If your work days seem to grow longer and your productivity level at work is dropping, you should consider the environment that you find yourself in every day. Office furnishings are as diverse as the businesses that they support, and finding the right fit for you and your office can transform your work day.

For young start-ups, having a versatile and dynamic office set-up is important for promoting a collaborative environment with a fun, yet productive, atmosphere. Older, more established, companies have different goals than those just breaking into their respective industries, but still need to consider the impact that their office atmospheres have on the people working there.

Consider the Building

Whether you’re looking for a new office space to furnish or you’re planning to remodel your current building with new and refreshing furniture, consider how the lighting will impact the overall layout.

In a building without sufficient natural lighting, constructing a productive environment means combining different overhead and desk light fixtures. Layering office lighting and taking advantage of natural light has been shown to have a dramatic impact on the well-being of employees and will ultimately have a significant impact on the company’s yearly results.

Consider the Layout

Each decision you make in regard to office furnishings will impact the office environment. If you want to create an open layout to encourage team building and cooperation, large tables and varying desk types lined up across the floor will be your starting point. On the other hand, if your needs are better aligned with personal desk spaces with privacy and limited distractions, you will need furniture that will permit such an environment.

Consider the Personal Space

There are many ways that employees’ personal spaces can work to benefit them and the company. Aside from the basic comforts like a supportive chair or standing desks, personal office furnishings should reduce desk clutter, improve the personal organization, and streamline creative processes.

It’s important to embrace empty space on your desk. Not only is it distracting to be surrounded by piles of loose papers, it makes it difficult to quickly sign documents or write a quick note to someone. Be mindful of your daily necessities and utilize your office’s full potential to access just what you need when you need it. Organizational tools can be found that will make this easier, and many desks and office set-ups are designed specifically to address this problem.

Taking steps to streamline creative processes goes together with this idea. The best way to organize the personal workspace is to consider the frequency with which you use any item, and then to place it in the office at a distance relative to its necessity.

For example, if you only need to use the printer once a week or a couple of times a month, it doesn’t need to be right on your desk. But, if you find yourself getting up multiple times a day to grab something from the printer and it’s disruptive to your thought processes and productivity, then you might consider a compact desk printer.

When designing an efficient office space, each piece of furniture should be chosen with the hope of achieving some goal. Each piece should be useful and should help propel you and your employees forward in a common goal.