Setting Up Your Break Room for Optimal Use

An inviting break room encourages employees to spend time there developing friendships with coworkers, which leads to more engagement over all. Before you begin designing your office break room, ask your employees what they want. Do they want a place to relax? To connect with coworkers through shared activities? Or some combination of the two?

That leads to the question, what should be in an employee break room? Keep reading for four important things to consider when designing the optimal break room for your workplace.

Comfortable Seating

Providing comfortable office room chairs will make the break room more appealing. You’ll want to make sure you have plenty of seating for everyone. Consider a variety of options from an office chair supplier like Office Gallery:

• Benches
• Reading chairs
• Couches
• Bean bags
• Hammocks
• Swing chairs
• Ottomans
• Stools

Kitchen Area

A fully equipped on-site kitchen area will give employees a way to cross paths on their way to lunch or to grab a cup of coffee. Providing a place for employees to gather and eat will help provide much-needed organic connections that will prevent employees from developing a silo mentality.

Games and Activities

Fun games and activities, like board games, card games and puzzles, make excellent bonding activities. Other games and activities for employees include pool tables, foosball, air hockey or mini basketball hoops. These activities can serve as ice breakers for employees who do not know each other well. Make sure to provide games that can be played with as few as two people so that it’s not necessary to gather a large group.

A community puzzle offers a chance for teamwork. Set up a jigsaw puzzle or hang a crossword puzzle on a bulletin board and let employees fill in the answers one clue at a time. Including a rule that each employee can answer only up to three questions will encourage more participation.

Quiet Zone

Some employees need a quiet place to unwind during their break. Give them a comfortable place to relax in a modern office desk chair and listen to their favorite podcast or read a few pages in a book. This will help them return to work with a newfound sense of engagement. Some things to include in a quiet zone are as follows:

• Comfortable seating
• Low-level mood lighting
• Noise-cancelling headphones

If setting up a quiet zone isn’t feasible, consider implementing quiet hours in the break room one or two days a week

At Office Gallery, our office space planning and redesigning service can provide what you need to create the perfect break room environment for your employees.

For a consultation, contact us today.