Stretching Your Square Footage: 5 Ways to Maximize Limited Office Space

Have the four walls of your office space become suffocating? Do employees routinely voice complaints about working in impossibly close quarters? Is deskspace your teams’ most sought-after office perk? 

While offices in disarray may appear to be inevitable doom, office managers should make a concerted effort to clear out unnecessary clutter. Incorporating office phone booths can offer employees a private and quiet space for focused work, further enhancing their productivity and overall well-being. After all, completing day-to-day tasks in a cramped (and potentially cluttered) office space can take the wind out of any employee’s sails. Besides cutting off creativity circulation and causing productivity jams, a cramped office space can spike star players’ stress levels, raise noise levels to a productivity-inhibiting level, and impact workplace satisfaction. 

Even if you’ve transitioned to a fully remote setup, you can maximize your office space and watch employee productivity levels exceed expectations with a bit of creativity. 

Consider a digital mailbox as a space-saving solution

Mail can pile up and quickly becomes a space sucker. Rather than collecting mail on your desk, you can receive it in a digital mailbox. 

With a digital mailbox service, complete with thousands of digital mailbox locations, everyone in your office can access the mail conveniently, rather than having to collect it from various on-site facilities. Employees can also schedule mail pick-ups from an on-site location, just as long they have access to a computer or a smartphone. 

If you invest in a digital mailbox, your mail goes to a securely staffed brick-and-mortar location. The employees scan your mail and packages, then send images to you. Once you see your mail on your smartphone or computer, you can ask the mailbox attendants to recycle, shred, or forward the mail to you. 

With a digital mailbox in your toolkit, you can ditch loose envelopes and broken-down cardboard boxes, known to monopolize limited space. From there, your productivity-boosting initiative will be smooth sailing. 

Stick with minimalism

Now that people carry their smartphones with them everywhere they go, there is no longer a need to clutter desks with photographs or other knick-knacks. Remember, your employees’ desk spaces will look more spacious if they only store the essentials. Note that when key players clutter their desks with unnecessary items, they reduce their desk space and inadvertently create distractions.

Minimalism, on the other hand, can be aesthetically pleasing and distraction-eliminating. Not to mention, a clutter-free desk space helps you manage your productivity throughout the day. 

Make use of your walls

When maximizing your office space’s square footage, utilize every square inch of your rented space, including your walls. You can attach shelves to the studs in your walls for handy storage space. 

Some office managers use wall pockets to organize files and open up desk space. Consider creative ways to use walls and unused space above cubicles, too. Rather than storing coats in cubicles or closets (which can be helpful storage areas), opt for wall hooks. 

Use smartly designed furniture

Rather than using the same old office furniture and cubicles, investigate new ideas. Furniture designers are always looking for innovative ways to facilitate creative, comfortable, and functional spaces. 

Office designers should always be on the lookout for opportunities to use new and old items in unexpected ways. Multi-purpose design gives office managers flexibility when creating cubicle spaces, shared spaces, and committee rooms. One example of this is utilizing desk divider screens. These screens can create privacy for employees while allowing collaboration and flexibility in the workspace. For total flexibility, use furniture and storage units with caster wheels, so employees can move storage units out of the way when they aren’t needed. 

Use light thoughtfully

Unfortunately, office spaces still have overhead fluorescent lighting, which makes any room appear cramped and uncomfortable. The hum from the lights even causes headaches and creates unpleasant conditions. Those old fluorescent lights aren’t environmentally friendly, either. 

To maximize office space, use as much natural light as possible. Employees need ambient lighting and task lighting, but they don’t need light glaring down on them. Open the windows if you have them. If you don’t have windows, consider small desk lamps or floor lamps. 

Wrapping it up

Designing a maximized office space requires innovative design and creativity. Rather than creating clutter on desks, employees should only have practical items within arms reach. Employers should consider incorporating furniture with casters, installing shelving units on the walls, and sprinkling in comfortable task lighting. Digital mailboxes will also do their part to eradicate distraction-ridden desk clutter. 

Originally posted 2021-07-15 10:53:35.