Category: City Offices (page 1 of 5)

The Benefits of Having Plants in an Office

April 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Having plants in an office can bring numerous benefits to the environment and the people who work there. In this article, we will discuss some of the most significant benefits of having plants in an office.

  1. Air purification: Plants have the unique ability to absorb toxins and pollutants from the air, which can significantly improve air quality. Indoor air quality can be up to five times worse than outdoor air, and plants can help reduce the concentration of harmful chemicals and pollutants in the air.
  2. Stress reduction: Plants have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels in the workplace. Studies have found that just looking at plants can help reduce stress levels, and having plants in the office can create a calming and relaxing atmosphere, which can help improve productivity.
  3. Increased productivity: Having plants in the office can increase productivity levels by improving air quality, reducing stress, and creating a more visually appealing environment. A study by the University of Exeter found that productivity levels increased by 15% when plants were introduced to the workplace.
  4. Noise reduction: Plants can also help reduce noise levels in the office. Plants absorb sound, which can help reduce the amount of noise that is transmitted through walls and floors. This can create a more peaceful and comfortable environment, which can help improve focus and productivity.
  5. Improved health: Plants can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing. Studies have found that having plants in the office can help reduce symptoms of illnesses such as coughs and sore throats, as well as improve overall wellbeing and happiness.
  6. Improved creativity: Plants can also help improve creativity levels. Studies have found that being surrounded by plants can help stimulate creativity and improve problem-solving skills, which can be beneficial in a work environment.
  7. Aesthetics: Finally, plants can help create a more visually appealing environment. A well-placed plant can help add color and life to an otherwise dull or sterile office space, which can improve employee morale and satisfaction.

In conclusion, having plants in an office can bring numerous benefits to both the environment and the people who work there. Plants can help purify the air, reduce stress levels, increase productivity, reduce noise, improve health, stimulate creativity, and create a more visually appealing environment. With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder that many businesses are choosing to incorporate plants into their office spaces.

A huge range of Office Partitions to divide your space

December 20, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Office partitions offer a simple, quick and efficient way of dividing up your workspace into separate areas and, with our demountable systems, we can build a solution for any need.

The Benefits of Partitioning

Office partitions offer a simple, quick and efficient way of dividing up your workspace into separate areas and, with our demountable systems, we can build a solution for any need.

Partitioning Systems are a great solution for dividing a workspace up into different areas. Perhaps your staff would like quiet zones or separate meeting areas where they can discuss things in private? We can install them as part of your office fit out and can also add in Mezzanine floors for the full office design package.

We’re able to provide a huge range of partitioning systems for a variety of applications, from modern glazed partitions to create open plan offices, to solid partition walls to add completely separate rooms. We also install a huge amount of industrial partitioning for factories and warehouses.

Types of Office Partitions We Offer

There’s a wide choice of partitioning systems that we can offer, all built to suit different needs. We have partnered with CPD Plc (one of the UK’s leading office partition manufacturers) to bring you the best of their systems in the most economic way possible.. Some of our systems include:

  • Glass Partitions — available in single glazed or double glazed options. There is also an option to install integrated remote controlled blinds. We can provide them with visible frames or as a frameless option depending on your preference.
  • Crittall Glass – perfect for creating meeting spaces and private offices while maintaining a stylish feel
  • Industrial Partitioning Systems — ideal for factories and warehouses
  • Powder coated or Satin Anodised Aluminium (SAA)
  • Solid Panels which are decorated in hard-wearing vinyl wall covering

How to design an office on a budget

October 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Companies are rethinking how offices are designed. The drab room full of cubicles is a thing of the past. Nowadays, companies are taking into consideration how the design of an office affects their employees. Employees aren’t going to be enthusiastic about coming to work if their office has a dull and uninteresting design.

Designing an office that works for you does not have to put you in debt. You can avoid the expensive task of hiring a designer by learning the best ways to design an office by yourself. The pay-off of having more productive and happy employees will make up for the cost of redesigning your office. Here are ten simple ways to design a fantastic office on a budget?

Choose your vibe

Before starting the process of designing your perfect office space, it is vital to decide on an aesthetic that you want to base your design on. Choosing an aesthetic for your office will guarantee that everything in the space is cohesive and works together. Once you have your aesthetic figured out, then you can dive into the real designing.

Add a touch of nature

Adding plants to the desks or window sills is a small but great way to bring some life into our office. It will make the office look more green and make the employees seem less like they are stuck inside. It’s as easy as buying potted plants at your local garden store, or if you have enough natural light you can even grow them.

Keep it tidy

No matter how expensive your decor is or how much money you put into designing your office, it will not look good if its a mess. Keeping your space neat and tidy is free, and it can give your space a whole new feel. While tidying your office, you should look for anything hindering the intended design of the office. If anything takes up space and is unnecessary, then get rid of it. A clean and tidy office looks even better when it is minimal and open.

Open Office

If you are designing an office for your companies team, open office space is a popular and inexpensive option. Open office spaces are not just showing up everywhere because they are trendy; they are also cheap. The more open an office is the less stuff you have to buy to divide it up. With this open space, you can then start figuring out where you want to put specific furnishings to personalize the space and give it your own touch.

Working from home and the global energy crisis

September 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The global financial crisis two years ago had revealed a new trend in society: people no longer wanted the traditional 9-5 job with an exhausting and expensive commute. The genie is well out of bottle when it comes to work, as employees now look for more freedom than ever before; not just time off during their lunch break or after dinner hours but also flexibility on how they spend those free moments.

Having documented the changes to organisational life through the Covid-19 pandemic, what is significant about these findings is that this mindset shift appears to be permanent. Figures show nearly 40% of working adults in Great Britain are now working across multiple locations in a hybrid working model. However, as the energy crisis threatens to bite, there are warnings that this winter’s looming energy crisis could kill off our new working “culture”. So, which one is it?

Amid the detailed calculations being made, one aspect is already clear: socio-economic circumstances will be a main driver in whether working from home remains firmly rooted in our way of life, and people’s decisions about work are still the product of their circumstances.

A guardian news article reports that one public sector graduate trainee told me that, by her calculations, the cost of train fares, coffees and snacks left her better off working from home. But if energy costs rise sharply, she will probably switch to travelling into the office over shouldering a punitively high heating bill. It is precisely this fluctuating picture that makes this winter so difficult to plan for. Another senior manager working for a London local authority told me that while some of her staff had indicated that they might want to be coming into the office more often in the coming months, there was a lack of concrete information or certainty.

When we consider how working trends might be affected by the rising cost of living, the geographies of labour markets cannot be ignored. With the UK having some of the longest commutes in Europe, financial savings from reduced commuting were some of the most notable markers of lockdown delivering some measurable benefit to working people. And as train fares continue to outstrip inflation, organisations staffed by suburban commuters are likely to find employees continue to be more attached to working from home to save money, while those who live closer to offices may find the lure of a heated space outweighs the benefits of home working.

Of course, these financial decisions are rarely made in isolation. In our research, we saw people adapt the quality of their workspace over the lockdowns, working in separate rooms where possible to prioritise privacy and maximise concentration. But as heating becomes more expensive, this looks less feasible, while merging home workspaces could provoke personal tensions, damage productivity and even have a disruptive effect upon family relationships.

Can It Ever Be Too Hot to Work in the UK?

June 10, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Can It Ever Be Too Hot to Work in the UK?

There is no legal minimum or maximum working temperature in the UK, but that doesn’t mean it is never too hot to work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say that working temperatures should provide ‘reasonable comfort’ to workers, and provide recommendations such as:

The temperature in a workplace should be at least 16 °C, or if the work involves rigorous effort, it should be at least 13 °C.

Other factors such as humidity, air flow and worker clothing and movement also play a part in determining if the temperature in a working environment is reasonably comfortable. As there is no recommended office temperature in UK law, it is up to each workplace to determine their own ideal temperature.

If you do find the heat is making you uncomfortable, this can impact on your working ability. You may find you cannot concentrate, your productivity will drop and you may suffer from heat stress.

What is Heat Stress?

When you are too hot, your body will try to cool off by sweating and radiating more energy. Unfortunately this can lead into heat stress if the temperature continues for an extended period of time without relief from water shortage or natural processes that help regulate temperatures in a human being’s environment.

Symptoms of heat stress can include having a red face, excessive sweating, a heat rash, muscle cramps, dehydration and fainting. If allowed to continue, heat stress can cause heat exhaustion, and this is a severe disorder that can lead to death in extreme cases.

Some working environments are more at risk of being too hot to work in than others. For example, those in well-ventilated offices are less likely than those working in a kitchen to feel the effects of a heatwave. However, we all have a responsibility to stay safe and healthy at work, no matter our working environment.

What Are Employer Responsibilities During Hot Weather?

All employers have a duty to protect the health and safety of employees. Whilst there is no legal requirement to provide air con in offices, employees will work better when they are comfortable. It is therefore in everyone’s interests to make the environment as reasonably comfortable as possible.

Employers should also take extra care to protect any vulnerable people in the office. Hot weather can make people feel tired and less energetic than usual, especially for young and elderly people, pregnant women, and people who may be on medication. Vulnerable people in your office may appreciate extra rest breaks or a desk fan to improve air circulation.

The 5 things that every business owner should consider when starting a new office space

January 19, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Are you thinking of starting a new office for your business? If so, there are a few things you should consider before making the big move. In this blog post, we will outline five things that every business owner should think about before starting a new office. Keep reading to learn more!

  • Location, location, location
  • What type of business are you starting?
  • How much money do you have to start your business off with?
  • Do you have the time and resources to start a business on your own, or do you need help from others?
  • What are your long-term goals for your business and how will it achieve them

Starting a new office can be an exciting and daunting time; we’ve laid out five things you should consider before opening your doors. Whether it’s finding the right building or setting up the perfect furnishings, every business owner has to make many decisions when starting a new venture. We know that this is not easy! If you need help with any of these steps, contact our team today – we would love to partner with you as well as provide one-on-one assistance throughout the process.

Partitioning Systems Solutions

November 10, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Create the right environment for your business with defined spaces.

Whether you want to create privacy for meeting rooms, build efficient teams with zoned spaces or simply find a new office or storage space, creating the right environment can dramatically transform your business.

Partitioning systems allow you to structure your space to suit your current business needs. If you’ve considered moving premises to find the space you need, partitioning systems could be a much easier and more cost-effective solution than buying or renting a building at a high cost.

Efficient and space-saving

One way of effectively utilising your office space is through the use of partitions. These can be beneficial for a number of reasons as they can be used as a tool to increase employee’s productivity, as well as promoting efficiency at work; your employees will be more productive when working at a comfortable and welcoming environment.

Choice of materials

There is a wide variety of partitions to choose from such as silicon glaze partitioning, steel partitioning and glass partitioning. Each design has its unique benefits compared to the others but all can be blended to improve the appearance of an office. Every partition can be custom-made to fit the user’s personal tastes such as colour, material and size, hence improving comfort and style. For example, glass partitions can be very beneficial in offices that aim to increase exposure to natural lighting whilst being able to maintain the required privacy. They also create an impression of an open space for visitors, therefore providing a positive environment.

Air conditioning

Air conditioning is also highly effective in partitioned offices. This is because the workstations are subdivided into smaller areas where doors can be closed to retain heat or opened when it is too hot. Each workstation can also have its own air conditioning system hence reducing air conditioning wars at a workplace. In addition, partitions that are raised from the floor provide a gap for air movement within different workstations.

Less distractions

Another benefit of using office partitions is less distraction at work. Partitions create a barrier between individual’s hence improving privacy and concentration scope of workers but can be easily removed when there is a need for collaboration. These barriers will also be beneficial to visitors because they enable proper subdivision of departments and make it easier for visitors to locate offices. In addition to providing ease of access, partitions can give a good impression to your visitors – as a clear design will give a modern and professional impression.

Virtual Christmas party: ideas and games for hosting an online office party

December 20, 2020 / / 0 Comments

The last thing we wanted to be doing during the Christmas season was sitting on Zoom, Skype, Houseparty or Google Hangouts instead of being able to meet up with friends and family in the flesh.

Despite a four nations agreement that allows families to meet in “bubbles” between 23 and 27 December, normal rules will stay in place for the rest of the holidays.

This means that festive parties and work celebrations are completely off the table this year, so it’s looking like a return to virtual hangouts is inevitable.

After spending nearly a whole year on Zoom, instead of meeting people face-to-face, many of us are feeling sick of the extra screen time.

Here’s a list of simple ideas that could be really fun and festive:

Cocktail making

In the same vein, virtual cocktail making is a fun activity – and who can say no to a cocktail?

Choose a tasty, but easy, cocktail recipe that participants will be able to mix, step-by-step on-screen, such as strawberry daiquiris, mojitos or espresso martinis.

Make it a competition to see who can produce the best-looking cocktail – and who makes the worst.

Christmas quiz

Zoom quizzes may be overdone, but you’ll only get one chance to organise a festive quiz so you may as well go all out.

Christmas jumper attire is encouraged, and make sure all the rounds are suitably seasonal – we’re talking classic Christmas movies and songs and festive trivia.

Virtual bingo

Bingo nights are a total crowd-pleaser, and it’s really easy to set one up virtually via Zoom or Skype.

The best part is there is no limit to the number of people who can join in, whether you have three friends or 30.

All you need to do is send bingo cards to all participants for them to print – there are plenty of free online resources.

Then, find a number generator and share your screen with everyone so they can see the numbers as they are selected.

Great Ways to Engage Your Employees This Christmas!

December 10, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Decorate the office!

Surely a few Christmas decorations can’t make an entire office feel happier?

You’d be surprised how much a few bits of tinsel here, and a couple of baubles there can really pick up the atmosphere and get staff feeling excited about the holidays!

Even better… you could make Christmas decorating an annual tradition, getting the team working together and bonding over a mutual love for the festive season.

Host an Award Ceremony

Awards can be a great way to engage staff and let them know that you value their hard work.

And they don’t have to be based on targets – you don’t want to leave a proportion of your loyal workforce out – consider things like…

– The most encouraging person in the office.
– The most organised.
– The best at keeping your customers happy.
…split your awards up across teams and make sure your perceived ‘favourites’ (if there are any) don’t get more praise and credit than others.

Secret Santa

A slightly more obvious Christmas tradition, Secret Santa is an amazing way to bring your employees, across different teams, together.

Just decide on a £5-£10 limit and then pick a day for the ‘big reveal’ and you’re sorted!

Let Your Staff Leave Early

A great incentive and reward scheme that works specifically well for salespeople is allowing them to finish work early for the Christmas holiday if they hit an (achievable) target.

Whether it’s on 1st December (you’d hope not…) or 23rd, when they’ve hit the target, let them go home until January!

Pandemic-proofing offices

October 22, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Pandemic-proofing offices could involve short-term fixes, new working patterns and long-term design upgrades that put hygiene at the heart of workplace planning.

Mitigate the risk 

The biggest priority and challenge for post coronavirus offices is controlling the infection.
How can we control contamination in open plan high density offices?
How can we control infection in hot desking environments?
Or communal and social spaces?
The challenges are many. We have to respond to COVID-19 crisis and mitigate the infection risk by introducing new safety features and measures and improving sanitisation and disinfection processes in our offices. It’s a big change that will create new work styles and build new working culture which we need to be prepared for.

2M rule

We have created some illustrations showing ways of changing office desk configurations to create greater space between your team members.

Here are some points to consider when you are thinking about re-configuring your office:

  • Can you turn back-to-back desks currently in the centre of the room around, so the operators face the walls?
  • Reducing density: Can you separate banks of desks so there are gaps between each set of two or four?
  • Can you spread workspaces around, so people are at least 2 meters apart?
  • Consider moving pedestals so that they are in the centre of the desks between two users, so they are physically unable to come together side by sideIf you have mobile pedestals, consider moving them out so they sit between the desks, increasing the space between the users
  • Consider moving filing cabinets/cupboards between desks to increase the space between the users
  • For face-to-face users, consider introducing additional barriers on top of desk top screens to increase protection from coughs or sneezes. Add screens beside and behind office workers, the higher and wider the better
  • Hot desking: Eliminate or introduce a strict clean in and clean out measures

Meetings and social spaces

It’s likely that before we start welcoming visitors to our workplaces, we can expect to spend much time meeting virtually with our customers and suppliers rather than sitting face-to-face around the meeting table.

With that in mind, we would recommend to thin out the meeting rooms to safely accommodate smaller groups with greater distancing. It’s important to remove alternative chairs and ensure there is always a 2m space in every direction between the chair positions.  There is also the potential to use these rooms to create working space for members of the team thus allowing us to provide greater distancing in office areas.  If meeting tables are modular and can be separated, do so to increase the distancing further. It’s recommended to even meet standing up in the open areas of your office. By using flexible tools, movable furniture solutions and screens you can easily create a safe and productive meeting area.

Floor plan ideas

  • Decrease density by staggering lunches and breaks in cafes or other staff areas
  • Incorporate higher space division to naturally encourage distancing by introducing barriers such as screens, storage, large plants and partitioning
  • Introduce cubicle style office to protect personal desk space with higher screens
  • Adapt an owned desk space approach and reduce shared desking
  • Reduce guest seating in reception areas and introduce individual seating in lounge spaces
  • Easy access to disinfecting stations

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