When you picture your dream office, you probably imagine a spacious open room with lots of natural light filtering in through the floor to ceiling windows, a huge desk to work from, and capacious pantry rooms where you can enjoy Friday happy hours with the team. Maybe you'd even like a few other fun amenities like a pingpong table and a yoga space.
It’s not exactly like most people would choose to have a small office, but as we all know: space is an expensive commodity. However, trends show that slowly but surely, minimalism and sustainability are the way of the future, which is great! With some smart planning, you too can efficiently utilize your compact office space.
It’s official, cubicles are out!
Whether you have a big office or a mini one, workstation walls and dedicated L-shaped heavy desks can make your office spaces look extra-cramped. Many modern offices have ditched the partitions and switched to open areas with shared desks and tables in recent years.
Trends like hot-desking and co-working have also gained traction and for good reason. In addition to being an effective space-saver, it's especially useful if your company has a flexible work policy where employees can choose when they want to be at the office.
Bring your team together and make every square meter count by minimizing private rooms in your office and opening up the space for more collaboration.
Let’s channel our inner Marie Kondo so your office only contains items that spark joy… Or are essential for your work. Have your employees go through storage cabinets and drawers, and discard anything that isn’t needed like five-year-old binders and folders, pens running out of ink, the fax machine that nobody has used since 2010… If you and your team members don’t need or use it, ditch it.
Implement a “clean desk policy” or make it a weekly routine to remind team members to be purposeful with how they organize their personal space. A clean and sleek space gives the illusion of a more spacious office and enables employees to stay better organized. Plus, a less cluttered office, a less cluttered mind!
You might not notice it but after a while, paper piles up and takes up a lot more space than you think. Nowadays, our reliance on computers means that we can forgo the traditional way of keeping physical copies of documents and contracts filling up rows upon rows of cabinet files. It takes a bit of effort initially, but digitizing your company’s paperwork is the way to go. Many software systems now allow virtual contracts and forms to be easily created, signed, and filled in. It is an easy way to store, organize and locate big loads of files. With paper files converting into digital ones on your hard drive, you can finally get rid of those bulky shelving units, allowing more space for other purposes.
In the long run, lowering your team’s reliance on paper can save space and costs (let’s not forget how expensive printers and cartridge refills can be, it does add up!), and is also more environmentally sustainable. It’s a win-win!
Take a look around your office… Do you have a reception area with chunky armchairs taking up far too much space? Are there any empty cabinets and shelving units gathering dust somewhere in the corner? How about the unoccupied desks or rooms that are only used once in a blue moon?
Start by mapping out the various areas of your office and taking time to understand the needs of your employees. Sure, conventional offices always have large conference rooms with a sizable boardroom table and swivel chairs; but is it required for your team?
Every square inch of your office should be accommodating and functional with the sole purpose of assisting the everyday work of your business. If your team members don’t enjoy having meetings in the conference room, why not turn it into a multi-functional common area so that it can be better utilized!
Then there’s the matter of furniture. It pretty much goes without saying that large bulky furniture is a no-go for small offices. Instead, embrace the tininess of your office and invest in smaller or multifunctional furniture that fits the space. Replace traditional heavy-duty desks and filing cabinets with smaller scaled ones to make your space look roomier and more put together. Plus, having less desk space can also encourage employees to stay organized with their desk layout and drawer organization!
Flexible and multi-functional furniture is also the way to go when space is limited. Extendable tables, foldable chairs, and compact drawers on wheels are great space-saving alternatives.
If you’ve ever moved to a new house or office before, which we’re sure you have(!) you’ll know how frustrating and costly it is to get the space exactly right.
But fear not!
Our newly launched QUBIC Smart Booth is your easy, one-and-done solution. The flexibility and customizability of these Smart Booths are perfect for offices of limited size.
The booths can be installed in a single day, and come with a sound-isolating feature so you can make the most of an open plan office, without needing to construct more meeting rooms. Plus, they can have other uses in your office too, such as a mini relaxation or nap space.
Start revolutionizing your small office today!
