Smart businesses understand the power of an effective office design to create a more productive environment for employees. Studies show that simple things like wall art and office plants can have a significant impact on employee happiness and productivity.

We’re going to walk through five of the most important factors of an effective office design. With these easy to follow tips, it’s simple to turn your office into an inspiring and motivating space.

1. Consider Enclosure

When it comes to designing an effective office, enclosure is a huge factor to consider. The enclosure of an office is the degree to which the space is closed off by walls, doors or a ceiling. This is what we talk about when we talk about an office having an “open floor plan” or walled-off cubicles.

How enclosed your office design should be depends on a lot of factors including the industry you’re in, the size of your business, and the things that your employees value the most.

Office design fads have gone from stuffy cubicles to completely open shared spaces. While there is a lot of conversation happening about what type of office design makes for the most productive employees, studies have found that an office which allows for both collaborative and private spaces is the most effective.

2. Incorporating Privacy into Your Effective Office Design

This factor is closely related to the enclosure of your office and puts emphasis on carving out spaces that give employees the privacy they need to get work done. If you’re currently working in an open plan office lacking walls, consider the different privacy needs of your employees.

The privacy factor of your office design includes both visual and acoustic privacy. This means your office should incorporate spaces where individuals can focus, and where teams can collaborate without the sound they produce interfering with the rest of the office.

3. Creating an Effective Office Design With Technology

The world of technology is always growing and at rapid speeds. This means that the latest technologies are improving employee productivity and office design at more affordable costs than ever. While you don’t need to have a technologically advanced office that resembles Google’s, it’s important to consider the part technology plays in your office design.

If you have outdated technology, it can make your employees’ lives harder and add hours and stress to their projects. Investing in technology like new devices and collaboration tools can benefit both your company and your employees in the long run by making their jobs more efficient.

4. Think About the Temporality of Your Space

The temporality factor of a space is the way in which it draws people in. In other words, an office that has a high temporality factor is one that people enjoy being in and linger around a little longer. Temporality is an important thing to consider in an effective office design because it encourages employee relationships to blossom and collaboration to happen on a more social level.

Temporal spaces can be anything from the office lounge area, to a Workcafe space. These comfortable spaces invite employees to hang around and can be the breeding place of innovative ideas.

5. The Size of Your Effective Office Design Matters

The last factor in an effective office design is the physical space of your workplace. While small businesses can’t necessarily afford to move into a large office, the right size depends on how many employees you have. You want to make sure that your office space fits into your company’s budget while also allowing plenty of room for your employees to breathe and move around freely.

If you find yourself stuck in a small office, there are plenty of ways you can maximize your place incorporating organization solutions and space saving tips. Try using space vertically instead of horizontally to open up your floor and make the space feel larger than it actually is.