Get a Productive Communal Office Space with 8 Design Ideas

A communal office space allows you to make a good impression among your new employees while also increasing employee retention. Hence, you can incorporate a few things to make it a more comfortable place for everyone, from office waiting room chairs to a Feng Shui office layout.

Common space designs are essential for any business as those are areas where the employees interact with each other, regardless of the reason: work or casual conversations. This way, you’ll be contributing to their wellbeing and comfort at the organization.

The physical workspace has gained significant importance in the contemporary era if you'd like to attract and retain talented individuals. According to a survey, most employees are more satisfied at a workplace that provides them with better workspaces. Due to this, more businesses are investing in their communal office space to make it more appropriate for employee satisfaction.

It's essential to know that these facilities are the center of your organization, as they help your workforce remain engaged and comfortable – which at the same time contributes to your positive company culture.

How to Get a Productive Communal Office Space

So, what should a common space design include? Here we have a few ideas you can use to take your organization to the next level.

1. Open office area

If you’d like to create a sense of community within the organization, an open space office design is the most traditional approach to it. It has been around for several decades, and it allows your workers to co-exist in the same space without any barrier.

Instead of individual offices or desks, everyone will have a workstation with all the necessary work instruments.

These spaces are excellent to encourage collaboration and other activities. For instance, this communal area idea is prominently used in the marketing and sales industries or departments within an organization.

Of course, it has drawbacks, such as less privacy and more noise. Due to that, it is important to include other common areas and private spaces where employees can recharge their batteries and continue working thereafter without problems.

2. Privacy areas

If you're going for open office space, you should also implement a few privacy areas. Even if your office doesn't have this layout, it is quite important to include privacy zones as part of your common space design. Otherwise, your employees won't have any other choice but to work with high levels of stress.

For instance, you can incorporate phone booths or maybe a specific room where everyone can go and make a phone call privately.

3. Distraction-free areas

A creative office space should provide the workforce with enough resources for them to be able to complete their obligations without issues. Hence, it is highly recommendable to implement a “quiet focus zone” where your employees can continue working without external factors getting in the way.

You can make these areas “individual” or “shared.” This way, even if you have an open office design, your teams will be able to work towards the company’s goals without being interrupted during selected days.

The usage of these facilities for communal space design should be specified in a policy.

4. Meeting Room

Meeting rooms are essential places in any organization, especially if it's a large company. Here many important processes occur, such as idea sharing, brainstorming, or creative thinking. However, these places are not only for employee use – but they should also serve for client meetings.

You can adjust your workspace’s meeting room to your budget and needs. However, please note that every meeting area needs a few conference chairs with wheels for everyone to be comfortable throughout the whole reunion.

5. Wellness Room

Although most workplaces overlook it, it is essential for every organization to include a wellness room – especially if you have a new mother within the workforce.

It's hard to have some privacy in a communal office space. So, if you have a few employees with health complications, it is essential for you to provide them with an area where they can cater to their health needs. For instance, if you have a new mom at work, where they can have some privacy to breastfeed.

You should also include a few essential items, such as a first aid kit.

6. Café area

Café areas are excellent for multiple purposes. It’s a good communal space idea that you can think of adding to your organization, especially if you have a large company.

All employees will be able to discuss personal topics, brainstorm ideas, or reunite together as a team. Or maybe they'll just use it to have lunch. Still, regardless of the use, it is important for every workspace to have relaxing areas where everyone can relax and recharge their batteries before they continue working.

7. Kitchen

Although a kitchen is not strictly necessary, it can be a nice touch to your office. There, your employees should have access to appliances that they normally would find at home, such as a microwave oven, a fridge, or a coffee machine.

Here, your employees should be able to get their meals ready when it's lunchtime. You can also include a few other items, such as vending machines, to make it more comfortable for everyone. After all, no one can work with an empty stomach.

8. IT Room

An IT room reunites all the technological devices you’ll need at your office. For instance, if you have onsite servers at the organization, it is necessary for you to store them in a safe, climate-controlled area for their preservations. However, it isn’t limited to this. Here you can also include other heavy electronics that you consider necessary for the company’s operations.

Conclusion

You can find tons of communal space ideas to include at your office. It is important to prioritize employee wellbeing if you’d like to increase your organization’s productivity and efficiency in the long term. Incorporating new spaces will help you retain and attract talented individuals while also achieving your business goals with ease.

Of course, there are endless communal office space options out there. However, we recommend including certain areas based on your workplace's purpose.