativity is encouraged and where fun personalities and individuality is appreciated.” — Kristina Fessey, Laugh Inducer
4) Your Office Attracts Good Talent
People care about how and where they spend 8 hours a day and consider it when accepting a job offer. This means you might have the right people who want to work for you simply because the work environment suits them better — even though another job might pay more.
“Big corporate or small non-profit, the one thing that matters more than anything is the people. That can be good or bad, but here at Webconnex, it’s a VERY good thing. We are choosy with whom we bring in, because we want to inhabit creativity, positivity, and drive. It makes coming in a joy.” — John Gillis, Master of the Jedi Joy Council
5) Your Office Inspires Great Work
Your office setup makes a statement about the type of work you expect from your team. No one likes to spend thousands of dollars on a desk, but on the other hand, if your office fixtures are a mismatch of secondhand purchases on the cheap, you might be communicating a stingy value. Your office can become a reflection of caliber of work you want from your team. Our office has different areas and rooms that allow people to mix up their view and stretch if needed. A diverse setup suits our team who works on diverse projects.
“I love that I can vary where I work based on my mood. Sometimes the customer support farm table, but other times I need to sit on the couch and put my feet up. It’s great being given the freedom to choose where I’ll work best.” — Aubrey Harper, Brand Champion and Social Ambassador
6) Your Office Makes Working On Hard Stuff Suck Less
When challenging work is before you, one thing that makes it suck less is having a space that is enjoyable for hours on end. Staying late to figure out that last bug sucks a little less when there is a beer on your table and a view of the city lights in front of you. You don’t mind staying in an environment you truly enjoy.
“Even with the best plan deadlines and deployment schedules, inevitably bugs come up, and you have to work late. Having a work space that makes it enjoyable makes that way more appealing.” — Alex Sherry, Engineer of Awesomeness
7) Your Office Demonstrates You Care For Your People
Every day you can show your team you value them by your office setup. People feel loved and appreciated by how you accommodate their space. For example, people really appreciate we don’t shove them into cubicles. They feel valued that every person has a window when we could pay $0.50 a squarefoot to be in a warehouse. All of our office is designed to show our team we appreciate them and want them to do great work when they come in.
“A lot of time, effort, and intentionality has gone into the various details of our office, as well as hiring process to maintain the desired culture and environment. It has definitely paid off. I also think the enjoyment we experience in the office is felt by our clients too, as it makes us for cheerful when addressing tough clients and situations.” — Ashley Mellott, Director of Awesome First Impressions
Our office has been paying dividends for our team ever since we built it. We understand that we can’t always control if someone loves their day’s work, but we can make sure they love where they work. The office is like an oasis for our team that inspires them to enjoy work, have fun and do great things.