Workplaces bring together a wide variety of personalities and often employees’ skills are tied into their natural character – but is your office interior design helping people make the most of their natural strengths?
We are all different and many businesses actually use personality tests to highlight these differences and suggest how to accommodate these on an individual basis.
While your business may attract a particular type of personality it is usual to see a diverse range of characteristics in most offices.
While opposites can attract personality clashes can also be a source of conflict, or can lead to feelings of alienation.
Improve productivity through office interior design
While office interior design cannot pander to every whim and complaint, you can use it to help to create a workplace that maximises teamwork, encourages creativity, provides for solitude and embraces discussion.
At the widest end of the spectrum there is the need for introverts and extroverts to be able to work together while having a very different set of needs.
A flamboyant, salesperson who spends a large part of their day on the phone to contacts for example will no doubt be a difficult next door neighbour for an introverted analyst.
And it is this that encapsulates what many workers really need from their workspace – the space to shine and be themselves – and the need for a quiet space to concentrate or a buzzing environment to tap into.
Carefully planned office interior design can accommodate introverts, extroverts and those who hover between the two, allowing everyone to feel they have the space they need to excel.
Office interior design features to consider
Even in an open plan office it is easy to add in features through office design such as:
- Quiet zones
- Break-out areas
- Discussion hubs
- Screened areas
- Acoustic seating
While communication and working as part of a team are important, giving introverted workers the option to head over to a quiet zone when the noise of the office is a distraction will immediately improve their workplace experience.
Likewise a more extroverted member of staff may find a quiet office off-putting when making calls or discussing ideas with other members of staff.
Using office interior design to include break out areas and discussion hubs can let them feel free to be themselves and engage more fully in conversations that will ultimately benefit the company.
Office interior design is about more than fitting desks into a space, it is about creating the best environment you can for your workforce. A happier workforce is a more loyal and productive workforce so make sure they can make the most of their natural skills through careful office interior design.
For more advice on office interior design an updating your office furniture contact Vale Office Interiors.