Office Features Your Employees Will Love

Offices aren’t what they used to be. And thank goodness!

No longer are drab offices with rows upon rows of cubicles the norm. These uninspiring offices have been replaced with bright spaces that inspire employees to do their best work.

At BnK Construction, we help our clients build office spaces that employees love and business owners are proud of. Read on to learn about some of the office features we implement to help businesses and organizations in Portland accomplish this.

Open layouts

One of the biggest things that employees always crave is more space. A good way to achieve space without actually investing in a bigger office is through an open layout.

In addition to increasing collaboration and communication in your office, open floor plans create the illusion of space. They’re known for keeping energy up and making employees feel less cramped.

They also look very modern, promote camaraderie in your employees, and allow for various layout options for the different teams in your company or organization.

Big windows

One of the biggest complaints we often hear from employees prior to an office remodel is that their current space is not providing enough natural light at their workstation.

While not every desk can have a 5-star view, big windows give your entire office more light (this is particularly true in an open layout office plan).

Natural light has been shown to have a number of benefits, including making your employees:

Happier
More productive
Healthier

There have even been some studies that suggest more natural light and sitting near a window can make employees more excited to show up every day.

A coffee and snack bar

Making employees comfortable should always be a big priority.

One way to do this is to provide snacks and coffee. We’ve even seen some companies out there investing in a full coffee bar with a milk steamer and espresso machine! Another favorite is a bar with a wine fridge and keg beer.

While this may seem like a luxury, coffee and snack bars boost productivity by increasing employee morale and providing much-needed energy throughout the day. A true win-win!

Break areas and a comfortable kitchen

On a similar note, providing your employees with a comfortable area to eat their lunch or unwind for a small afternoon break pays dividends.

Providing your employees a place to do this, such as a remodeled kitchen or a break area with a ping pong table, can add some fun moments to their day and help motivate them to do their best work.

It also adds to morale and makes your employees excited about coming into work every day. Consistent breaks where employees feel empowered to decompress from the stress of their workday has also been shown to make employees happier and more productive.

Alternative workspaces

While every employee likes having their own personal work space, providing alternative options is a popular way to break-up your employees’ day-to-day. Some options include:

Booth style tables that can be used by one or multiple employees
Quiet “do not disturb” booths where employees can have absolute silence to get work done. These spaces are particularly important in open floor plan offices.
Phone booth rooms for calls with people outside the organization.
Large communal tables for solo or collaborative work

While not every space in your office needs them, providing monitors at alternative workstations can help your employees’ productivity even more.

Mix of small & large meeting rooms

What’s more important in an office than collaboration? One thing we see employees constantly raving about are a mix of different-sized meeting spaces in their office.

While you’ll always need a large meeting room for big team meetings, a cavernous room for a smaller meeting can feel impersonal and leave employees unfocused. Small and medium-size rooms allow for more productive small meetings. Plus, they leave larger meeting spaces open for larger meetings and don’t cause competition and tension between employees for your meeting spaces.

Access to outdoor spaces

Who doesn’t love the great outdoors? Providing your employees with a space outside will give your team a place to enjoy their lunch break during the summer months. It can even give you a perfect spot to have your annual company picnic.

While you may not be able to provide a full outdoor space, investing in a patio area, some picnic benches, and nice landscaping goes a long way. If you add wifi access to your outdoor area, this can even be used as an extra alternative workspace during the nicer months.

A clean workspace

While every employee has a different comfort level with messiness, keeping your office clean and sanitary will make everybody happy.

In fact, messy and unorganized offices are one of the primary complaints we hear from employees at offices around the Portland and Vancouver area. They say it…

Reduces productivity
Makes them feel unformattable
Causes tension with teammates
Makes them feel like they’re getting sick at their own office
Creates the impression they’re not cared for

No matter how you do it, make sure to invest in processes or a cleaning service that will help keep your office clean.

Storage solutions

Clutter is the enemy of a peaceful mind. Adding storage solutions big and small will lead to an uncluttered office and encourage your team to do their part to keep your office organized.

Options like bike storage, coat racks, and personal lockers will make employees feel like they can have safe, dedicated spaces for their personal belongings while they’re working.

Similarly, having smart places to store the things they need to do their job such as printers, copying machines, and their computers will make it so that these items are not just haphazardly strewn about. In both cases, you’ll be left with an organized office and a happier team.

Design and build an office that your employees will love

Providing an office your employees love not only makes them happier, but also improves employee retention, productivity, and camaraderie.

At BnK Construction, we’re Portland’s Class A office space leaders. We have experience working with a range of companies and organizations with different end-goals and needs. No matter your vision, we’re dedicated to providing you with the absolute perfect space for your organization. We’ll listen to your goals, provide our input, and together we’ll achieve a space that checks all of your boxes.

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