Office Decorating Tips that Spark Productivity

Office Decorating Tips that Spark Productivity

Since you spend at least 40 hours a week in the office, you should try to make this space feel like home. A picture of the family on the desk is helpful but there are many more actions you can take to boost productivity on a personal and collective level. Some of these measures can be initiated and put into practice by employers themselves, while others can originate from workers themselves. Office decorating tips that spark productivity.

Reduce the use of paper

We live in the digital age so paper files should be a thing of the past. Since this is not the case in many offices across the nation, workers’ desks are often swamped with piles of papers and folders. They can either be e-mails’ that needn’t have been printed out or old files that still haven’t gone through the process of digitalization.

However, you should stop worrying about what all that extra paper (waste) will do to the environment and start thinking about your own mental health. Namely, piles of paper add to office clutter which in terms adds to your level of stress. Try to keep the desktop clear of any documents and if possible, do so with the rest of the office.

Go easy on personalization

We’ve mentioned in the introduction that a family photo is more than welcome at the work desk. You should work in a sterile environment, so personal objects are more than welcome. However, don’t over-personalize the desktop because personal items can distract you from your duties. Items of affection should serve as a boost to productivity rather than a distraction.

Paper notes are still cool

The digital alarm clock widget we all have on your smartphone has pretty much done away with the alarm clock our parents used to keep at the nightstand. We also have digital reminders but they haven’t obviated the need for colourful sticky notes we post all over the computer monitor.

Although such reminders might seem a little outdated, they are an excellent tool to increase productivity. The multitude of colours they come in actually serves as a decoration to the office so doesn’t stop sticking them all over the place. They are more efficient than their digital counterparts because the latter can be turned off by a single click of a button, while the former is too cute to tear up.

The power of rugs in the office

A typical office can be a hectic place to work in, mostly because of noise pollution. Colleagues chatting, computers running, and working ventilation all add to the pollution. If you add the sounds coming front he street outside and the ones from the office below, then you get a rather noisy environment.

If the employer is conscientious enough, then they have probably added some carpets to the office to save heat during the winter months. In addition to insulation, carpets and rugs serve the purpose of soundproofing. In fact, workers can order rugs online and place them under their desks so they are warm in winter and what is more important, to muff the sounds coming from bellow. 

Cleanliness is half the health

Your boss or the people from the HR department can instantaneously determine what kind of a worker you are judging by the cleanliness of your workspace. Getting rid of clutter is something we have already discussed but the work surface should be clean as well. You cannot always rely on the cleaning crew to do the job for you, as they are often instructed to clean only common space and not touch workers’ personal property.

Arriving to work in the morning to a clean work station will set your mind in productivity mode. That’s why you should clean all dirty mugs, take out the trash regularly, and dust the monitor every day. As far as the floor manager is concerned, they can organize a small in-house completion for the cleanest workspace and award workers who take the most care about their desktop.

The significance of fresh air in the office

Large office buildings have central air ventilation systems that pump in the fresh air all the time. However, smaller offices rely on open windows or AC units to provide workers with enough oxygen to concentrate, as there are even oxygen therapies to help the brain function better. Offices that are crammed with desks usually have stale air that is helping no one. If you are experiencing a similar problem at work, talk to the management about possible solutions that include installing a ventilation system.

Introduce plant life

Speaking of fresh air, plants are an excellent way to pump in the fresh air in the office. Apart from existing houseplants in the lobby or the reception area, you should place a flower pot on your desk. Not only will it add to the aesthetics of the space but the plant will motivate you to nourish the workspace because it needs constant watering and exposure to sunlight, which is what human workers need too in order to feel comfortable and give their maximum at work.

The 7 tips listed above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact the work environment has on office productivity. Once you realize the importance of decorating the office in the right manner, the spark of productivity will be lit for all the employees.