Author Archives: Bellia Office Furniture

Reducing distractions in an open office is crucial to productivity. About 70 percent of US companies have adopted an open office. The benefit of having an  open office is that it maximizes space while keeping down costs, but the amount of distractions employees encounter could hurt productivity. To get the most out of your workday, try of few of these tips to eliminate distractions in your open office.

Here are 6 Tips for Reducing Distractions in an Open Office

TURN OFF EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

E-mail notifications are a major source of interruption and are distracting for many employees. Turn off notifications, and limit yourself to checking your e-mail only once or twice an hour. If you really need to be focused, use an out of office reply.  Clients/coworkers can call you if it is urgent and you can stay focused on the task at hand.

NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES

Noise cancelling headphones have become a must-have in office accessories.  By wearing noise cancelling headphones, not only will you indicate to your coworkers that you are busy and don’t want to be interrupted, but it will eliminate the distracting background noise in the office.

DO NOT DISTURB

If you left your noise cancelling headphones at home, you can simply place a do not disturb sign on your desk, on your chair, or wherever others will see it. If you are clear to your co-workers that you don’t want to be disturbed, they will respect that.  

MASK THE SOUND BY INCREASING BACKGROUND NOISE

This one may sound a little funny, you need to increase noise to eliminate it?  It actually works.  White noise (like a small fan running at your desk), makes conversations sound unintelligible to the listener, so you will easily be able to tune them out. This combined with a Do Not Disturb sign should really help you get things accomplished without interruptions or distractions.

WORK AT NON-PEAK TIMES

One of the best ways to work in a quiet office is to do it when most people aren’t at work.  Whether you come in early or stay after the day is finished, with fewer people, you will have peace and quiet in your workspace.

QUIET ZONES

Most companies who have an open office, have incorporated areas that are quiet zones.  Take advantage of these spaces to get focused work completed. They make it clear to those around you that you have an important task to be completed and do not want to be interrupted.  

While there are many benefits to an open office, a recent study suggests that distractions have the potential to cause 86 minutes of lost productivity a day. Taking a few measures to eliminate distractions throughout your work day is important to achieve a productive, positive office environment.

Want More Tips for Reducing Distractions in an Open Office? CONTACT US!

Coworking evolved when the home office proved to be insufficient for freelancers, who require a productive, creative, and satisfying work atmosphere. As more people with ever differing values, technology, and work requirements seek workplaces, coworking spaces are poised to meet those needs—because it offers great potential for fostering innovation. But, where are the roots of this potential? How can they be transferred to different types of businesses?

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ATTRACTING TOP TALENT THROUGH DESIGN

Office design has become a beneficial tool that businesses are using to attract and recruit top talent.  By 2020, 40% of the total working population will be millennials. In order to acquire top talent to grow your business, it is important to be in touch with what recruits are looking for in a company. The new workforce wants to feel connected and engaged in the work that they do, they want to have flexibility in their space, and be a part of a collaborative work culture. All of these things can be accomplished or enhanced through office design.

BRAND AND CULTURE

Your brand and your company’s culture should be clearly represented as a new recruit walks through your doors.  From the logo and colors, to the furniture, top talent wants to feel connected to the values and attitudes of the organization. Even having the values on visual display for employees to see is helpful to keep employees feeling engaged with the work that they do.

ACTIVITY-BASED WORK AREAS

The best work environment isn’t the same for every employee. By including a combination of collaborative and quiet areas, employees can choose where they are going to be most productive depending on the task at hand. This freedom to choose and flexibility is a big selling point for millennials. Further, your employees will accomplish more and feel more connected with the job that they are doing.  

RELAXATION AREAS

With people spending more and more time working, employees want their office to feel more like home.  Having spaces to relax, refuel, and socialize, including comfortable seating areas, kitchens, game rooms, outside areas, and cafes create a comfortable and inviting an environment.  These areas are designed to encourage creativity and spontaneous discussion, often places where the best ideas are born.

When talent and recruits walk through your door, they are no longer just looking for an office to work in. Millennials want an experience–one that inspires and engages them. By keeping this in mind as you design your space, not only will you attract top talent, but chances are, they will never want to leave. Contact us to start attracting talent through your office design. 

Over the past decade, the amount of workspace devoted to conference, training and breakout areas has increased by almost 20% while individual workspaces are losing ground. With smaller footprints, shorter leases and less square footage available, a new way of thinking about how space is designed and utilized is emerging. Demands for more efficiency, collaboration, attracting Millennial talent and implementing new technology are just some of the issues that companies are dealing with. For continued success in the future, law firms will need to evolve, acknowledge these trends and behave more like a contemporary business.

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A recent study by the American Society of Interior Design indicated that 68 percent of employees complain about their office lighting situation. Office lighting is an important factor in the overall performance, efficiency and productivity of employees, not to mention adding to a comfortable and positive work environment.  But in office design, lighting is often overlooked.

When lighting is insufficient, it can cause physical problems. Poor lighting can lead to eye strain, migraine headaches, and fatigue.  So it is important to consider ways to create optimal lighting in your space.

Natural lighting in the office setting has a number of benefits.  Aside from all the positive impacts that natural lighting has on employees, it is also an energy saver resulting in money saved.  Natural light exposure during the day also boosts productivity, elevates moods, and reduces stress.  While every office space may not have lots of windows, it is important to try and use the natural light sources in the best way possible.  For example, positioning desks to receive as much natural light as possible is one way to maximize the natural light in the space.  Even in older buildings, adding skylights is a way to allow more natural light into the space.

If natural light is at a minimum, or your space is windowless, there are ways to increase the flow of light. Simply, by having an open floor plan and eliminating cubicles which block light, allows for light to transfer throughout the office. Also, many office interiors have moved to glass doors and transparent walls which further help to allow light to travel deep within the office.  Further, desk lamps and personal lighting with natural light bulbs can be added to mimic natural light and provide the same benefits as light coming in from a window would.

It is important when designing your space to remember that the way you light your space can have dramatic effects on achieving your company’s goals. When lighting is done correctly, no one will notice the lighting of a space. But the impact of optimal lighting design will be noticed in increases in productivity, efficiency, comfortability and overall employee satisfaction. Let us create a free work+space evaluation of your space. Contact us today!

Floors and walls, typically, are immovable objects. Within traditional construction, they are placed with great effort. Thus, space owners are often reluctant to change floorplan configurations because of the significant initial investment during construction. Unfortunately, the inflexibility of workspaces can impact the organization in negative ways, further depleting resources and reducing the organization’s ability to change. But we have a solution for that!

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When a client enters your office, the office design immediately communicates your brand identity. So why not use this as an opportunity to market yourself and tell your company story.

When establishing brand identity in terms of office design, clients and employees are both part of that picture. You want to attract, engage and retain so it is important to carefully and thoughtfully consider the principles by which your company stands behind so that your space will reflect your brand and set you apart from your competitors.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when telling your story through design:

Brand Identity in Reception Area

The perception of your brand begins as people walk through your doors. It is important that the reception desk, lounge furniture, logos, paint colors, and art work convey your brand. It is important that the reception area is welcoming, so those who enter your doors will want to keep coming back.

Brand Identity in Office Furniture

Because your clients and guests will often spend time at your place of business, the office furniture and space should include furniture that not only is inviting to your clients but makes them comfortable working and visiting as well.

EMPLOYEE NEEDS

Research states that office environment accounts for 25 percent of job satisfaction, and has an impact on the performance of employees. Because employees are the heart and soul of your brand, it is important to create an environment that reflects your brand identity and makes your employees happy. Create a space and work experience through office design that makes your employees feel valued.

Establishing your brand is about more than color schemes, logos, and artwork; through carefully crafted office design decisions, your company will tell its story and create a positive, inspiring experience for all that walk through your doors. Are you ready to tell your story? Contact us today!

According to research, upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms among computer users are reported to be as high as 63%. Making changes to the work environment to improve the safety and health of workers will often reduce a company’s costs, improve productivity and quality issues, and decrease the chance that employees will file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

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Research has found that 75 percent of work in industrialized countries is performed while seated (Pynt et al, 2008). Some workers sit for long periods of time while others get out of their chairs at least a couple of times per hour. Either way, it is important for all workers to understand how to keep their back healthy while seated and how appropriate seating and movement can help avoid lower back discomfort and support proper back health.

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Flexible office design, including moveable walls has become the preferred configuration of the modern office.  The new workforce desires flexibility, adaptability, and functionality in their work environment, and movable walls provide an alternative to traditional, solid walls to partition space.  Because of ease of installation, cost effectiveness, and versatility of design and finishing options, movable walls allow for creative freedom and unlimited possibilities for the changing needs of your space.  Movable walls have a number of desirable traits, but consider the following:

EASY TO INSTALL, RECONFIGURE, AND RELOCATE  Movable walls do not require the amount of construction that a traditional wall would require.  That means no construction crews, no permits, and none of the timely delays of installing traditional walls.  As effortlessly as they are installed, when an office design needs to be adapted or improved, the reconfiguration or relocation of movable walls is simple.  

VERSATILE DESIGN OPTIONS   Movable walls now come in a variety of materials. They can be customized with unlimited design and finishing options.  Surfaces can incorporate writing, be magnetized or technology-integrated, and they come with accessories like shelves; they can be made from wood or glass or a combination of the two; the possibilities are endless.  As office design moves towards collaborative and flex space, movable walls allow for that flexibility.  

COST EFFECTIVE  Because movable walls require limited labor and construction costs, they end up being the most cost effective alternative over the long term to traditional walls.  By eliminating the need for permits and construction crews while redesigning or relocating, savings continue to add up.

Movable walls allow you to adjust your space to fit the needs of your changing business.  As design continues trending towards functional and flexible spaces, movable walls offer the freedom to adapt to whatever tomorrow may bring. Contact us to discuss which product would best fit your office space!