4. Alternative Communal Spaces
Since most employees spend more hours at work than in a state of relaxation, brief break periods during the workday are a significant perk. Furthermore, allowing employees space to relax or take a phone call isn’t just a benefit but a corporate productivity hack. Providing space to pause during the day improves employee productivity and satisfaction.
5. On-Site-Fitness Facilities
Adding health and fitness programs into a workspace provides major employee and employer benefits. On-site fitness facilities are shown to increase productivity, enhance morale, and reduce absenteeism in the workplace. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention found employers benefit from a healthier labor force since workers are less likely to call in sick. Moreover, Crain’s Chicago uses on-site fitness facilities as a major indicator of a business’s recruiting potential. Therefore, providing health and fitness facilities on-site is way for businesses to become a desired and productive workplace for employees.
6. Nearby Food and Refreshments
Nearby food options near an office are a must-have feature of the modern workplace. For the highest caliber workspaces, employers are putting dining options in the building to improve employee happiness and productivity. However, for workspaces unable to accommodate in-building dining, employers and landlords are incorporating food trucks, popup catering, and fresh food delivery. For those working in class A office spaces, 85% of employees surveyed required tea, coffee, and vending as the minimum amenity for most premium workspaces. With a diversity of options and price ranges for in-office coffee bars, providing coffee in the workspace is necessary to fuel up the office for the workday.
7. Green Space
Outdoor spaces offer today’s workforce a break from the sterile and cramped life of the modern office. To attract and retain top talent, some offices also establish outdoor workspaces on their corporate campuses. Time outside allows workers to escape the daily grind and promotes relaxation in the workplace. Studies show outdoor space helps to foster co-working and collaborative brainstorming as well as improves recruitment, retention, and satisfaction. Most important for productivity, access to outdoor spaces allows workers to recharge throughout the day and has a remarkable effect on workforce health outcomes. Moreover, for the corporate bottom line, clean air and sunlight are proven to increase employee performance, curb sleep deprivation and reduce short-term sick leave.
8. Multiple Transportation Options
The modern commute is sometimes multimodal. Responding to the marketplace, the most desired workspaces are commuter friendly. Transportation options help tenants recruit and maintain talent in various ways. Buildings should have access to some form of public transportation. Accordingly, with more workers biking to work, employers looking to recruit millennials should provide bike racks and showers to support greener forms of transportation.
9. General Cleanliness
Although this should be basic, in many work environments, cleanliness is not prioritized. A commercial property management team should work hard to maintain germ-free and fresh-smelling office space. Especially in offices where food is stored, prepared, and eaten, lackadaisical maintenance staff can often leave quite a mess. The first thing employees notice is an unclean space, as a result working hard to keep a building clean is a simple way to impress.
10. Diverse Workspaces
The move towards more open office environments creates a necessity for diverse spaces. Because of the pervasiveness of exposed spaces in an open floorplan office, workers also need private and smaller collaborative spaces to concentrate. Consequently, by creating functional diverse workspaces, employees will be happier and more productive.