Published on June 24th, 2014 | by Guest

Bizarre and unusual ways to encourage staff creativity and focus

If you’re looking for ways to boost staff creativity and focus, it may be time to reconsider your office design. Firms across the world are increasingly switching on to the benefits of innovative and unusual design ideas to help them get the very most from their personnel.

Highlighting the potential benefits of bespoke fit-outs, research published last year by the British Council of Offices revealed that the majority of workers preferred funky offices, with six in ten saying it improved their productivity.

Also, in 2009 interior design firm Ambius revealed that 62 per cent of employees in the US believed they would be more motivated if their bosses made an effort to improve their working environments. In addition, the study pointed to research conducted at the University of Exeter that suggested enriched office design improved productivity by around 15 per cent.

Offer games as a reward

As an employer, you’ll know that encouraging staff members to perform to the best of their ability often requires a ‘carrot and stick’ approach, whereby workers are reprimanded for failures and rewarded for successes.

One great way to bolster employee productivity is to invest in special games areas for your office. Within these, you can include comfy seating, games consoles, pool tables and more. Allowing personnel to relax and unwind when they have completed tasks can encourage them to function effectively and efficiently. It can also enhance your efforts to recruit and retain the best individuals.

Sleep pods

We all experience lulls at some stage during the day and productivity inevitably slides as a result. You might want to follow the lead of firms like Google and Procter & Gamble, which have installed special sleeping pods for their workers to nap in.

This might sound a little unorthodox, but given the long working days many people now put in, pods like this may soon be a common sight.

Zone your office

Traditionally, offices had a homogenous look, comprising rows of seating and desks. However, a rising number of firms are turning this idea on its head and incorporating different zones within their working areas.

For example, you could include quiet and formal spaces where people can get on with their tasks in peace. In addition, you could incorporate more relaxed, sociable zones where workers can brainstorm and chat freely.

The good news is, it’s now easy to get all the furniture you need for both formal and informal spaces from firms such as Calibre Office Furniture.

Get creative

If your workers rely on creativity to complete their tasks, it’s worth thinking about including inspirational and unusual design elements within your office. For example, you can play around with colour and display thought provoking artwork.

Why walk?

As the old adage goes, in business time is money. With this in mind, you might want to consider how your personnel get around your building. If you have a large office, you could offer your workers scooters for added speed, or you could even install slides to make travelling between floors quicker – not to mention more fun!

Some of these design ideas may seem a little bizarre, but they could help you in your quest to raise worker productivity and focus.

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This is a sponsored post by Calibre Office Furniture.

Tags: bizarre, creativity, encourage, furniture, sleep, staff, unusual, walk, zone