Minimalism At Work: Is It Better For You And Your Employees?

Minimalism is about paring everything back in a physical space to use the least amount of possessions and resources possible. The aim is to create a calm yet productive environment that not only reduces mental stress but also looks to reduce waste. 

It’s possible to incorporate minimalism into practically any aspect of our lives, and this includes our working environments too. Given we are all looking to become more environmentally friendly, could minimalism hold the key to us achieving this aim, while also providing benefits for your employees too? 

Here’s our take on this topic, with details of how we can help you come up with a minimalist workplace environment. 

Starting in the place we know best as office designers here in the UK, it’s impossible to nail minimalism with your workplace if the space itself is too busy or simply not fit for purpose. 

All work environments differ in terms of size, layout, the number of employees and even what activities take place within the space. Even still, there’s always the opportunity to get back to basics, especially if your current layout feels disjointed. Minimalist interiors can create a clean, simple and fresh feeling in any office.

As with any office or workplace design, the process begins with identifying any current pain points. For example, too many pieces of furniture in a room, or complicated journeys to get from A to B. 

In many cases, emptying the room of all its contents is the best way to start fresh, especially if planning an office redesign. From there, it’s easier to see what needs to go back in, and which pieces can be used elsewhere in the building or better still can be recycled. 

Pros: 

A simple task that everyone can do today is to remove clutter from their desks. We’re all guilty of placing everything from holiday souvenirs to piles of work on our desks. The question is, are the objects surrounding our work environment helping or hindering our concentration? 

Similar to how sleep experts recommend removing clutter from the bedroom to ensure a good quality of sleep, the same is also true in our working environment. Try to only have the items on your desk that are necessary to carry out your work. This will allow you to focus entirely on the task at hand and keep in work mode, which can also help shorten the workday. 

Removing everything from the desk also gives the perfect opportunity to deep clean your working environment, since a study found that 35% of employees have taken time off work due to a sickness that originated in the workplace itself. Hence, the benefits of a clean and tidy working environment are far-reaching. 

Pros: 

We naturally tend to think of minimalism in a physical sense, but don’t forget that how we spend our workday counts too. Specifically, we’re thinking about tasks that don’t aid in productivity, either because they aren’t essential, efficient or generally lead to procrastination.

Talk of the four-day working week has been hotting up in recent years. However, this can only become a reality if the time we spend at work makes a difference. Non-essential tasks are going to look different to each company, so think about anything that is zapping your time rather than adding value to the business. See if the task can be eliminated or at least made more efficient using a productivity app. 

Pros:

When applying the art of minimalism to a work environment, it’s essential to strike a balance between productivity as well as personality. Work environments that are engaging spaces are more likely to inspire creativity, especially those featuring plenty of natural light, colour and greenery. But at the same time, the environment mustn’t feel cluttered or distracting, especially if the items serve no real purpose. 

Any efforts to remove unnecessary features from your workplace can have incredibly positive effects in terms of creating an upbeat and ultimately productive atmosphere. Therefore, minimalist workplaces definitely can and do work.

Many different components go into creating a minimalist working environment such as the layout, furniture use and overall design. If you are interested in redesigning your office space to meet your minimalist objectives, then ACI is here to help. 

ACI is based in Nottingham, and we cover the whole of the UK including Derby, Birmingham, Leicester and Manchester.

We’ve created a wide range of office design solutions for our clients across many different industries. Our work is completely tailored to each client, so whether you know exactly what you have in mind or if you’d like our experts to point you in the right direction you’re in the right place. 

Give us a call on 0115 697 1705 or drop us an email with your project enquiry and we’ll be in touch.