Where you work matters. This doesn’t mean the person or company you work for, but the space you are working in. Whether you accomplish your job at home or you have an office in a high-rise building, your space must be something that promotes creativity and productivity, no matter what industry you are in.
The workplace has gone from cubicles to open floor plans and water coolers to foosball tables. But while these trends come and go, the fact remains that office design affects employees’ productivity and creativity. And when employees are motivated to work, it can only benefit the company.
With that said, let’s explore ways to design an office in a way that sparks employees’ creativity and facilitates productivity.
- Let there be light
Cornell University’s Department of Design and Environmental Analysis conducted a study that showed how access to natural light helps decrease symptoms of headaches, eyestrain, and other vision symptoms among employees by 84 percent. When an employee is working in an area with dim lighting, their eyes have to strain to see what they’re doing. Couple that with bright device screens and eye damage will be inevitable. Working under too-bright lights can also have the same effect.
Here’s what you can do:
- Maximize natural light by adding floor-to-ceiling windows
- Rearrange pieces of furniture that block natural light
- Control glare with the right window treatments
- Color choice matters
Gone are the days of pale white or cream walls in the office. The only positive thing these neutral colors bring is that they’re not bright enough to be distracting. However, they can also look dull. And when employees’ eyes wander, you want them to see something that will stimulate their senses enough to continue working. These paint colors might do the trick:
- Blue to stimulate the mind
- Yellow to stimulate emotion and creativity
- Green to evoke the sense of calmness
- Purple to spark the imagination
- Biophilia is life
According to the Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace study, employees who work in offices with natural features reported feeling 6 percent more productive and 15 percent more creative. This is because of biophilia or humans’ natural inclination towards other living things, particularly plants. So instead of bland blank walls in your office, you can create a vertical garden with a moss wall, hanging pots, and indoor plants. The vibrant colors from this indoor installation, together with biophilia, can spark creativity and encourage productivity among your employees.
- Dedicated personal space
Giving employees the freedom to design their own space can foster creativity. This doesn’t even have to mean repainting entire sections of your office. The simple act of allowing an employee to bring their own knickknacks, such as family pictures and desk ornaments, lets them be creative. Apart from this, when an employee can personalize their space, they feel more comfortable, so there will be one less thing blocking their ability to focus and create.
Whatever industry you belong in, employees’ creativity and productivity are two essential factors in a business’ success. By providing an office space that fosters these factors, you will be able to cultivate and encourage excellent workers within your company.