Fed up with your current office environment? If you are, then how are your staff feeling…? Changing the look of your office doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul and parting with half of your life savings in the process.
Just small alterations, such as changing the colour scheme, installing brand new lighting and even changing the shape of the desks in your office, can have an amazing impact on employee morale and motivation. In other words, what we’re talking about is breathing new life into that tired old space of your company’s.
Here are 5 office design changes you could considering making – none of which should force you into overdraft territory, we wouldn’t have thought:
Introduce More Colour
Show how ‘with it’ your office interior is by incorporating design guru Pantone’s colour of the year 2018 – which just so happens to be vibrant violet. It’s a shade that is certainly ‘out there’ and what’s great about it is the fact that purple is a colour which is believed to cheer people up. In other words, you may well make your employees happier by just changing the colour of the reception desk, the carpet or putting up a few well-planned purple panels around the office walls. Also, a change is as good as a rest as the well-worn cliché goes and switching the colour scheme in your office is a very inexpensive means of motivating staff.
Wow With Lighting
There’s so much to praise in the above office set-up, owned by a San Franciso design studio but bear with us and try and focus on the lighting alone. For this impressive display of grouped spherical shades show it’s not just residences that get all the good lighting ideas. Introduce fabulous lighting like this into an office and your employees and clients take on a more relaxed feel, then there is the inspiration a great design will surely provide for staff.
Soften With Curves
Adding rounded shapes, such as curves, circles and half-moon crescents in an office which is primarily geometric – with straight walls, flooring and windows – adds a softening touch, which can also be relaxing. This circular desk above would probably make staff feel more connected and part of a team since there’s no-one stuck in an awkward or out of the way corner to feel aggrieved about.
Create a Social Space
A growing trend in office design, the social space (also referred to as ‘the third space’) is a relaxed area away from the office, reception or canteen and is designed almost as a chill out zone where staff can meet clients in a relaxed and less formal manner if they prefer. In other words, just like a coffee shop. Primarily though it’s where employees can sit and engage with each other without the constant presence of a desktop or laptop computer.
Jazz Up Your Reception Area
Office sharing space company New York’s Cowork/rs couldn’t have made their reception area any more of a ‘home from home’ environment – well, perhaps a mug of coffee and a cat for the lap would have added to it. Certainly this area has a relaxed and very contemporary feel; even the serene light blue colour of the softly-textured chairs emphasise the sense of ‘just chillin.’ The plant and quirky design of the table add further non-corporate touches to this space which is reserved for the city’s ambitious entrepreneurs and start-ups.
So, are you inspired yet? As you can see from the above, just changing one aspect or area of your office can give your company a whole new feel – not to mention how much chirpier your staff will feel as they launch themselves and your company into 2018.
