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Privacy and pot plants add to the positives of shared office space

We all know shared office space can enhance collaboration, making it easier for teams to meet with each other in an open-plan setting like in some of our serviced offices in Manchester and London.

But what do people really want from an open-plan office? Researchers from Auckland University of Technology asked that question in an article in Applied Ergonomics earlier this year.

They found that employees prefer fresh, inviting and open spaces – and will even bring their friends and family to take a look at their workplace if they like it enough!

We have worked hard to incorporate some of these kinds of desirable features into our serviced offices in London and Manchester, including several characteristics mentioned in the article.

Pot plants and nature

We’ve mentioned pot plants in the past and, again, the researchers from Auckland found they really do make a difference to employees, in a survey of one particular workplace.

“Plants were frequently mentioned in the context of what people most liked about the office,” they wrote, and their figures showed pot plants to be the second-most mentioned feature overall.

This ranks pot plants above many of the ‘usual suspects’ of good office design, such as the interior decor, natural light, kitchen facilities and reception area – all of which also rated highly.

Versatile and scalable space

The availability of versatile spaces was the only feature to rank more highly than pot plants in the survey, as the workers involved favoured collaborative meeting rooms and the availability of an on-site library.

In a follow-up survey, the company involved had hired more staff, leading to less space per person in the office. At that time, nearly two thirds (62%) said they wanted more space, more storage, or more collaborative spaces and meeting rooms.

We understand the importance of scalability and versatility. That’s why wherever possible, we accommodate growing businesses by allowing you to occupy more of our serviced offices in Manchester and London as and when you are ready to expand.

And on the same premises, we also provide meeting rooms in London and Manchester, so your employees have a formal setting available to them for conferences, training sessions and interviews.

Privacy and breakout rooms

Finally, the researchers found that employees favoured the availability of private spaces, so that they could take some time away from the open-plan office area.

Importantly, they found that most of the surveyed employees did not feel that privacy was a problem when working in an open-plan setting – but some female staff wanted to be able to spend at least some of their time away from the main shared office space.

Again, most of those employees said meeting rooms were a good solution to this. In addition to our meeting rooms in Manchester and London, we also provide less formal breakout rooms and kitchen areas, so your staff have plenty of options when taking a break away from their desk.

We’re proud of our serviced offices – and we hope you’ll love them enough to show your friends and family! With natural light, pot plants, meeting rooms for hire and other versatile breakout spaces too, we aim to give you and your employees everything you need to work in complete comfort.