You’ve signed the lease, ordered the desks, and moved everyone in. Job done, right?
Not quite. Whilst the immediate costs of setting up an office are easy to calculate, the ongoing financial drain of a poorly planned workspace often goes unnoticed until it’s too late.
By then, you’re dealing with disengaged staff, mounting operational inefficiencies, and expensive retrofit work.
Professional office space planning isn’t an unnecessary luxury – it’s a strategic investment that prevents costly mistakes before they happen.
Here’s what businesses risk when they cut corners on workspace design.
The Productivity Tax
Poor office layouts don’t just irritate staff – they actively sabotage productivity in ways that compound over time. The most common productivity killers, according to research and our own experience and that of our clients include:
- Inadequate acoustic treatment: Open-plan offices without sound absorption create noise levels that significantly reduce concentration, with studies showing that 81% of employees report office noise affects their performance. Workers are forced to use headphones or seek quieter spaces elsewhere.
- Poor natural light distribution: Positioning desks away from windows or in dull or artificially lit areas increases fatigue and reduces cognitive function. Research shows workers near windows experience 51% fewer headaches and 56% less drowsiness compared to those in poorly lit areas.
- Insufficient collaborative spaces: Without proper meeting rooms and breakout areas, staff resort to corridors or inappropriate spaces.
The financial impact? Even a 10% drop in productivity across a 20-person team can cost tens of thousands of dollars annually in lost output – far exceeding the cost of professional office design upfront.
Staff Turnover: The Expensive Consequence
Talented people won’t tolerate uncomfortable, inefficient workspaces indefinitely. When offices fail to meet basic ergonomic and environmental standards, staff retention suffers.
Replacing an employee typically costs between 6 and 9 months of their salary, including recruitment, onboarding, and the productivity gap during transition. Some research is even more damning, showing the average cost of turnover per employee earning £25,000 or more is £30,614. If poor office design drives even two or three people to leave annually, you’re haemorrhaging money unnecessarily.
Modern office design considers wellbeing as a core requirement, not an afterthought. Proper lighting, temperature control, breakout spaces, and ergonomic furniture aren’t perks – they’re baseline expectations that directly influence whether staff stay or start updating their CVs.
Professional office fit-out companies understand these factors and design environments where people actually want to work, reducing turnover before it becomes a budget problem.
Expensive Retrofits and Constant Modifications
The “we’ll sort it later” mentality inevitably leads to costly remedial work that disrupts operations and drains budgets.
Typical retrofit requirements include:
- Electrical infrastructure upgrades: Insufficient power points lead to trailing cables, overloaded circuits, and, eventually, expensive rewiring to meet modern technology demands and safety standards.
- Storage solutions after the fact: Poor initial planning results in cluttered workspaces, rented off-site facilities, or hurried installation of inadequate storage systems that never quite solve the problem.
- Additional meeting facilities: Underestimating collaboration needs leads to booking conflicts, staff frustration, and the expense of hiring external venues or squeezing in extra rooms that don’t naturally fit.
- Climate control corrections: Inadequate heating, ventilation, or cooling systems create uncomfortable working conditions that require costly mechanical upgrades, often involving disruptive installation work.
All in all, commercial office refurbishment to fix planning mistakes costs significantly more than a robust, professional initial design.
Getting Office Planning Right From the Start
At Spaceway, we’ve spent nearly five decades helping businesses create workspaces that work. Our expertise in office innovations combines practical experience with a genuine understanding of how different sectors operate.
Modern office design requires balancing aesthetics with functionality, compliance with creativity, and current needs with future flexibility. We manage every aspect – from initial space planning through to complete installation – ensuring your office supports your business and team.
Ready to avoid the hidden costs of poor planning? Contact Spaceway for expert office design that delivers lasting value, or start your project today to discuss your workspace requirements.