Smarter Office: 3 Tips for How to Re-Engineer Your Workspace A few small upgrades can make a big difference.

Smart business owners know that it's not just the right combination of talented employees that make an office come together. The office itself — whether it's a renovated garage or a full floor in a high-rise — should be doing its job to maximize wellness and productivity among the staff in both individual and team settings.

"Spaces that are compassionately designed and thoughtfully put together have multiple, far-reaching benefits," says LongHa, CEO of Autonomous, a company that has produced smart and innovative office products since 2015. Those benefits include increased dynamism, motivation, and even improved employee health and well-being.

Whether you're building an office space from scratch or your reengineering and optimizing an existing workspace, here are LongHa's top strategies for designing an office that works as hard as your employees work on deadline.

1. If you believe in your business, then stand up for it.

If your desk is static, you might as well expect your startup's progress to be static, too. "When we started this business four years ago, many incredibly innovative companies had yet to integrate ergonomic science into their environments," LongHa says.

As everyone became aware of the consequences of sitting at a standard (read: poorly designed) desk and chair for upwards of eight hours a day, Autonomous launched the automated standing desks it's best-known for: the SmartDesk. It was adopted by people from companies as diverse as SpaceX, GE, and the National Institutes of Health. The SmartDesk boasts a tabletop capable of moving 300 lbs. up and down to the height its user needs quickly and quietly at the touch of an up or down arrow, plus the capability to program up to four heights the user specifies.

Thanks to Autonomous' direct-to-consumer model, "instead of paying retail markups, our clients get the best returns when they invest resources in their employees' productivity and wellness," LongHa says. A desk's sturdy steel frame can be assembled as quickly as a pizza gets delivered — and with a starting price of $349, your company's office furniture budget won't have to cut into your pizza party budget.

2. Design workspaces that move as humans do.

An elegantly elevated desk best enhances an employee's output when it's surrounded by the right stuff. If that stuff is other desks, consider their arrangement. "Most of our clients choose to set them up in face-to-face rows or in smaller, even-numbered clusters, sometimes with detachable privacy screens," LongHa says. "These setups seem to suit both collaboration and deep work."

Additionally, cable management is especially important when your desks can move, so LongHa advises to keep wires bundled under desks with enough leeway to accommodate all heights. And since standing at a desk should be an option, not an edict, look to Autonomous for the right office chair as well: "We try to ensure that there are healthy options available for everyone. You don't have to pay tons of money to stay healthy."

But it's important to remember that sometimes the best stuff to be surrounded by is nothing at all. "Avoid clutter and clear the thoroughfares so people don't feel boxed-in and stagnant," LongHa says.

3. Don't go over the rainbow—dive into it, then divide it.

If you've already outfitted your office with the optimal furniture and are now hitting a wall trying to figure out how else to revamp for employee productivity, maybe that's exactly where you should go next: the walls.

"Color theory as it relates to different types of productivity and focus is fascinating," LongHa says. "Color can be a great way to demarcate spaces and optimize them for different types of work."

For example, according to a recent study, shades of blue can help workers focus on solo tasks, while an energetic yellow can invigorate creativity. "It's not just about picking the right shade of magenta that goes with your logo," LongHa adds.

Consider investing in a book on color theory and a few cans of paint to reorganize your employees' individual and collaborative workspaces, especially if you're operating in an open office floor plan. "Every office should have quieter nooks and crannies where employees can sit and think, or just be," LongHa says, whether or not your office is open. Like an Autonomous desk, this quick fix is at a price point that enables you to take care of your employees' wellness without worrying too much about budgeting.

Click here to learn more about how Autonomous can help improve your office productivity.