10 Office Breakroom Design Ideas to Benefit Employees

Office breakrooms lie at the crossroads of work and home. Within the formal setup of an office, properly designed breakrooms create a homely yet inspiring feeling and encourage bonding between employees. These interactions strengthen team-building, which in turn boosts workplace productivity. 

A comprehensive breakroom fosters greater relaxation by allowing workers to temporarily wind down within an inclusive space at work. To ensure that your staff is getting the best of their breakroom, you can incorporate a number of style elements to benefit your employees.

Ideas to Create a Comprehensive Breakroom

With these 10 simple ideas, you can easily create an office breakroom with a design scheme that will benefit your employees:

1. Reading Nook

Books are a great way to give the eyes a break when they spend most of the day looking at a screen. With some shelves and a few chairs, you can create a simple reading nook. Workers can leave a book of their choice and pick up a new one in exchange. Vintage books will bring readers closer as they pause on a mark made by their colleague whilst exploring a new landscape. This space can also be used to host monthly book clubs, and to boost attendance numbers, why not incorporate a beautiful coffee table? 

While a reading nook is certainly a functional and social space, depending on the design elements incorporated, the idea can have a positive impact on the entire look of the workplace, as well. 

2. Art Therapy

If you’re hoping to foster creativity in the workplace, a little bit of paint on a blank canvas can do wonders for the nerves. By leaving a canvas on an easel in common work areas and breakrooms, you can see ideas come to life as your team works side-by-side. This will encourage greater collaboration and boost team building.

If you would like to try something different, these sit/stand accessories allow optimal use of small spaces by offering ample storage for paints and paintbrushes underneath a canvas.

3. Effective Use of Space

Offices come in all shapes and sizes, and therefore, so do breakrooms. Making the best use of the space available to you will make sure that you have a multi-functional room that doesn’t appear overcrowded. Whether it’s office storage furniture you need or compact tables and seating areas, there’s always a clever way to maximise breakroom space.

4. Lounge Corner

Sometimes employees just need a break. Instead of doing an activity during their office break, they might prefer to shut off their mind for a little while. This will allow them to reset and boost their productivity once they commence work again. These comfortable lounge chairs are ideal for a quick afternoon snooze.

5. Communal Kitchen Space

Good food creates good conversation. But, even when it’s not perfect, the learning can be fun. From fresh pasta to a simple eton mess, you can use the office kitchen as part of the breakroom for employees to host cooking lessons. They can share favourite recipes and meal prep ideas for work. The team can even get together to bake a birthday cake for their colleague. 

Make sure you have a kitchen area that is welcoming to your employees. Areas to eat, prepare food, and converse are key to implementing a successful space.

Want to foster more celebrations in your workplace? Here are some ideas for celebrating work anniversaries and employee birthdays.

6. Family Photos

Family photos are a great icebreaker! Seeing family photos allows co-workers to know more about their colleagues. A photo wall is eye-catching and can instantly inspire team-building. By having a collage of employees’ family photos, your team can grow closer as they learn more about each other’s families. Polaroids, black and white photos and fun filters can all work together to add a variety of design elements to the space, too. 

7. Travel Magnets

Fridge magnets are a great way for employees to find their next travel destination. By having employees put magnets of places they’ve visited on the break room fridge, they can be inspired to explore new places. As they share travel stories, they will inevitably inch closer. Having a travel destination in mind will also allow them to perform better at work as they will have something to look forward to. 

8. Optimum Seating Arrangements

Sitting at a desk all day can feel tiring. To ensure that employees feel relaxed, you need to ensure your breakroom has comfortable seating.  Sofas and armchairs provide a nice change from desk chairs by allowing employees to change their posture. They are also perfect for seating people in groups and will get conversation flowing.  

These comfortable office sofas and armchairs are sure to make your office breakroom ring with laughter.

9. Capture Natural Light

Working in an office all day can sometimes feel cramped. For employees to feel relaxed in the breakroom, you need to capture natural light. With blinds in neutral shades like beige and apricot, you can create a breakroom that feels bright and airy. You can also adjust the blinds to suit the weather and vary the natural light in the breakroom to make the space unique.

10. Wellbeing Areas

Mental well-being is something that all employers should have high on their list of priorities. Make sure your workplace has somewhere quiet that employees can go in moments of being overwhelmed or when seeking some quiet space. You might find that dedicating a corner of the break area for a mini-wellness retreat could benefit your employees. This could include calming art prints, soothing aromatherapy oil diffusers and a small water feature. 

By using these 10 simple design ideas, you can create a sense of calm, community and productivity in the workplace for your employees.