Ancillary Spaces to Maximize Worker Productivity

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Ancillary Spaces to Maximize Worker Productivity

Keep up with the latest from CCR-Mag.com

Fill out the form Below

While the DNA of ancillary spaces may be rooted in lobby, lounge, and café settings, the importance of these areas has changed entirely since COVID became a part of our lexicon. With remote work, open space, and flex space arrangements now a fact of life for many businesses, ancillary space can be found throughout the entire workplace as organizations look to reduce the number of assigned seats to make room for collaborative work settings that better support flexible, in-office work schedules. 
Sadly, ancillary spaces in many buildings are simply not designed to be high performing or to support employees’ physical and cognitive well-being. This clearly can impact the willingness of workers to come back into the office and, in turn, their productivity. Ancillary spaces after all need to work as hard as people do so that employees are able to do their best work. 
With that in mind, there are four key considerations to keep in mind to ensure ancillary spaces live up to their full potential. 
First, it is essential to balance comfort with function and productivity. One perk of working from home during the pandemic was the ability to work from various settings. Few of those settings worked for the entire workday, however, because they lacked proper ergonomics. For productive work to occur, people need both comfort and proper function. That means surfaces that are large enough to support a laptop and tools (notebooks, samples, reference documents, etc., as well as a degree of privacy. 
Next, ancillary spaces must provide a place for workers to put their “stuff.” Whether it’s coffee, a notebook, or research materials, most work won’t get done without this stuff and a place to put it. Unfortunately, if there are no places for stuff, workers will search for another surface to use (which reduces usable work surfaces for other employees) or a different place to work. To avoid that scenario, caddies can be installed which enable employees to deposit their belongings where they’ll be close at hand, while keeping the floor free from tripping hazards. 
It’s also important for ancillary spaces to offer furniture options that ensure healthy postures. These include the ability to position monitors at eye level with hands at or below elbow level to keep wrists straight, feet resting flat on the floor, and lumbar supports to prevent slouching. Pairing the wrong pieces of ancillary furniture is an easy way to make employees uncomfortable, leading to distraction and reduced productivity. 
Finally, ancillary spaces need to provide easy access to power sources so that mobile workers can plug in phones or laptops wherever they are working. Ancillary spaces should offer a range of power solutions that will keep employees connected without having to hunt for outlets. Solutions like Flex Mobile Power allow workers to grab a unit from the mobile cart, find a comfortable space, and plug in. 
By following these simple guidelines, ancillary spaces can advance beyond its roots in design and aesthetic to provide more value than ever before, maximizing employee productivity while simultaneously supporting a broad range of work options. 
Lisa Carter is Vice President of Sales at dancker (www.dancker.com), a leading interior solutions company that fully integrates architectural, furniture, and technology solutions as a one-source provider and logistics manager for corporate, education and healthcare facilities. 
 
 

Events

Read more BELOW

 

The 2024 virtual Men’s Round Table will be held Q4, 2024, date TBD.

2024 Virtual Men’s Round Tables

2023 Virtual Men’s Round Table was held on November 7th, 2023 via Zoom.


 

2024 Virtual Women’s Round Table

2023 Women’s Round Table #1 was held on October 20th, 2023 via Zoom

News

Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation awards 33 scholarships

With a philosophy that education is a cornerstone of career advancement, the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation has awarded $863,545 in scholarships since its inception in 2017. Providing scholarships to support educational and professional development, the non-profit continues to propel its mission of cultivating and

Supplements/Podcast
See Website for Details

This content (including text, artwork, graphics, photography, and video) was provided by the third party(ies) as referenced above. Any rights or other content questions or inquiries should be directed such third-party provider(s).

Receive the CCR 2024 Idustry Report

Get ahead of your Competitors with CCR's FREE Industry Insider's Report 2024!

Always stay two steps ahead of your Competitors. Stay informed with the latest in the Industry. 

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

This site uses cookies to ensure that you get the best user experience. By choosing “Accept” you acknowledge this and that ccr-mag.com operates under the Fair Use Act. Furthermore, Changing privacy laws now require website visitors from EEA based countries to provide consent in order to use personalized advertising or data modeling with either Google Ads & Analytics. Find out more on the Privacy Policy & Terms of Use Page