How You Can Build an Outdoor Workspace on a Budget

Even if your employees are the most capable workers to do their jobs, they can still struggle with focus, productivity, and keeping a happy disposition at the office. Sometimes, the daily grind gets to them. It happens to the best of us. But there are many solutions to this to ensure that your workers are always upbeat and content as they work. One of the best ways is to give them a space where they can work amongst nature.

It has been proven many times that working outdoors reaps many rewards for the company in the long run. For one, it increases happiness and lowers the chance for depression and anxiety among workers. It’s a great way to uplift workers’ mood and make them feel more alive. And it’s a popular way of reducing stress, especially when they’re on tight deadlines.

Recognising that working outdoors is enough. The hard part is building an actual outdoor space, especially when you’re on a tight budget. But there are many ways to work around the budget. Here’s how.

Look for the Right Materials

The first thing that you should do first is to identify what you want in an outdoor space. Of course, you need furniture for where your employees can work on. But you need to be more specific. Would you like to set up dining tables where your employees can co-work at? Would you like to set up a lounge area where your employees can take a break from their desks and relax as they work on their laptops? How about a shade?

After identifying your needs, then the next thing that you should do is look for the right sources. This is where your flair for cost-cutting will come into play. For example, a shade is essential in an outdoor workspace. It helps reduce the glare that sunlight causes on laptop screens. There are many ways to build a shade. You can use an outdoor umbrella. But if you need something sturdier, then contact plastic sheet manufacturers. This way, you’ll have quality roof sheeting that would provide ample shade over the workspace.

The important thing is to explore your many options to meet your vision for an outdoor workspace.

Repurpose or Thrift for Furniture

When you need more office furniture, your first instinct is to run to Ikea or Target. It’s understandable. After all, there’s nothing better than getting all of our needs in one place. But, as we all know, such mainstream stores can take up a huge chunk of our budget. So, when it comes to furniture, we have to turn to other means.

The ideal way is to repurpose. For example, you might have an old dining set from your office’s pantry. This dining set might seem too worse for wear. But you can make it the ideal co-working space by making some small changes to it. This would make it seem new. For one, you can have it painted. The easiest way is to spray paint it.

If you don’t have any furniture that you can repurpose, you can try buying secondhand furniture pieces. You might know someone who’s looking to sell some of their things. They might have the perfect outdoor lounge set that you can put on your outdoor space.

D.I.Y. the Design and Decorations

Setting up the proper furniture for an outdoor workspace is just the first part of the whole project. You also need to make sure that the space looks great. This way, your employees would be more encouraged to work here from time to time. The good thing is that you don’t really need to hire a landscape architect to make this space more appealing. You can roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

For example, instead of buying flowers and other greenery, you can buy your own seeds. Then, you can plant them yourself. Yes, this is more labourious. But this is where you weigh in on what’s a better option for you. If you have more room in your budget, then, by all means, hire a gardener.

Other tasks in making the space look great are more manageable. You can paint the furniture, canopy, and other parts of the area yourself. You can hang up fairy lights around the space. The options are limitless. Again, it’s all about knowing your options and choosing what’s best for you.

Creating an outdoor workspace is never easy. But it’s significantly more challenging when you’re on a tight budget. But it’s possible to create one by just making a lot of smart decisions and exerting more effort. Much like your employees’ work, this outdoor space would lead to many benefits for your company.