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This blog takes a look at how breakout spaces can deliver benefits to your business through their impact on productivity, wellbeing, collaboration and communication. We suggest the various types of breakout spaces which could be included in your future office fit out or office refurbishment projects to ensure your office space is used to its maximum potential.
What is a breakout space?
A breakout space is any area which allows employees to get away from their desk to relax, eat their lunch and have informal chats and meetings with colleagues. An example of a breakout space traditionally found in many offices is the kitchen and break room, however many employers opting to convert extra space into breakout areas in their office refurbishment and office fit out projects. A breakout space may contain more relaxed, softer seating such as tub chairs, sofas or even bean bag chairs as well as table to facilitate collaboration between employees.
The Key Benefits Of Breakout Spaces For Your Employees
Productivity & Well-being
Designing a breakout space with soft, comfortable seating into your office fit out project provides employees with much needed getaway from the office floor and their computer screens and employees to relax their brains as well as their eyes. H&S recommendations advise that employees working on computers should have a break of at least 5-10 minutes every hour, meaning a breakout space is the perfect space to minimise risk to employee health, ensuring employees return back to their desks refreshed and ready to take on whatever the day may bring.
Designing a comfortable break out space can also boost employee mental health, providing a getaway when stress levels are high or a person is feeling overwhelmed, offering the perfect space to recharge and recuperate.
Collaboration and Communication
Breakout spaces are an ideal way to promote a collaborative culture within your organisation, not only are they a space where employees can relax, but rather a multipurpose space where teams can hold impromptu meetings meanwhile minimising disturbance to their colleagues. Unlike the typical meeting room, breakout spaces are usually much less formal, often containing modular seating to create a relaxed feel, which is perfect to get the creativity flowing during a brainstorming session.
Designing a Breakout Space
Incorporating a mixture of collaborative and quiet breakout spaces into your office fit out project is the best way to ensure all employee needs are catered for. If your employees need to break away from the office to concentrate on their work then including some enclosed breakout spaces into your office design may be ideal, for example railway carriages can serve as meeting areas but also provide an enclosed area which blocks out the noise from the main office floor, allowing employees to remain fully focused on the task in hand.
Alternatively, interactive breakout spaces located away from the office floor may include modular furniture, screens and whiteboards, providing employees with the space they need to get creative without disturbing their colleagues. Breakout spaces can also be designed for the purpose of giving employees a space where they can take a break and eat with the space for informal meetings. This type of breakout space will typically include kitchen facilities, soft seating such as sofas but could also be a fun space which houses pool tables or video game consoles to make the space feel more homely.
If you’re looking at investing in an office fit out project you should definitely consider implementing multiple breakout spaces serving a variety of purposes. If you’re not sure where to start,get in touch with us!
