A New Year is always accompanied by a long list of well-intentioned resolutions that, more often than not, have been forgotten by February.
Whatever your personal resolutions are for 2015, we’ve put together a list of helpful Workplace Resolutions that can improve productivity, wellbeing and staff satisfaction for the rest of the year.
We’ve even given you a list of resolutions that you can check during the year.
 
GET ACTIVE
We’re not talking about keeping fit. This relates to a report by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company which looked at office design for activity based work settings. It explores the idea that a single, all-purpose workstation won’t meet the requirements of most knowledge workers and that an office design should provide staff with multiple options depending on their specific activity, whether it’s an internal get-together, formal client meeting or something that requires concentration and solitude.
While the pro and anti-open plan workplace debate continues, we prefer to see the benefits of both layouts in being encompassed into an office design.
 For 2015, I resolve to incorporate more activity based spaces into our office space.
 
MIX & MINGLE
An activity based work setting is going to need spaces that encourage collaboration.
Gallup surveyed 142 countries for their ‘State of the Global Workplace’ report and found only 13 percent of employees said that they felt engaged in their jobs. Finding spaces for effective collaboration is one way to create an engaged workforce.
We’ve already looked at how an office design that encourages chance encounters in the workplace can fuel creativity and create opportunities for spontaneous collaboration.
For 2015, I resolve to give my staff more opportunities to collaborate in the office.
 
GET AWAY FROM IT ALL
On the flipside of spaces for collaboration is the need for people to have somewhere to shut a door and work in peace.
The GSA Center for Workplace Strategy explored acoustic comfort in a recent document and found that the ability to have planned or spontaneous interactions without disturbing others is important for teamwork and relationship development.
We looked at the same subject in our article, Putting the ‘shh’ into office furnishing’. As more and more global organisations are putting an emphasis on office designs for large open plan spaces, we feel that it’s important to remember that privacy is just as important.
For 2015, I resolve to give staff somewhere to get away from it all.
 
GET HIP WITH THE YOUNGSTERS
One sure-fire way to not succeed with this one is using the above phrase!
Luckily, we’ve explored the arrival of the new generations to the workforce in our Millenials and Generation Z articles and looked at the ways you can attract and retain these tech-savvy digital natives.
Office design today has to recognise how Future Workers are going to interact with their workspaces in the years to come.
For 2015, I resolve to future-proof our office for the generations to come.
 
KEEP FIT
Now we are talking about keeping fit.
While this is probably on most people’s personal resolution lists, it’s becoming just as relevant when it comes to businesses. A fit and healthy workforce can be reflected into office design in a number of ways, some of which we’ve already looked at.
While you might not be installing a treadmill desk or office gym anytime soon, the fact that you’re probably sat down while you read this means that, at the very least, a bit of deskercising might not be a bad idea!
For 2015, I resolve to have a fitter, healthier office.
Written by Ceri Bowden, Senior Designer
