Office Decoration

There has been a great deal of debate on how to improve employee productivity over the last few decades. Many different theories have been put forward in terms of work hours, office layout, and career paths, as well as rewards and recognition. In recent times, the importance of workplace design has gained a lot of traction, with businesses investing in new layouts, furniture, and different ways of doing things.

An important consideration when looking at workplace design is the color scheme. So, read on to discover how office color affects workplace productivity and employee well-being.

Why Is Office Color Important?

Gray and white offices come across as clinical and can be quite uninviting on a cold winter’s day. In fact, they can leave your employees feeling miserable virtually every Monday when they stroll back into a drab office. This may sound like an exaggeration, but the color of the office furniture and walls can have a massive impact on your employee’s mood and levels of productivity.

Color plays a massive role in our existence. Just think about how people react to a bright blue sky versus a gray overcast one. How about the amount of time we spend looking at different color combinations for an outfit or for decorating our homes? Every culture has colors that resemble power, joy, sadness, and death, among others. Just thinking about these things reinforces how color can have a massive impact on employee productivity and motivation.

What Colors Help?

It depends on the type of work you need your staff to be doing. Many of the tech companies of California have opted for quirky designs and a mishmash of colors, designed to lend a playful air to the workplace and to inspire creativity.

Generally, you should aim for a color scheme that feels welcoming and relaxing, but also has a vibrancy that inspires creativity and collaboration. The last thing you want is to go for a color that drives your employees to distraction or results in them taking a long nap at their desks.

Blue and Green: If you want your employees to feel calm and composed, you can’t go far wrong with blues and greens. Blue and green combine well with other colors and generally work well in environments where communication is vital.

Yellow: When creativity is the name of the game, yellow is the color you should go for. Warmer shades have a vibrancy that can increase energy levels and mood. Yellow works well as an accent in meeting rooms, corridors, or waiting areas. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with yellows because it can have the opposite effect and leave employees feeling a little overwhelmed.

Red: Red works in much the same way as yellow, in that it can add energy and boost creativity. It can help improve the mood of your employees, which will have a knock-on effect on their productivity levels.

Choosing the color scheme of the office used to be the last thing businesses ever thought about. As a result, offices were usually pretty drab and depressing places. However, these days, companies are playing around with all kinds of different colors and office layouts.

The reason for this is that many studies have revealed that the color scheme of the office can play a massive role in productivity and employee motivation. However, businesses should definitely not take a one-size-fits-all approach when choosing the best colors for their business. So, here are a few pointers on how to choose the right color for your office.

What Results Are You Looking For?

One of the most important considerations when looking at colors is what your desired work outcomes are. Do you need your employees to be creative? Do they need to be calm because they are working to tight deadlines or taking high-pressure calls? Having a clear awareness of this area will help you choose the best color that is conducive to the work your employees do.

Blue is an excellent all-around choice, as it helps to stimulate thinking while adding a relaxing element to the office, although they should usually be matched up with brighter colors if you are seeking to spark creativity or if you want to create a high-energy work environment. Pinks, oranges, yellows, and greens work really well here.

Different Colors for Different Areas

In the past, businesses would have opted for a universal color scheme for all areas of the office. This is still possible if you combine colorful fixtures and fittings, but many businesses will choose the best color for specific areas of the office.

Reception Areas

The reception area is a crucial area for your business, as it is the first place that customers will see on arrival. You need to choose colors that accentuate your branding while also creating a professional image. Generally, all white is a bit too clinical, so opt for natural and earthy tones, which create a classy but comfortable environment.

Breakout Rooms and Meeting Rooms

These two areas are where you will want your employees focused and ready to collaborate. Yellow is an excellent option to go with here, as it helps to improve the mood of people while stimulating creativity. However, green shades are better if your employees need to stay calm in high-pressure situations or if they are working on time-sensitive projects.

Staff Areas

Outside of workspaces, you will want to strike a balance between calming and energizing tones. The staff areas are places for your employees to take a time out, so they need to be inviting.

Blue is a calming color, but you don’t want to overdo it, as it might make your employees sleepy after lunch. Instead, use oranges, which are great for mental stimulation and happiness. Or you could go for a shade of yellow if you want to create a positive atmosphere.

There is no greater risk to productivity than a cramped and messy office. Numerous studies have shown that employee motivation can decrease significantly if they feel trapped or uncomfortable during the workday. It can also lead to more time lost as a result of employees taking sick days.

One easy way to counter this issue is to ensure that the workplace is airy, clean, and tidy. To get the most out of your space, these tips and tricks for an organized office are a great place to start.

Everything in Its Right Place

Having files and old paperwork everywhere not only looks ugly but can take up precious space. Some people work well in clutter, but generally, it leads to people feeling unmotivated because they literally think that their work will never end. There are ways that the office furniture and layout can help with that.

Having designated work areas for your employees to organize in their own unique way is helpful, as is having rules regarding clutter and filing. Desks with some storage for necessary documents and materials are useful, as is having different compartments in the drawers so that they can organize stationary instead of leaving it in disorganized chaos.

Hide the Wires

The use of electronic equipment requires lots of cables and plug sockets. In the past, this led to a messy mass of wires as far as the eye could see. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be the case these days. Many devices can connect wirelessly, which eliminates some of the wires.

For the devices that do need to be plugged into power, there are many innovative furniture designs which incorporate wire management systems and charging stations for mobile devices. Ultimately, the office looks a lot nicer without wires visible everywhere.

Save the Trees

One great way to take care of file storage is to go paperless. Many offices around the world are investing in cloud-based storage systems that enable them to skip the printer queue altogether. There are so many different solutions out there now that it is possible to manage your calendar, appointments, notes, and documents all within one system.

The benefit for offices is that there is less paper floating around, which makes it harder to lose documents. It also eliminates the need to wait for printers or to worry about where you are going to store all your documents when you don’t need them on hand.

Make Use of the Space

The actual dimensions of your office will have a major impact on the type of layout you can use. However, it is quite scary to realize the amount of dead space in offices around the world. Areas such as nooks and crannies, and structural features like pillars, often get complained about, but they are actually great places to utilize.

For example, the wall space in awkward areas can be used for whiteboards, note boards, or storage space for office stationery. Some spaces might not be ideal for a desk, but they might be big enough to fit a coffee machine or some shelving units. The key is to be creative and not discount any areas of your office.

Modern work trends mean more and more people are now working from home. This has many advantages for business people and businesses. However, if you decide to work from home, you need to make sure that you find a space to use as your office.

This can be tricky if you have kids around or limited space, which usually means that your personal workspace gets placed in a spare corner. You will be amazed at what can be achieved with a little bit of creativity. So, with that in mind, we have put together these corner office design ideas to help you maximize your space.

Make the Space Work for You

The first thing you should do is identify the space that you are planning to use. You will be amazed at what you can fit into the tightest, most awkward spots with a bit of advance planning.

Before you get started, take measurements of the available space. Then you will have a clear idea of what you have to work with. The last thing you want to do is buy some furniture that will not fit into space, as this will make the whole area feel cramped. If there are any existing alcoves in your living room or bedroom, these can make excellent places to fit a desk and a chair.

Get Creative

Identify any dead space in the house such as landings, storage rooms, or corners in living rooms. Also, do you have any furniture that you don’t really use at the moment or things you are thinking of replacing? You can save yourself a lot of money by repurposing the furniture and creating shelves or desks from it.

Some people have even used unnecessary closets or storage spaces to create room for a desk or vertical storage.

What Will You Be Doing?

Once you have identified a potential spot for your home office, you should consider the sort of activities you will be doing. Some tasks will require much more desk space. If you just need a space for your computer and some notebooks, then a bench or a shelving unit might work best. However, if you work on multiple devices, you might need a bit more desk space. In which case, going for an L-shaped desk is the best option.

Choosing the Right Furniture

There is a multitude of options on the market, but it is vital that you choose wisely. L-shaped desks, folding units, and adaptable desks are all great options for a corner office. You can fix vertical storage units to walls and doors, which will save a lot of floor space.

Also, if you are working in a small space, then going for a large executive chair will probably not make sense. Instead, look for ergonomically designed chairs that can either be folded up or easily moved when you are not at your desk.

The office is the central hub of most business operations, so it makes a lot of sense to ensure that it is a place your employees enjoy coming to. Over the past few years, many companies have looked beyond mere functionality and found to make the office a much nicer and more enjoyable place to work. The main reason for this is that a lot of research has found that the workplace environment can have a massive effect on employee well-being and productivity.

All kinds of companies have integrated various features to make the workplace less sterile and more like the sort of place employees are happy to spend their time. So, with that in mind, here are four innovative tips on how to make a cool office.

Home away from Home

Making an office homier makes a lot of sense, as the office is the place where you and your employees spend a large portion of the working week. That is why many companies have incorporated features that wouldn’t look out of place in a living room or den.

Adding communal areas with sofas, benches, and places to “hang out” can have a positive impact on communication and creativity. These informal spaces are perfect for collaboration and remove some of the traditional barriers associated with fixed office layouts.

Get Creative

Forget the rules and create a workspace that reflects your company values. Tech companies have really led the way here by adding lots of unique spaces where staff can work individually or in collaborative workgroups.

Work with the space you have and think about the unique qualities of your business and your team members. You can try different color schemes, remove walls, create fun breakout zones, or add interactive elements to surfaces for when inspiration needs to be jotted down quickly. There really is no limit to what can be done.

Bringing the Outdoors into the Workplace

Nobody likes a sterile, gray work environment, especially if your employees’ work involves spending hours indoors at a desk. Therefore, you should aim to add natural elements to the office, such as allowing light to flow through to all places and placing plants around the site. These two factors contribute to fresher air and will keep your employees more alert.

You can also create park areas by placing features such as park benches and fountains to create a perfect place for informal chats or lunch.

Down Time

One way to make the office a more fun place—and infinitely cooler than your competitors—is to add fun elements like playrooms, swings, exercise areas, and fully fitted kitchens. These areas are great places for your employees to go and relax, but they also have many benefits for the company.

These fun areas will make employees feel valued. Employees will also enjoy spending time with one another, which will foster an excellent team spirit.

More and more people are choosing to work from home. However, there is a myth that this involves working in your pajamas while sitting on the sofa. While this may be the case for some people, many others have quickly found that this isn’t an effective way to get things done.

There are many things to consider when starting your home business. One of the most important factors is making sure that you have a place where you can effectively do your work without interruptions and distractions. These five tips for an effective home office should get your business off on the right foot.

Find Your Own Space

If you have made the decision to start working at home, make sure that you set aside a dedicated workspace. As tempting as it might be to set up on the bed or the sofa, this can have a detrimental effect on your productivity.

The same goes for using the family dining room or the living room, where there are likely to be many, many distractions. Having your own dedicated space will allow you to organize your desk and work area in the best way for you.

Declutter

Most people struggle to work in messy environments, and this is another reason why it is always a good idea to have your own workspace or office. There are many advantages to having a clean and tidy workspace. For starters, it is easier to find documents, and everything will be where you need it to be.

As your business grows, you will probably invest in equipment and office furniture, as well as build up a large volume of documents. Therefore, you should be ruthless regarding which items you keep and which items you dispose of. Try to put only the things you really need in your office, and that means removing anything your kids think you might need, such as toys!

Choose the Right Equipment

Making sure that you have the right equipment in your office can help you declutter and work more effectively. A good desk and chair are vital investments, as are adequate storage areas. The last thing you need is to be working in something that looks like a bomb site.

It also makes sense to make sure that your workspace is adequately lit so that you minimize the risk of eye strain and tiredness.

Be Comfortable in Your Space

As we said above, it is rarely a good idea to run your business from a sofa. That doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have a couch, but it should be there for downtime, not as the main item—and certainly not if you are working in a small space.

It is possible to be comfortable at your desk by investing in well-designed, ergonomic chairs and office furniture. Choose a comfortable chair that offers back support, and consider investing in a sit-stand desk so that you don’t spend all day sitting in front of your computer. Having good furniture will help you focus and be more productive, instead of spending all day complaining about a backache.

Take Regular Breaks

In addition to comfortable, ergonomic furniture, it is important to take regular breaks throughout the day. And this is where the sofa could come in handy. One of the advantages of working from home is that you can take a time out whenever it suits you. Have a book, game, or instrument handy for when you decide to take a short break.

Incentivize your day by taking regular short breaks during the day. Treat yourself to a coffee, a piece of cake, or a chapter of a book. These activities will get you up from your desk and give your brain a chance to unwind. This will help you have more productive bursts of work throughout the day.

The dynamics of office design have changed a great deal over the years, but modern concepts are almost unrecognizable from the traditional boardroom and cubicle-driven designs of the past. A quick look around the internet will reveal some stunning designs in the headquarters of companies as diverse as Shopify, Google, Airbnb, and the Cartoon Network.

For small operations and start-ups, these designs may be well out of reach, but you don’t have to have a huge budget or be part of a multinational corporation to create a workspace your employees will love coming to. In this post, we will address the question of how to make a cool office without breaking the bank.

Space

The first thing you should do before moving in sofas, pool tables, and dining tables is to check the size and dimensions of the available area. This may seem like common sense, but it is one of the things that many companies fail to take into account when redesigning office spaces or purchasing new furniture.

Sometimes, less is more, so carefully consider the quirks of your space and whether or not you can “create” more space by removing walls.

Let Everyone Know Who You Are

What do you want your office to say about your company? What do you want your employees to feel when they walk into the office? Simple things can make a massive impact in terms of impressions and workflow.

Having a feature wall which incorporates essential elements of your brand can make a massive impact. Also, glass surfaces on tables and walls, as well as chalkboards on the wall, can provide loads of areas to record creativity on the fly.

Colors

This is another area that can make a real difference. However, be mindful of using the right colors in the right rooms. For example, bright colors throughout the office can help with creativity but can also make people more impulsive. Likewise, darker colors are great for relaxing with a cup of coffee but may induce sleepiness at the desk, especially if the office doesn’t have much natural light coming through it.

The best thing is going for a scheme that reflects the work your employees will be doing. It is possible to mix and match without having to invest in a massive amount of different colors of paint.

Embrace Nature

Numerous studies have found that natural light is vital to the effectiveness and productivity of employees. Therefore, having glass partitions or wide-open spaces will help with the flow of the light. Knocking down walls can increase the cost of a project but will be well worth it in the long term.

Another way that you can make the office seem “airier” and more fun is by investing in plants for around the office and using outdoor furniture and grass in breakout areas to create a pleasant environment that can help your employees stay relaxed.

Chill-Out Areas

As mentioned above, having breakout areas or chill-out spots can make the office look significantly cooler. Companies such as Apple and Google are renowned for their quirky and fun chill-out zones.

Make use of redundant space by creating little nooks and crannies where employees can go to work or rest. Also, make the kitchen area a focal point for employees to come and exchange ideas over coffee or lunch. All these ideas can be realized without the need to invest a small fortune.

Office space is a precious resource which needs to be managed very carefully to ensure that it is a place conducive to productivity. A cluttered and stuffy office is likely to have a negative impact on how your employees work and leave them counting the seconds until they clock out.

With that in mind, take a look around your office and think if it is set up for optimum performance. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to invest in lots of new furniture or new office space to accommodate your staff. Often, simple changes can make a big difference, as these five tips for creating an organized office will show you.

Time to be Ruthless

Take a look around the office and identify the items of office furniture you use. Carefully assess your use of space and filing systems. If you recognize lots of dead space or furniture which isn’t fit for purpose, then it is time to get ruthless.

This may mean that you need to do some major shredding, or that you need to dispose of excess furniture. Some old storage cabinets and other furniture could even be repurposed. Either way, taking care of these space hoggers will free up lots of extra space to be used for other activities.

Think About Work Flows

When you start looking at your existing office layout, take the time to consider the workflows of the team members in certain areas. This will help you position the equipment and supplies so that they are readily available to the people that most need them.

A lot of time is wasted by employees having to spend lots of time looking for equipment, walking to a print-room, or searching high and low for important documents.

Think of the Trees

Many, many companies still use paper-based documents, which take up a lot of space in the office. The obvious solution to this is to move to a cloud system where records can be easily stored and shared. However, if you do insist on using paper, try and create effective methods of storage and disposal.

Do you really need documents from ten years ago? If not, get the shredder out and say goodbye to the dust collectors. Create a logical filing system so that people know exactly where to find notes on meetings, schedules, and action plans.

Think About Storage

Desk drawers or desktop organizers can make a real difference when trying to create clutter-free desks. Over recent years, there has been an increased focus on office design, and many furniture manufacturers have taken this into account by creating innovative solutions.

If you are trying to create a dynamic workplace, then you will have to have storage fit for this purpose.

Think About Your Company Culture

Think carefully about space and the type of work employees are likely to be doing. Some employees naturally require less stuff, while others will be more likely to spread out. Take this into account with your choice of furniture and at desk storage, so that creative types don’t infringe on more pragmatic workers’ worktops.

The performance levels of your staff are heavily influenced by the space that they work in. Cramped, stuffy offices can damage their level of productivity, while a comfortable, welcoming space can help to motivate them.

It is vital that you take the time to effectively plan the office space as an inadequate plan can result in a significant waste of time and money. There is no one size fits all approach, so it is helpful to know how to plan office space in a way which is both cost-effective and ideal for the needs of your staff.

Why Is Planning Office Space Important?

Your office is where most of your employees will be expected to work effectively, and where most of the key decisions in your business will be made. Therefore, it is vital that your office is designed a way that is conducive to productive work, collaboration, creativity; while also, making sure your employees feel comfortable.

To create the ideal workspace for your business takes time and money, and it goes way beyond just replacing old furniture with new and giving the office walls a bit of paint.

What Steps Do I Need to Take?

The first step is being very clear about what you want your employees to achieve when they are at work. Do your employees need to work in collaborative workgroups or do they spend a lot of time on the phone talking to customers? The type of work they will do will influence whether an open plan system or a cubicle system is the most appropriate layout.

Other things you need to consider before you start redeveloping your office include:

• making an inventory of equipment and current employee headcount
• making detailed measurements of the office layout
• thinking about how the office represents your brand image
• preparing a realistic budget that takes into account the cost of removing existing furniture and redeveloping the existing space

Open Plan versus Cubicle Systems

Many businesses have been moving towards more open plan office layouts as they help to facilitate more significant interaction between team members, while also allowing natural light to flow more easily around the office. However, this style isn’t for every business.

Cubicle systems are an ideal option if your staff spend a lot of time on the phone or need a quiet space to get reports finished. The main problem with this type of layout is the rigid nature of the furniture, which makes it hard to adapt

Both designs have their pros and cons, so it is crucial that you carefully consider the type of work your employees do and which layout will help them to work most effectively.

Planning Goes Beyond Furniture

Choosing the right furniture is an essential part of any office design, but this is just one element to consider. Maximizing the natural light which goes through the office helps to keep your employees focused. Also, using LED lighting and putting plants around the office can make the office feel fresher.

If you paint the walls, remember to choose a calming color scheme which encourages productivity. Shades of green, red, and blue have been found to promote a positive atmosphere in the workplace.

We live in a fast-paced world, and how we work and interact with each other seems to be in a constant state of flux. Businesses around the world are looking at ways to adapt their existing workflows and workspaces to meet these ever-changing needs.

In this article, we will look at the trending office workplace innovations which are currently driving creativity, innovation, and productivity and how these innovations can aid your business moving forward.

Collaborative Working Versus Remote Working

For many years, it seemed like remote working was going to become the standard. However, over the last couple of years, leading companies such as Apple, Google, and IBM have been getting their people back into the office.

It turns out that there is no substitute for real face-to-face collaborations, and these interactions provide opportunities for creativity and brainstorming.

Therefore, trends in office design have focused on creating spaces where employees can come together and discuss ideas in a relaxing environment. Taking a look at various websites will reveal office spaces that look more like coffee shops than traditional offices.

Green Offices

Biophilia has been a buzzword in office design over the past couple of years, and the movement towards ‘green’ offices doesn’t show any sign of letting up any time soon.

Simple changes have been found to have significant benefits regarding productivity, and businesses of all shapes and sizes have started looking at ways to bring the outdoors inside.

Adding plants as dividers, maximizing natural light, and using natural paints and materials help to create a light environment.

These changes help to improve the quality of air in the office and put your employees at ease instead of being stressed and tired like the employees you find in cramped, poorly lit, stuffy offices around the world.

Employee Well-Being Drives Productivity

The two changes mentioned above have been found to contribute to improved productivity and is a primary reason why companies are looking for innovative ways to improve office design.

Human interaction and employee well-being have been identified as critical drivers of creativity, and there has been a move towards removing barriers in the workplace and creating a homelier space.

Some companies have introduced dynamic spaces which can be adapted to fit the needs of a particular task, while others have focused on lifestyle approaches and integrated sofas, games rooms, coffee shops, and outside workspaces.

In all cases, they have been designed to get people moving around the office instead of spending hours stuck behind their desks.

A Changing World

While the importance of face-to-face interactions has driven changes in office design, the integration of technology has not been put on the back burner. In fact, technological changes are playing as important a role as ever, and innovations such as Visual Reality and Augmented Reality are likely to be pivotal in future developments.

We currently live in the data era, and many companies are looking at ways to integrate this data so that employees can more easily collaborate and access relevant documents.

Dropshare media systems, the use of artificial intelligence such as chatbots, and ‘virtual’ meetings are all appearing in the workplace and will require changes in office design as we move forward.