AdvantEdge Workspaces Blog

Your office is meant to facilitate your business- to make it easier, more efficient and comfortable for you and your employees. This means that the biggest downfall for your business could actually be the space you are in! Inflexible workspaces can stifle creativity, make expansion difficult and impede employees from doing their best work. But most importantly, wasting space means you are wasting money. These four solutions will help you make the most of your space and create an office that people look forward to working in.

1. Use a shared workspace

A shared workspace allows you to tailor the space to meet your needs. You only pay for the amount you need, but with the security of knowing that should you need to expand or downsize, your contract is flexible. Be sure to pick a shared workspace that offers meeting room space, communal areas and amenities such as live reception and mail services. These features ensure that your business gets the most for their money while not skimping on first-class services.

2. Switch up the format

No one wants to sit at their desk for eight hours straight. This is why many businesses are switching up their overall office style. Studies have shown that at any given time, up to 40 percent of one’s desk space is empty. Why? Between remote work, meetings, lunches and more, people are spending increasingly more time away from their desks. These habits have given rise to trends such as hotdesking and activity-based working (ABW). They focus on the theory that no employee should “own” a workstation and that having broader workstations encourages collaboration and teamwork.

While this practice may not work for all companies, the end goal is one we should all strive for. We are not meant to sit in the same place every day for hours on end. Humans need to move around! By coordinating schedules and letting people work from a communal area or from home, you can save space just by switching up its format to maximize time and minimize money spent.

3. Take advantage of communal areas

Communal areas are key to eliminating wasted space. People can be afraid of big, open spaces where anyone can walk in, but in the right environment, they can be a welcome break from a small office. Most coworking companies offer communal areas that are perfect for sitting down with your laptop for a few hours. You’ll spend less money on individual space, reduce the chance of overcrowding in the office and provide change in scenery for your employees. Also, be sure to pick a workspace that offers a variety of meeting room options, so you have space when you need it without having to relocate or pay monthly for a conference room that may go unused most of the time.

4. Go digital

Taking your work online gives people flexibility. Platforms like Slack and Asana promote collaboration while allowing one to keep track of tasks and progress. With these programs, people can work remotely or from a communal space without the connection from a traditional office environment being lost. Let’s say ⅓ of the company works part-time. If a desk or some workspace is kept for each person, that is a lot of square footage going to waste. Taking everything online creates less need for physical workspace, while still maintaining personal connections and productivity.

If your office space could be more efficient, then it is time to make the switch to a shared office space environment! With wasted space comes wasted money and traditional office spaces can easily drain your wallet. At AdvantEdge Workspaces, we work with you to create perfect office space solutions for your business. Click here to learn more about what we can do to help you save money and stop wasting space!