Forward thinking companies have really latched on to the idea of creating breakout areas in the office. Breakout areas aren’t just a buzzword in the industry or the company paying lip service to health and safety (although that is an excellent reason for having them!). Far from it; organisations are increasingly seeing the benefit of giving their teams a bit of space to chill out and contemplate and having these spaces has proven to create better cross-functional relationships and collaboration.
Going back to the health and safety point for a moment. We all know that it’s not healthy to be stuck at your workstation in front of a computer screen for 7 to 8 hours so breakout areas allow your teams to take quick breaks, have a much needed beverage and re-charge their batteries. By doing this, your teams are more productive and ‘on their game’ when they are back at their workstation.
Without breakout areas you also tend to find people eating their lunches in front of their screens, dropping crumbs into the keyboard and generally being uncommunicative. Breakout areas give your teams somewhere to take their lunch, catch up with their colleagues and unwind a little bit.
Getting back to the point about collaboration. Breakout areas allow teams from different departments to mix and chew the fat. Inevitably conversations often involve work and out of these conversations, good ideas are often generated. These are ideas that would probably have never seen the light of day if you kept your staff working in silos.
So, creating a breakout area for your staff can add value in all sorts of areas. With a bit of planning, creative design and some decent furniture you can create an area that will give your teams time to think and get to know each other!
At Vale Office Interiors we have planned and designed numerous breakout areas for companies of all shapes and sizes. For advice about creating a breakout space and the best type of furniture to use then please get in touch.
