5 Tips to Design Office Space for Remote Workers

Remote Office Space

Working remotely for a company is becoming increasingly common these days. It encourages flexibility and allows employees to work from home. This boosts their efficiency and increases the overall productivity of the company. It improves work-life balance and negates the need for often long and stressful commutes to head office.

With an increase in the number of remote workers, office spaces and designs are also changing rapidly. Workers increasingly don’t come to the office to do their work, instead using the office as a meeting and project space as they prefer working remotely when engaged in individual tasks. So, how does one design an office space where many of the workers work remotely?

Here are some tips from commercial office refurbishment and office design experts that can help you design your office space for remote workers.

1. Choose the Right Colours

The colours you choose for the workplace are very important. They have an impact on the mental health of the workers and therefore, should be chosen carefully. Blue colour is great for focus as it has a calming effect. Yellow, on the other hand, stimulates collaboration and engagement. Red colour stimulates your body into action, but can increase emotion and stress if used too liberally, while green encourages balance and overall wellbeing.

Choose a colour that you think will have the impact you want on the workers. Opt for a mixture of bright and subtle colours. Don’t make it boring or dull, or it will have the same impact on the employees. You can always get help from experts about the kind and combination of colours you should choose for the workplace, as every company has individual requirements for the work ethic and atmosphere in each area, and these can sometimes be challenging to identify and address. The right professionals will leverage the colour scheme and design, optimising productivity and wellbeing in the space.

2. Keep It Clutter-Free

Don’t add too many elements to the office design. Remember, keeping things simple is the key. Look for interesting murals or wallpapers to add interest to the office walls without compromising floor or storage space. Ensure that there is enough free space to walk around the place easily, without causing human traffic jams or awkwardly inching past colleagues’ workstations. Well-considered storage space is also key: don’t clutter the desks with too many files or papers as it has a detrimental effect on the productivity of the employees. Try to keep the office as organised and mess-free as possible. However, it is possible to go too far the other way! If the design is too minimalist and clinical, some remote workers may feel restricted and uneasy and so will not be able to work comfortably.

3. Add Plants

Consider adding some indoor plants to the office space. This not only makes the indoors pleasant aesthetically, but also keeps the environment fresh and clean. The office space will also look warm and welcoming. Plants are always a great option to add some colour to an otherwise bland office space. Also make sure that sunlight enters the office as much as possible. This will keep the indoors bright, and will boost up the morale of your team. Don’t rely on this too much though, it still needs to be bright when the weather is miserable!

4. Don’t forget lighting

On this note, it is worth mentioning that good lighting makes or breaks a good design scheme. This is increased in the case of remote workers, as their working hours are more likely to be flexible and at times of day where alternative forms of lighting may be required. Consider table lamps for the desking and clip on task lighting for working after dark/before dawn. Add interest and increase ambient light with floor lamps in meeting rooms. However, it is also important that glare on laptop, computer and TV screens is considered and prevented, so make sure that the lighting is placed appropriately.

5. Add Break Out Areas

You should also consider adding some areas or corners in the office design where the workers can go and relax. Add a coffee-maker to these areas. It is also usually best to segregate a designated eating area from collaboration spaces within the office, for cleaning and maintenance purposes and also from a wellbeing point of view, to help workers take a proper lunch break rather than snatching a bite to eat at their desks. Prevents, ahem, aromatic food from distracting and annoying other people in the space as well!

You can also place some interesting books, music or even a TV in these areas. Designate a specific smoking area at the premises so that the people who smoke can go there to relax. This relaxation space should have minimal but soothing décor. Choose colours that make the environment soothing and relaxing for the workers.

These were some tips that commercial office refurbishment services follow when they are designing an office space for remote workers. The above points are a few guidelines that professional office refurbishment companies follow when designing office space for remote workers, however they are not exhaustive and if you have a project, It is best to leave the office designing task to the expert office design services. They will help you design an office space that boosts the productivity of your remote workers to its maximum potential.

Get Your Project Started

We are thrilled that you want to start a project with us! 

Please fill out a few details below so that we can be in touch to discuss your project in more detail and get the show on the road!