Author: Officework

The corona crisis brought about a major haul to every aspect of our lives. Right from getting used to the radical lifestyle change to embracing the much-shoved work from home culture, the pandemic has definitely proved to be a one big game-changer.

While some businesses will still be operational by making their staff work from home, some are contemplating to reopen their office with limited staff. In such a scenario, employers will need to have plans in place to ensure the safety of their employees. If you are contemplating to resume office operations soon, here are few things you need to pay attention to.

1. Overhauling existing office furniture

Since employees would be spending a considerable amount of time in the office once it resumes, overhauling the existing office furniture should be the top priority for business owners. Companies should consider rearranging the furniture keeping health guidelines in mind. They will also have to introduce certain equipment barriers such as aluminum  or melamine dividers, cough and sneeze protection shields, walls, desk shields etc. to prevent the influx of droplets and microbes.

There should be a minimum six-foot distance between the employee’s desks. Movable/foldable dividers or barriers can be installed to enforce one-way traffic. This will prevent employees from making unnecessary contact. Desks, floorings, shields, doors, handles, common areas or shared items should be cleaned more frequently.

2. Turn communal rooms into workspaces 

Most offices have conference rooms, employee lounges, leisure areas, cafeterias or communal spaces, which are likely to remain unused for a long time to comply with social distancing norms. Instead of shutting these rooms entirely, use them as temporary workspaces so that your staff can spread out!

3. Promote good hygiene

Though the importance of maintaining good hygiene cannot be emphasized more in current times, employers need to ensure hand sanitizers are placed on every desk and around rooms such as an entrance area, reception counters, leisure rooms, conference rooms etc. Issue guidelines for maintaining office hygiene as this will make employees and visitors follow them thoroughly.

4. Follow staggered shifts schedules

Working in staggered shifts schedules will make it easier for businesses to create distance between employees. Employees whose presence is an absolute must should be asked to work from office while for rest others remote or a mixture of remote and onsite work should be encouraged. All sort of communal activities such as team lunches, breakfasts or leisurely activities where colleagues are required to gather should be put on hold.

5. Bring those cubicles back

Cubicles, which were once considered the glory of an office, especially in the past decade, fell out in favor of open-office designs. However, with this pandemic, cubicles will make their way back into the office. Businesses can opt for cubicles made from glass to ensure visibility to employees.

6. Controls at the reception area

Until the coronavirus pandemic happened, the reception area was considered as the place where visitors, clients or customers were greeted by the admin staff. The visitors would relax in the lounge area and could meet the employee they were scheduled to meet. However, this practice may not continue further and visitors may probably be required to get their temperature checked at the door, remove the shoes and sanitize their hands before entering the office area.

With COVID pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, it seems we will have to live with it unless it subsides on its own or until a vaccine emerges. As restrictions are being eased in a phased manner all over the world, offices are gearing to get back to the new normal by implementing recommended measures to ensure the safety of employees and the customers visiting the office premises.

Working in staggered shifts, skeleton staff and reconfiguring the workplace is also the need of the hour. Yes, introducing physical barriers, and cough and sneeze protection screens will ensure safe collaboration between the employees and reduce person-to-person contact.

While most of the office partition solutions such as physical barrier screens were being put into practice in banks and grocery stores for years, they are getting a new push in the office space. At Office Design Solution, we have come up with a range of protective office equipment that will aid in curbing not just the spread of COVID-19 but also other airborne diseases at the workplace.

Here are four COVID-19 protective solutions you can incorporate in your office spaces before resuming back-to-work operations:

1.  Aluminum Free standing Dividers

The Aluminum Free Standing Dividers are designed to provide protection and solve the need for space. They are durable, lightweight and a great way to promote physical distancing behavior and isolate different lanes of a zigzag queue.  These freestanding walls are easily disinfected by spraying and wiping.  If you have been worrying about how to manage the customer queues at your store or office, these standing dividers will solve your problems.

Available in anodized or powder-coated frames, the layouts of these dividers can be configured as required. Being flexible, you can remove or add each divider to create a room(s) as needed.

2.  Melamine Free standing Dividers

Next on our offering is the Melamine Free standing Divider that is cost-effective yet keeps your employees safe from the crowded areas. These dividers provide additional virus protection. What’s more, they can be configured in different designs to create concealed work areas and portable dividers. The slick, smooth surface of the screens make them super-easy to clean.

Melamine dividers are great for customer service staffs at reception areas or grocery checkout lines, security personnel etc. Available in different choice of colors, these dividers can help maintain social distancing in high volume environment such as shopping malls. They are quick to install and no city permits are required to get these transported.  Get in touch with us for a custom-made melamine standing divider that would be a perfect fit for your counter space. 

3.  Desk Shield

Our desk shields are highly robust and efficient in safeguarding your staff from airborne droplets and microbes. A great addition to any office space in present times of COVID and beyond, these desk shields are available in three different materials – Glass, Acrylic and Polyester Acoustic Panel. They are suited for all desk types and enable optimum visibility to maintain visual contact.  

These high-desk mounted clear screens can be customized as per your requirement to suit your office desks. They are easy to clean. If you have been contemplating resuming operations from office, these desks mounts are must-have to ensure physical barrier between colleagues and provide protection from droplets and germs.

4.  Make Existing Cubicle Walls Higher

If you already have cubicles in your space, which aren’t high enough, then we recommend you to elevate them by adding one or two feet above. This way instead of getting cubicles, you will just need to overhaul the existing cubicles to get additional virus protection.

Our safety solutions for COVID-19 are perfect protection your workstation needs to mitigate the spread of viruses and keep your interior spaces safe at all times. What’s more, these designs come with a 10-year warranty and need no major maintenance! By installing office design solutions in advance that imparts safety at workplace, you can stay on schedule, reduce infections and stop curb infections from spreading further.

The office layout is the most crucial aspect of your workspace. A good office layout design not only skyrockets productivity but also leads to proper utilization of office space and promotes communication among employees.

As promising as it may sound, picking the best office layout can be tricky at times with a ton of office layout ideas available everywhere.

This is why picking some of the popular ones is always the safest bet.

To make things simpler, we’ve curated some of the best and most popular office layout designs for you. These together with some cool office decor will transform your space in no time.

List of Most Popular Types of Office Layout:

1.Cubicle Office Layout

2.Open Office Layout

3.Co-working Office Layout

4.Team-Cluster Office Layout

5.Hybrid Office Layout

Let’s check them out in detail!

1.Cubicle Office Layout

A classic design option, the cubicle layout originated in the 1960s and is still popular across corporate offices.

The Cubicle layout features partition walls that surround the tables from three sides that give its the squarish or “cubicle” shape. They can exist in either a quad formation or a row design and generally require plenty of office space.

Best for: Offices requiring more privacy and focus.

Advantages of Cubicle Office Layout:

• More privacy and a sense of ownership for employees in the workplace.
• Promotes equality as every employee gets the same amount of space.
• Fosters focus and eliminates distraction. (Ideal for detail-oriented tasks.)
• Opportunity to create multiple workspaces within a large area.

Disadvantages of Cubicle Office Layout:

• Requires more office space compared to other design plans.
• No direct interaction and communication with other employees.

2.Open Office Layout

The Open Plan Design is one of the most widely used layout designs in the world.

Popularly used by creative firms, tech startups, and even big growing organizations this layout focuses on providing more open space compared to the more traditional cubical design.

It features a single table shared among employees with low or no partitions at all. This makes it a great option if you want to enhance communication and collaboration in the workplace.

Pro Tip: If you’re choosing this layout but want to partition your space,  you can add modern office partitions like free-standing office dividers. They’re portable and easy to install. These will easily help you create the space you need.

Best for: Offices with a fast-paced environment with daily interaction among employees and clients.

Advantages of Open Office Layout:

• Enhances communication in the workplace.
• Enables employees to make decisions faster.
• Increases work efficiency.
• Cost-effective and easy to implement.

Disadvantages of Open Office Layout:

• No privacy for employees.
• Lack of partitions might cause distractions to some employees.

3. Co-working Office Layout

Co-working, as the name suggests, are office spaces provided by third-parties who often lend them to companies, freelancers, and startups who are in need of an office.

These spaces can range from single rooms to an entire floor within a building and are generally used by startups.

They are replete with modern facilities and trendy accessories like coffee machines, printers, meeting rooms, etc.

Best for: Startups, freelancers, small organizations renting for an office space.

Advantages of Co-working Office Layout:

• Top-of-the-line facilities that are ready to be used by businesses.
• Flexible working culture and style.
• Cost-effective for companies that don’t have a workspace of their own.
• Great for last-minute client meetings or urgent work.
• Professional networking.

Disadvantages of Co-working Office Layout:

• No privacy for employees as the workspace is shared with other companies.
• Less secure and prone to internet phishing or cyber-attacks.

4. Team-Cluster Office Layout

Another popular form of office layout, Team-Cluster is a design that’s primarily intended for team-based work.

In this setting, employees in a company are grouped according to a team in a cluster, sharing a single table for better collaboration. Based on the type of work to be done, the form and size of the cluster may vary.

Compared to other styles, the Team-Cluster makes it much easier for companies to ease the flow of communication among its employees.

Best for: Companies where work heavily relies on employee-interaction, meetings, or discussions.

Advantages of Team-Cluster Office Layout

• Eliminates barriers and fosters a smoother flow of communication in the workspace.
• Streamlines workflow and boost productivity.
• Strengthens team-building among employees.
• Perfect for group-related tasks.
• Saves space in the office.

Disadvantages of Team-Cluster Office Layout

• Lack of individual space as employees are clustered in a team.
• Prone to noise and distractions.

5. Hybrid Office Layout

The most customizable of the bunch, the Hybrid Office Layout blends different aspects of other office styles to create a hybrid one.

It’s the newest of all the other office layout styles and provides a balanced solution to the drawbacks found in open offices and cubicles.

By using this style you can mix and match different types of office environments to create a more versatile office space. For example, you can combine multiple cubicles, co-working, and open-plan spaces to innovatively design your office.

Best for: Offices with a dynamic working environment.

Advantages of Hybrid Office Layout:

• Easy to customize.
• Employees have better control over where and how they work.
• Enhances the work satisfaction of employees.
• Improves mood and thus productivity of employees in the workspace.

Disadvantage of Hybrid Office Layout:

• Hybrid spaces can be exposed to more noise and people which can sometimes lead to distractions.

Final Thoughts

Well, now that you know some of the most popular modern office partitions layouts used by companies the question remains which one is suitable for your workspace?

Office layouts come in a wide variety of options and picking the wrong one can certainly impact your work culture and employees’ wellbeing.

So as the experts suggest, it’s always better to pick the one that truly works for your workspace’s culture, values, workflows, and the number of employees.

Doing so will easily help you choose the ideal layout design your company truly desires.

And in case of professional help, we can give you a hand as well.

We provide excellent modular office partitions like glass walls and aluminum partitions and can professionally help you redesign your office with the ideal layout.

Get in touch with us for a creative office layout makeover!

Is your office filled with plenty of clutter? Want to learn how to design a minimalist office space that’ll actually help you focus on your work? In this blog, we’re going to tell you how!

Creating a minimalist organization isn’t rocket science, by following a few tips and tricks, you can easily “KonMari” your office space and bring zen minimalism right to your office.

Whether you want to create a minimalist home office or a dedicated minimalist office setup for your colleagues at work, using these amazing tips will help you both ways.

Here they are:

Start by Keeping Things Simple

The core rule of minimalism is simplicity and that’s what should reflect in your office space.

To transform your office into a minimalist workspace start adopting elements that have a bold and simpler aesthetic.

This goes for everything from your entire office layout to desks, chairs, and even lighting.

One key tip is to avoid flashy objects that create unnecessary distractions than get the job done.

For example, when picking desks for your office, try to pick those that look more classic, orderly and simple instead of those with an outlandish design and unnecessary features like extra drawers.

One important thing to remember is that your office interior should create perfect harmony with the elements in your space.

So when picking chairs for your desk, you can pick those that aesthetically matches your desk’s design.

Unless colors are an important part of your office culture, you can even use a single color code for your entire space and make your minimal design more consistent.

Schedule Time to Organize Your Office Work

Organizing things the right way is key to achieving minimalism in the office.

Most of the time we get so engrossed in our work that we don’t get enough time to organize things in our office and hence procrastinate everything.

But there is one way to overcome this habit: Using the KonMari approach.

It’s an effective method that can help you get super-organized with your paperwork and other digital assets.

All you have to do is ask these three questions when organizing:

1.What do you need now?

2.What’s pending or needs approval?

3.What do you need to keep forever?

For example, when it comes to paperwork if any of your documents fall in one of these three categories you can easily set them aside and discard the rest that don’t.

The same applies to emails, computer software, and other objects that seem to clutter your office space.

Allocating time as little as fifteen minutes a day will easily help you achieve a minimal and organized office space.

Invest in Space-Saving Furniture

Space-saving furniture can dramatically reduce clutter, utilize space, and maximize productivity in the office.

This type of furniture is versatile and gives you an adequate amount of floor space to work with. Not to mention, they make organization a lot easier.

With plenty of low-cost options available in the market, you can buy anything from extendable tables to modular shelves and make more room in the office.

One key benefit of space-saving furniture is it’s especially useful for small office spaces.

So if you have limited space in your office, you can replace the bulky one with a certain type of space-saving furniture and make your room more minimal and spacious.

Use Modular Office Partitions

Modular office partitions like demountable glass walls are customizable partitions used for dividing and allocating space in the office.

They come in different shapes and sizes, promote privacy in the workplace, eliminate noise, and add an attractive appeal to your office.

However, the best feature of modular office wall partitions is portability. They can be easily moved from one place to another, making them suitable for creating a minimalist office space.

Instead of having fixed wall partitions in your office, you can install temporary office partitions and uninstall when you don’t need them.

These modern office partitions are also comparatively cheaper than traditional office walls, thus helping you save costs.

Pair Similar Items in Your Office

This is an effective tip from decluttering expert Marie Kondo that you can use in your own workspace to make it more organized and tidy.

The idea is to organize every item in your office around pairs.

For example, if you have a chock-full of stationery items like pens, notes, staples, etc you can pair them together under the “Stationery” category. Or, if you have bandaids, tissues, or other items related to first-aid, you can pair them under the “Safety” category.

Similarly, books, magazines, and newspapers can be categorized under the “Reading” category.

You can start by creating a list of all the important items you use on a daily basis and create pairs for them.

Pairing similar items together and creating a dedicated space will make it easier to find them the next time you need it.

Keep Things That Actually “Bring Joy”

Often times we fill up our office space with plenty of items we think might make us happy.

On the flip side, we end up hoarding a lot of unnecessary things that distract us from our work and make our office messy.

To get rid of that problem Marie Kondo suggests that we should only keep those things that “bring joy.”

As simple as it sounds, it’s a great piece of advice to keep in your back pocket when giving a minimalist makeover to your office.

Have a wall filled with countless frames you don’t even look at? Or books someone has gifted you but don’t feel like reading anytime soon? Ask yourself “Do they bring me joy?”

If the answer is no, you can eliminate them without further thoughts in place of items that are more useful.

In this way, you can find plenty of similar things in your office and get rid of those that don’t bring you joy.

Final Thoughts

Well, there you have it! Some handy and effective tips to help you create a more minimalist office setup.

Using them will easily help you and your employees cut the clutter and skyrocket productivity in the workplace.

For more professional makeover, we can always give you a hand.

We are providers of modular office partitions like glass walls and aluminum partitions and can help you make your desired minimalist office space.

Feel free to contact us for a clutter-free office experience!