Refreshing your Workspace

Published on February 10, 2016 - By Cecilia Amador de San José

Guest post by Daniel Rogers

People spend the majority of their waking hours on work;  staring at the same walls, sitting on the same chair, surrounded by piles of paper. It’s no wonder then that, eventually, productivity levels go down. Which is why a properly organized and decorated office is important, as it can help boost creativity and infuse excitement about their work and their workplace. Giving workplaces a fresh look every now and then is a good solution to dropped efficiency levels and low morale in the office.  

Below, you will find some ways in which you can bring a breath of fresh air to your workplace.

De-Clutter your Workspace

The amount of clutter in each office largely depends of each employee’s personal habits, but because de-cluttering is absolutely necessary for any kind of office renovation to work, some universal approaches are needed. For starters, by now,  offices should be spared of useless paper and feature more practical digital documents instead. Furthermore, available storage space should be upgraded with labelled containers to make everything more organized and easily accessible.

Get the Grip of the Colours

Different colours make different impressions on different people. That, of course, does not mean that your office space should play to absolutely every desire, but more that you will have to find the solution that will please everyone to some degree instead. Do that by giving your office a fresh, clean feeling by painting its walls and larger pieces (e.g. shelves) in neutral colours. Then, you can look for more vibrant options and use them as accent colours, as well as allow your members to personalize their space either through art, plants, or personal belongings.

Take Care of the Furniture

Furniture, arguably, makes the most important part of any office, so here are a few things you should pay attention to if you want to shake things up in this department.

• Size – Large pieces are one of the essential prerequisites for making some space less cluttered, so you should always aim for more; but not to the point where you will make the office cramped or hurt productivity.

• Functionality – Finding furniture which will provide storage, be functional, and play well with other pieces takes time and dedication, so be sure to analyze and check out various options before deciding to purchase anything.

• Comfort – Sitting too much is already hard, so there is no need to make it even harder with uncomfortable chairs in a disagreeable environment. It’s important to consider lighting, space layout, and temperature to improve the office environment, as well as consider investing in ergonomic solutions.  

Create Various “Hubs”

The concept of an office in which everyone is sitting behind desks and quietly doing their job is now obsolete. Today’s trends require more fluidity; a good way to achieve this is by creating several different hubs, made for different purposes, where workers are able to satisfy different needs. If they need silence, they can resort to the “quiet hub”, if they need to relax, they can move onto a sofa, and if they need help they can always move to a more collaborative area.

Make the Office More Personal

People spend much more time at the office. Maybe too much. That is why it’s essential that they feel at home once they are there. And, feeling at home sometimes means having a place for a pet, or a huge panel where someone can hang family photos. These upgrades are relatively inexpensive, but they can affect how some offices “feel” immensely.