What are they used for?

• Providing spaces for employee relaxation and refreshment, possibly including facilities for making/dispensing coffee, tea and refreshments.
• Creating places to think through work activities, gain inspiration, review projects and work away from a computer screen for a while.
• Making areas available for informal meetings, collaborative working and brainstorming sessions.
• Exercise and leisure space; often used for yoga or games.

What are the benefits of breakout areas?

There are many benefits of using breakout areas, which vary depending on how you decide to use the space within your own business. Some of the most common include:

• Can create an area free of distraction.
• Allows employees to get away from the screens from time to time.
• Encourages collaboration across all departments of the business.
• Stimulates innovative ideas, team-working and creativity.
• Gives visitors visibility of good collaborative working and therefore gives a positive impression of a business and its ethos.
• Promotes movement in the office.
• Can be used for additional workspace.
• Promotes wellbeing and demonstrates investment into staff.

How to create an effective breakout area

Office breakout area design should aim for flexibility, which can be made possible by the choice of breakout space furniture, the use of movable screening and other techniques.

A variety of options in terms of seating styles is wise, to provide something that suits everyone. You also need to consider location as a key factor; quiet, focussed areas should be tucked away, but areas to encourage collaboration need to be easily accessible to all staff.

In an increasingly informal and fluid business environment, breakout and collaboration areas are now often used for face-to-face meetings with customers and stakeholders. This makes it important that breakout design ideas not only support the wellbeing and motivation of staff, but reflect the branding and dynamics of the business concerned.

If you are short on space in your office you can still utilise breakout areas, especially if your office is set up as a flexible work environment. Breakout areas don’t necessarily have to take up lots of space; a few sofas or a phone booth within the office can be enough sometimes.