9 Quick & Cost-Effective Staffroom Updates that will Increase Staff Morale

Creating a comfy staff room that your employees can use to get away from their desks at lunchtimes can increase productivity. A recent study has proven overwork leads to job burnout and decreased productivity. It found working 55+ hours a week isn’t “overachieving,” it’s just plain unhealthy. A 2015 research paper suggests that employees working a 55-hour week face a 33% increased risk of stroke than those working a 35 to 40-hour week. Taking regular breaks and time management at work is vital for your employees and therefore your business as a result.

One very helpful way to help your employees take a proper break in the middle of the day is to make sure staffrooms are great places to eat, socialise, read a book, and relax. We put together 5 key factors to making your staffroom more inviting places to spend time.

(And make sure your staffroom remains a staffroom and not an extra meeting room!)

1. New lighting

Never underestimate lighting in any space. Having somewhere that can be bright and airy, or comfy and enclosed is great for all employees to relax in their lunch break. Opt for soft lighting like floor lamps over harsh overhead lighting. And bounce the natural light around the room with mirrors.

2. Comfy cushions

A few cushions help give the room personality and make the sofa more comfy and inviting. Switch them up every so often to make the space interesting for staff.

3. Indoor plants

Indoor plants are proven to not only help concentration, focus, and relax anxious minds, but it also helps increase air quality indoors too. A NASA study in 1989 discovered indoor plants can help clean the air of toxins formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene. Introduce a few choice indoor plants of different sizes around the room.

4. Introduce mindful activities like colouring in and puzzles

Print off a few colouring in mindfulness activities online and a few packs of pencils. It’s hard to stop colouring when you start, and will help encourage employees to stay in the staffroom a little longer than a few minutes.

5. Start a mini-library

With the addition of a bookcase, introduce an office book club to get the company reading in their breaks. Just place some secondhand books in the case and encourage staff to return them once they’ve read them for someone else to enjoy too.

6. Update sofas and chairs

Sofas can become stained and tired quickly, and therefore uninviting. Update your office sofa in a colour and material that’s easy to keep clean. Opt for a dark, neutral colour that’s easy to update with new cushions and colour scheme, and has enough room to seat enough people.

7. Add abstract prints and pictures on the wall

Brighten up any staffroom with the addition of colourful and relaxing prints. Optionally, you can include some pictures with your company’s ethos and mantras. Hang them up in a gallery formation to make the room feel homlier.

8. Add a stylish coffee table

Coffee tables further encourage staff to sit at them. Having somewhere to sit and read magazines, books, and drink coffee and have lunch are much more inviting. Opt for something that’s hard-wearing and easy to clean to make sure your staff want to come back again and again to sit and relax.

9. Add a staff noticeboard

From information about the latest triumphs of the company football team to a “shout out” board where staff can praise each other, make sure noticeboards are about fun and not about work.

If you need help making your staffroom more enticing and restful for you and your employees, call our office space planning team and speak to us about your ideas.