Office, the second home of your employees where they spend a good 8-10 hours every day, at least 5 days a week, needs to be welcoming. Making the workplace sensitive helps to keep them happy and inclined towards giving their best. Studies show that happy employees work hard and efficiently with full involvement and remain motivated.

Look at this Google’s office in Dublin. It has colours, greenery, informal seating for more friendly presentations, unique and fun cubicles, recreational rooms for sports and music, more relaxed lounge and totally creative café.

Image courtesy- Office snap shots

Granted not all of us are lucky enough to work in places like this one but yes, the point is office interior do play a major role in boosting morale and increasing productivity.

Lauren Geremia, a designer of office spaces for tech startups like Dropbox and Instagram, says- “The work environment has become an extension of one’s compensation”.

So, Why Is The Office Interior So Important?

Good office interior comes with the potential of fostering creativity, boosting morale and increasing productivity. This helps your people beat the morning office blues and return to work with zeal every single day.

If the office interior is aesthetically appealing then, workers look forward to coming to the office early and even tend to stay back late. Not only that, when your staff is happy and productive, both you and your sub-ordinates work in unison.

Discussed below are few aspects related to office interior that you can incorporate and ideas on how they are important to the success of your business-

1. Touch of green- Adding plants can help improve the quality of air and keeps your staff pumped up with oxygen, which makes your employee more enthusiastic and productive, by keeping the brain cells nourished and active. Inclusion of natural greenery can also create the illusion of staying close to nature, which beats the boredom of enclosed seating.

Man is a nature-loving creature by his tendencies and hence some natural light and plants or visual access to the nature outside the office can definitely boost his morale. A study by The University of Exeter in England 2004, states that adding natural plants to your office interior, can increase employees’ productivity by 15 percent.

2. Dining for refreshment- Day long work is stressful and exhaustive. Food is something that can chase away tiredness and give a sense of comfort. But the place where your staff and workers eat can add-to or take away this pleasure. By making this indulgence a corner over hangout, a beautiful and homely place rather than look like an old school canteen, you can increase their mid-day experience. The accessories and the overall design of the eating-place in the office need to be uplifting.

Access to fridge, microwave, some plates and spoons can create friendly environment. Long tables that resemble dining table gives homely feeling when they open their lunch boxes and eat home cooked food. For those who don’t get lunch box, customize your cafeteria menu to include home-style meals that is not only healthy but also keeps them productive post lunch with light food.

3. Ergonomic furniture- Happy workstations are the ones that comply with the needs of human body helping it to stay healthy and easing the possible occupational hazards. No doubt ergonomically designed office furniture increases productivity by supporting the body and increasing the level of comfort. This furniture also helps to reduce emotional and physical burnout. Stylish furniture can be used in the reception area while functional furniture will be the best bet for daylong working staff.

4. Play with Bricks: Assimilating brick tile facades with the contemporary interiors of your office will not only create a cozy environment for your employees but will augment the looks of the office. This creates a high quality mood for the employee, which adds to his/her productivity in the end. These facades can be used in cafeteria or the entrance or may be in conference room to give an elegant look to the place. A corridor or a wall partition can be created out of hollow bricks and that too without destructions. These bricks can give modernism and traditionalism to your office at the same time.

Image courtesy: www.dezeen.com

5. Colours and office decoration- Your office interior has a lot to do with the type of your business and the section of the population who works at your office. High-intensity hues like fluorescent green or ink blue might work for a fashion industry where the clients, the general office visitors including the staff are more fashionable and enthusiastic. Bright colours do bring life to otherwise boring office interior boosting the morale, but the color scheme should be well thought of while taking the type of workers into consideration.

Inspirational quotes with pictures of industry thought leaders make great wall pieces in software companies. While antique vases or abstract wall hangings can be best for any reception area. All these add the element of glory and make the space more welcoming for your employees.

You can make it more fun and loving by offering your employees to showcase their creative side allowing them to decorate their private work area or any part of office interior in general.

6. Space is vital- Last but not the least let your staff breath! You might have space constraints but that shouldn’t be a hindrance to your staff making them stifle and uncomfortable. Ensuring adequate space for individuals working in your office makes it possible for them to tackle their daily tasks effectively. Also creating the illusion of spacious work place can avoid the feeling of jam-packed enclosure. Adding depth using right colours and mirrors in appropriate places can help you achieve this. When you have space limitations minimalistic design concepts can make wonders. Keep it simple, subtle and clutter free adding a lot of open space.

Office interior can bring in visual stimulation and produce excellent results when you are trying to increase productivity and boost morale of your staff. With these aspects taken care of, it will also regulate the workflow by taking care of heath and general well being of your staff. This also reflects how much you care about your employees and their interests apart from business point of view.

Authored by Building Experts from Wienerberger India

For an expert advice, drop a word at our email id [email protected]