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Create an Outdoor Break Room for Your Employees

News

Create an Outdoor Break Room for Your Employees

by VersaTube on March 05, 2019

Great business owners know that efforts to boost the bottom line are always on the forefront of company strategy. While your business might have made considerable strides in marketing, sales, and social media engagement, it’s also crucial to invest in one of your most important bottom-line-assets: your employees. A surge in your bottom line through productive employees who are well-established and dedicated to company growth can be one of the best foundations you will ever build upon.

While many companies provide some incredible employee perks, we’ve come to notice a new trend that businesses all over the world are embracing. From small hometown businesses to big-name companies like Google, Walmart, Shutterstock, and Microsoft, employers worldwide are developing outdoor employee break rooms … and employees are loving it.

Benefits of Outdoor Breaks During the Workday

Are outdoor spaces really having that big of an influence? In a Harvard Business Review article, authors Emma Seppala and Johann Berlin state that employee “happiness is a powerful predictor of an organization’s success. [Businesses] can significantly reduce organizational health costs by introducing more green spaces.”

Not only is the reduction of company health costs impacted - outdoor spaces offer other substantial benefits. Employees who have access to outdoor break areas:

  • Show a reduction of both personal and workplace stress, anxiety, depression, and overall physical and mental illness.

  • Help build a stable and enjoyable company culture, where employees more readily work together, get along, enjoy their employer and fellow employees.

  • Dramatically boost their mood, productivity, creativity, and inter-office relationships.

  • Enhance their ability to make excellent, well thought-out decisions.

  • Have longevity, growth, and leadership that benefits the company in the long-term.

While your company may or may not be the next Google or Walmart, any company can have a notable return on investment by creating an outdoor break space for their loyal employees. Concerned about the logistics? Building your company’s green space may be much easier than you think.

How to Build an Outdoor Break Room

Here are some helpful tips to build an outdoor break room that enriches your employees, boosts productivity, and positively impacts your bottom line.

Location and Foundation

The location of your outdoor break space should be only a short distance from your employee entrance(s) and should be available to all employees. Think about the layout of your company’s property and choose the best location that you know your employees would enjoy. Also consider any special needs, such as handicap access, a dedicated area for smoking (while abiding by any city ordinances), or a walking path for afternoon exercise to get those creative juices flowing.

Do you want your outdoor break area to double as an outdoor work area? Think through any electrical additions that might be needed, such as access to outlets, USB charging ports, lighting, etc.

Also, don’t forget to establish a firm foundation for your break area. As with anything worth building, you’ll need an excellent foundation to build the next step: the right covering. Whether you add an extended back deck or pour a beautifully textured-concrete slab, the foundation will set the stage for your new employee break room.

Get the Right Covering

The right all-weather cover is of utmost importance. A well-shaded area for every season can make your outdoor space not only more enjoyable, but also more usable. VersaTube has multiple options available for your outdoor area. From lean-to coverings that can attach to your main building, to freestanding, customized designs of your own choosing, VersaTube is committed to easy-to-build steel structures that are the perfect frame and covering to your company’s new outdoor area.

Your outdoor break room can also be designed to look like a natural extension of the outside of your business. You can finish out any VersaTube frame with a customized match to your business’s existing exterior, making your break space look like it’s been part of the master plan all along.

Provide Usable Space

From comfortable seating to trash receptacles, your outdoor break room should be as user-friendly as possible. Design your space in the way that most benefits your employees. Will they be using the space for breaks and lunches? Consider adding fixed picnic tables. Will they be using the space for work-related activities? Flat, smooth tabletops and moveable chairs for typing and writing are an excellent idea. You can also enhance your space with planters filled with vibrantly colored flowers and greenery. The more aesthetically pleasing, the more your employees will use the space. It’s going to be the place to be, so make sure to build it big enough for everyone.

Another thing to consider: Does your warm weather get really warm or your wintry weather get severely cold? While in your planning stages, research any outdoor air circulation such as overhead or oscillating fans, or standing heaters for winter access. Incorporate these into your overall plan.

A Design that Meets Your Needs

When something as simple as sunshine and fresh air are sure to impact employee happiness and productivity, that’s a pretty great return on investment. VersaTube is the perfect solution for businesses or government agencies searching for a high quality, fast, and cost-effective solution to their unique structural needs. VersaTube’s American-made steel can handle the harshest climates without warping, risking fire damage or being carried away by termites. To see how an outdoor break room with a VersaTube structure can impact your business, view our Commercial Applications or contact one of our exceptional engineers at 888-217-0891.  Soon, your employees will be raving about their new space, and you’ll be the most popular employer around.

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