You Better Work, B!%#h!

What kind of office layout do you have?

What kind of office layout works for you and your company? Do more social, open offices lead to more or less productivity? Take, for example, a company like Google; where the employees have coding tips and puzzles on bathroom walls, workout rooms and mini-exercise pools, on-site child care, views of nature, clear walls in pretty much every part of the building (To boost transparency?), etc. And Google is a multi-bazillion dollar company. They’re pretty productive. Maybe you aren’t a millionaire who can build a facility like Google, but anyone can figure out the right type of office organization for his or her company. Open and airy, closed-in cubicles, workout rooms and child-care, there are plenty of options that may help motivate your workers to be the best they can be. According to new studies, surprisingly, the completely “open” floor-plan does not lend itself to a lot of collaboration. It turns out that when co-workers can hear everything that goes on, people get shy! Not talking is NOT great for the creative process. Even if you do have an open organization scheme, it is important to have nooks and crannies (like an English Muffin) for people to meet in and make phone calls or other semi-intimidating stuff.

While productivity is mostly affected by peoples’ different learning/concentration styles, as well as their varied social interaction skills, some general “new” rules for office design include the presence of plants and natural light (to remember where we came from, man…); open spaces for a leg-stretching/brain-clearing session after lunch; and other sort of hippie stuff like stand-only desks and workout equipment in the office. Research what is best for your employees and try out a new layout, or even a new color of paint on the office walls. It WILL make a difference in their productivity, and probably even their motivation to go to work!