For many decades going back in time, office space was an element that business owners paid little attention to. Very little thought went into the office because as far as a business owner was concerned, as long as there was enough space to house their staff and the building was cheap enough to buy or rent, that was enough for them to consider. Office design and layout was never really a decisive element of whether a building would be suitable or not.However, times are changing and now more than ever before employers are having to take into consideration the mental health and well-being of their staff. Office design and position are now being looked at in more detail to ensure that the environment delivers a positive impact on their staff and how they work.There are a number of factors that are now being looked at from open space, natural daylight levels, ergonomic furniture design, colour choice for décor, plants and greenery, lighting, heating and air circulation.A number of flexible working arrangements are also becoming more popular, such as splitting the working week between the working in the company office for two or three days per week and from home for the remainder of the week.For smaller business start-ups and micro-businesses, many more owners are now working a lean operation where they don't operate any offices at all. Instead, all administration work is outsourced to outside professionals such as Capital Offices that provide fully comprehensive Virtual Office Services. Taking this option can be a very cost-effective move and can mean that a new company will have more money to re-invest back into their business for future growth rather than see it spent on office rent, building insurance, utilities and staff wages.
Working arrangements and employees mental health
According to a report from Kelby Ergo Design (KED), nearly 90 per cent of our time is spent indoors. Those adults that are employed outside of the home will spend a whopping 33 per cent of their time within their workplace.It doesn't come as a surprise to learn then that the UK is currently suffering from a severe mental health crisis. According to the Office for National Statistics, one in four young women are reporting mental health problems, so concerns from employers for the well-being of their employees are now becoming a major consideration.Many modern business setups are moving away from old-fashioned cubicle office designs that had quite an isolating impact of their employees. Instead, more thought is being put into improving working conditions to allow more social and physical interaction that encourages stronger working relationships. This, in turn, helps to improve working collaborations, raises the mood and well-being of staff and goes a long way to improving productivity levels for the company.Improved office layout and flexible working conditions have also seen a positive rise in performance levels, reduced rates of errors, and fewer workplace injuries and sickness absences. This is why it very important to consider the psychology behind your office design should you consider running a physical office on your business premises.
Alternative design-thinking
Making positive changes to your office space can help to boost your productivity and the mental well-being of your staff. You will also be helping to create a more pleasant and enjoyable working atmosphere that will help you to retain the best talent that your company currently has. Unhappy workers will quickly seek alternative employment should their working environment be an unhappy one.Many business owners just starting out across the UK are now choosing new office space that offer well-designed layouts rather than cheap as chips commercial spaces where offices are often shoe-horned into corners without much thought. Even though the rent may be a little higher on well-planned office spaces, the saving your company can make over the longer term can be greater because of the positive effect your office environment will have on your employees' mental health and well-being.Flexibility is also another major factor for new business owners to consider here. To cater to the demand for more flexible working options, company owners are now looking at digital offices that work in the cloud and allow for collaboration from team members wherever their location. This means more flexibility for staff to work from home or on the road visiting clients face-to-face at their places of work.
Virtual office revolution
Another major change to the landscape of the working office is that of benefiting from virtual office services from professional providers such as Capital Office in London. This concept has been a positive shift in thinking by new business owners.With many new companies, the traditional corporate office set up is fast becoming a thing of the past. More businesses are adopting either a home-away-from-home approach to their office environment, incorporating more staff rest and recreational areas, organising yoga sessions, mindfulness classes and discounted gym memberships.Many more company owners are even eliminating many day-to-day administration duties such as telephone call answering and mail sorting by outsourcing these tasks to outside professionals. By doing this the company can save a lot of money by not having to employ their own office administration staff or payout for office space to accommodate them.A lot of research and design companies appreciate a working environment that offers peace and quiet to allow them to concentrate on their work. By removing the distractions of constant telephone calls, office chatter and the hustle and bustle of mail sorting duties, staff can focus more of their attention towards developing their projects without interruption or distraction.By putting your essential day to day office duties into the hands of a professional virtual office provider, business owners can be rest assured that all of their important telephone calls are being handled correctly in a timely and responsive manner. They can also greatly benefit from the time-saving mail sorting services on offer. Adopting these virtual services means that your mail sorting company can handle and deal with your business post in an appropriate way so you don't have to!Should a company owner decide to offer more flexible working arrangements for their staff, this can mean them having members of staff working from various locations, but all interconnected through modern technology to allow collaboration and teamwork to continue unheeded.By outsourcing regular office admin duties to professionals such as Capital Office, it will also mean that no piece of important mail will go astray or crucial telephone call missed. No matter where your key staff are working at any particular time, they will always be kept up to date with important phone calls and mail notifications through your virtual office service provider.We can take your incoming calls and deal with them as per your instructions. This means that if you don't want to be disturbed, we can take phone messages and forward them to you in a timely manner. Or if you are waiting for an important call from one particular client, we can ensure that they are put through to you with high priority.Important letters and documents can be scanned and emailed through to you so you are kept completely up to date with your post without having to experience any delays. We can bundle up your incoming mail and forward it on to you at regular intervals as designated by yourself, or if you are passing by our London offices, you can call in to pick up your mail in person if you so wish. This is how flexible our virtual office services are.
Freedom from the constraints of the office
Company owners are now realising that their staff don't need to spend so many working hours stuck behind a desk. More companies than ever before are offering their employees the freedom to decide how and where they work. This change in office structure has seen a rise in happier and more productive staff.Introducing flexible working conditions and outsourcing day to day administration tasks that used to tie-down staff has helped to improve their general well-being and mental health.Business owners, especially solo-entrepreneurs or sole traders, are also seeing greater savings by operating a lean company where they don't need to spend out a large chunk of their revenue on renting unnecessary office space and all the associated insurance, utility bills and maintenance costs that come with it.As the business environment evolves over time, it is becoming more apparent than ever that the days of work cubicles and cramped, clinical office settings are being left well behind.Find out more about our flexible virtual office services and how using our cost-effective professional services can save you a lot of money!
