3 Important Considerations When Planning Your Office Space

There are dozens of details that go into planning the layout and design of office space, from the square footage to the placement of artificial lighting to ergonomic solutions that cut down on injuries. Some items are more important than others in a big-picture view of arranging office space. What are the most important considerations to start with?

1. Available Office Space and Number of Employees

Before you start ordering desks, chairs, cubicles, and other office furniture, you need to make sure you have adequate space to house it all. This means taking accurate measurements of your office so you can determine how best to add and arrange furnishings for the employees who will use the space.

From there, you’ll want to consider whether each employee should have a separate and dedicated workstation or teams should be grouped together, saving some space and encouraging collaboration. The answer could depend on the square footage you have available as well as the work environment you want to support.

2. Office Space Privacy

This is an important consideration in office planning. While plenty of companies still rely on traditional cubicles to provide privacy, others are adopting an open-space mentality.

If you’re nervous about the impact of taking down all the walls between workers, consider a happy medium. Install transparent barriers that allow light to flow through the space, creating an open, airy ambiance but still providing some measure of privacy for employees to conduct phone calls or focus on their work without unduly disturbing nearby coworkers.

3. Functional Design

Remember that people not only work in this space but move through it as well. You need to account for this for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, you have to make sure your workspace is safe, and that means following guidelines for capacity, fire safety, and ADA standards. Empty space is just as important as the square footage taken up by desks and cubicles.

You also need to consider how movement in the space will affect worker concentration and performance. Make sure to leave enough space in walkways so that the mail cart doesn’t ram cubicles, but maybe not so much that people are encouraged to gather in groups and chit-chat. Reserve that space for lounge areas away from where people are working.

Office Furniture Direct has everything you need to create a modern, functional, sophisticated office space. Contact us today to schedule an on-site appointment and discover the best solutions for your specific needs.