Boosting your productivity through office décor is one of the best possible ideas from the managerial standpoint. First of all, it provides you with an opportunity to make a one-time investment/effort and create a more pleasant working environment for your staff in months and years to come. Sure, productivity is often associated with motivation and this is usually up to an individual. However, a work environment can be stimulating and make it easier for everyone to focus on their task. Here are eight simple office décor tips to help boost your productivity.
- Open office
Open office space provides you with more room, a stronger sense of community and a free flow of both light and air through the room. All three of these things are crucial for productivity. First of all, there are indications that the use of natural light might serve as a great motivator for your staff. The fact that you can see all your coworkers around you can help you feel like you belong. This improves interpersonal relationships in the office, which results in higher brand loyalty. Most importantly, an open office makes for a more impressive workspace, which is bound to look good on a website or in the eyes of potential clients.
- Cubicle system
A cubicle system is the complete opposite of the open office setup. In the age of pandemic, it is the safest of options but even outside of this it has numerous perks. Every cubicle feels like a tiny office, which provides your employees with a greater sense of ownership. In turn, this makes them work harder. You can further enhance this by allowing everyone to decorate their cubicle. One more perk of this type of office layout is the fact that the place is a lot quieter with barriers up. The level of privacy provided this way is unparalleled.
- Position of manager’s desk
Manager’s position in the office is quite important and often overlooked. There are two criteria that it has to fulfil. First, their desk needs to be in a position where they can see the entire office floor. Second, they need to be partially out of the line of sight of their employees in order not to appear too authoritative. The ideal position for their desk is probably facing the door from the opposite corner. This is also in full agreement with both ergonomic and Feng Shui principles.
- Motivational posters
Getting some motivational posters and an adequate poster frame for it can make an impact on the overall productivity in the office. First of all, they’re there to add to the overall décor, making the place look more professional as a whole. Second, they provide a positive message, can be used as a reference and enhance the morning routine of your employees (by potentially serving as a reminder). For some of your younger employees, this can increase the chance of instilling various positive traits. Sure, some would say that this means expecting too much from a simple motivational poster but, then again, you can never be too careful.
- Separate break room
Separating the break room from the general work area is essential for the productivity of your staff. If your employees don’t take breaks at the same time (one or several mandatory breaks for everyone), people on their breaks might distract those still working. For this very reason, it’s always smart to keep at least one hallway between a break room and the general work area. It’s also smart to urge your employees currently in the break room to keep it quiet. Additionally, by creating a dedicated break room and equipping the space with comfortable furniture, such as break room chairs, tables, bean bags, etc, you can encourage your employees to truly relax during their breaks. An attractive and peaceful break room environment can help boost productivity by allowing your staff to recharge and return to their tasks feeling refreshed.
- Recharge room
A recharge room is similar to a break room but it takes this idea one step further. For instance, a lot of people practice deskercise, so why not make a proper exercise area somewhere on your premises. Other than this, there are a lot of great trends that boost productivity. One of them is a 20-minute power nap. By creating a small area dedicated to this, you can allow your overachievers to unleash their full potential. Then, some create indoor Zen gardens on their premises. This is great for those who exercise mindfulness and prefer to spend their breaks in meditation.
- Psychology of colours
Different colours have different effects on people in your employ. For instance, bright and warm colours energize while cold colours tend to help people relax. Red, for instance, is an aggressive colour that will keep your employees on their toes. While this may sound like a bad idea, it’s not necessarily a bad move for a conference room (to make those brainstorming sessions more rigorous). It’s also a good idea for your sales department to enhance their negotiation vigour. Some colours, like yellow, are known to enhance inspiration, which is why they’re so great for creatives in your employ.
- Enough personal space for everyone
Open space or not, you need to make sure everyone has enough personal space and some privacy. They need to know that the screen of their computer is only visible to them. Second, they need enough space so that people walking around the office don’t bump into them every time they move. There’s a general rule that every employee needs to have at least 11 square feet of personal space. In the era of the global pandemic, this requirement might have gone further up. Overall, the simplest way to manage this is to either have a part of your workforce working remotely or by introducing flexible work hours.
In conclusion
In the end, improving your office space is always a worthy goal, even if it takes you a bit of time and makes you rearrange your current layout. Remember that, if you’re aiming towards productivity improvement, you can also evaluate the ROI of any given improvement by measuring the total improvement in productivity that you will encounter. All in all, there are many other options worth exploring but the above-listed six are a great starting point.