Importance of Office Breakout Areas
4 minute read
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a contemporary office space without a breakout area these days. It can be as simple as a pool table set in an open plan office or a couple of coffee tables and sofas behind a partition, down to a games room and kitchenette with a breakfast bar. However the space has been utilised doesn’t matter, as the function remains the same; create an area in the office that promotes rest, social bonding, touch-down meeting areas and free snacks.
If your office doesn’t have one, you should be asking yourself; why? You may want to redesign your entire office layout eventually however if you’re looking to just renovate the canteen, all it takes is more relaxed seating, tables that cater for collaboration and socialising and something to allow employees to unwind.
So what are the benefits of a breakout space?
Enhance the Wellbeing of your Employees
We all need to step away from the workspace for a breather. Whether it’s to not feel like you’re shackled to your desk, or to shake away some cobwebs after hitting a brick wall, changing the scenery and coming back with a positive mindset is a hugely beneficial and simple way of being mindful of your employees’ mental and physical well-being. If your office is more fast-paced and hectic, then the furniture placed in your breakout space should contribute to the element of zen.
Adds Additional Work Spaces
All a breakout room needs, really, is a tabletop game, or an arcade game, or even a couple of coffee tables and comfy sofas to create an informal meeting space for clients and a sociable spot for employees.
Encourages Interaction
It’s easy in office spaces to fall into the trap of siloing off teams from each other; marketing with marketing, sales with sales, devs with devs. While this makes sense from a project perspective, it doesn’t create a free-flowing, communal environment where everyone feels comfortable enough to be friendly with people in other departments. By introducing breakout areas, you breakdown the knowledge walls around departments and encourage collaboration and may help with increased enthusiasm across teams.
Gets The Team Moving
It creates a common area for people in all departments to unwind; maybe to play some pool or an arcade game, and the friendly, sociable environment makes those duvets feel just a little less heavy and comfortable in the mornings.
Removes Distractions
Office breakout areas are a place to build and strengthen bonds within the office and allow moments to relax, contemplate and collaborate for employees. These are essential for the modern workplace, where people are more likely chained to their desk and staring at computer screens for several hours. Those in busy offices appreciate those 5 minutes to recoup – or the fact that they spend their lunch hour catching up with colleagues in a casual space without even needing to leave the building.
A Place To Let Your Hair Down
Designing a modern office is more than just laying out the desks and selecting the perfect white tile for the kitchen. Just like modern working has evolved, office spaces have evolved beyond the cubicle farm. Businesses are recognising that if they want creativity from their people, then the space they occupy needs to inspire them. There needs to be a little extra to them to get that wow factor and staying power. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; from a games room, to a drinks area complete with karaoke for after work entertainment, or a cinema room for an area of luxury, there are a plethora of ways to transform your office into that exciting, inviting place your employees will be happy to walk into everyday, ready to take on challenges with creativity and ingenuity.
At Cobus Spaces, we’re specialists in visualising, designing, supplying and installing cutting-edge and innovative office spaces for workplaces across Gloucester, Cheltenham, Oxford, Swindon, Birmingham and Bristol. Looking for something remarkable to improve your workplace and incorporate breakout spaces within your office fit out? Speak to a member of our dynamic team today and we’ll show you what a keen eye for detail with splashes of imagination can do to improve the overall experience for your employees.
