The work-life balance is something that has become more important in recent years, even though it has also become more difficult to obtain in many cases. There was a time when working long hours (and at weekends), losing sleep and sacrificing family time, was seen as something admirable, but thankfully the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way, and now most people understand how important it is to have some downtime.
At work, the office kitchen can help with that. Having a quality kitchen in your workspace really can make all the difference. Here are some of the reasons highlighted by kitchen design experts, Stonehouse Furniture on why your kitchen is the heart of your office space.
Take a break
When your office kitchen is a comfortable, appealing and functional space, it’s easier to take a break there, and this is a great thing when it comes to your productivity (and even your health!). Regular breaks away from your desk throughout the day, and ensuring you get up off your chair, can really make a difference to how much work you’re able to do – even if stepping away from your desk might seem counterproductive.
Studies have shown that sitting for the whole day, not taking proper breaks or even leaving your desk, can contribute to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer. The body’s metabolism doesn’t work as efficiently when you’re sedentary all day, and that can lead to Type II Diabetes. In other words, getting up and moving around and taking a break, is a good thing and when there is somewhere lovely to do it such as the office kitchen – it makes it easier to do.
Rest your brain
Resting your mind mechanics by not sitting at your desk and thinking about your workload is actually the best way to get more done later. When you do get back to work after a rest, you’ll find that it is much easier to work out any challenges that you might be faced with. That’s why removing yourself to the kitchen can be the best way to solve problems, and why staring at your computer screen hoping the answer will come is never going to be the best way to go about things. Retreating to an office kitchen that is comfortable, where you’re able to prepare a drink or your lunch, can be the ideal place to reboot and prepare for your next few hours of work.
Healthy eating
In offices that don’t have kitchens, or don’t have pleasant kitchens that people want to be in, employees often go out for lunch or they eat at their desks. Neither of these is the best way to remain healthy. Going out to a restaurant is expensive, plus it can be extremely tempting to choose unhealthy options from the menu and telling yourself that you’ll “do better the next time”. Popping out to a fast food restaurant is just as bad, although cheaper. Either way, you’ll find that you are eating much more unhealthily than you normally would.
Eating at your desk is also unhealthy – studies show that your keyboard area is just as dirty as a toilet, so imagine the germs that are crawling all over your lunch. It’s far better to leave your desk and make your lunch (or at least eat it) in a well-appointed office kitchen.
A snack space
The experts at Duke Health state that in actual fact, human beings do much better when they have small meals and snacks in between working hours. The problem is that these snacks can either be ignored altogether, or grabbed on the run and they can be terribly unhealthy. When you have a kitchen in your office, you can keep healthy snacks in there, meaning that employees can fill up whenever they need to.
An additional meeting space
No matter how big or small your office is, having a meeting space is always something that will be required; it shows that you are professional and means that you can really delve down into what your clients want. If you have a lovely kitchen that can be utilised as an additional meeting room, it can really help. This is a space that can be used for creativity, for meetings, for stepping away from a more formal space into an informal one.
More on setting up an office at home and reviving an old office space.
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