How To Set Up Your Office For Success
Whether your business is growing in a commercial space or expanding its production facility, office set up affects your success.
One of the easiest, most economical ways to transform an office is paint. Select the color carefully. The color you choose will impact behavior. Kim Lachance Shandrow, a senior editor for Entrepreneur, writes about the power of color in her article How The Color of Your Office Impacts Productivity. Whites, taupes and grays can appear as blandor too institutional. Shandrow suggests blues and greens to improve efficiency and focus. Go with yellow to boost innovation and creativity.
Ergonomics make a significant difference in productivity as well. British manufacturer CMD creates furniture and lighting/technology solutions for commercial environments. Its blog post Five Facts You Need To Know About Ergonomics explains how correct ergonomics increase worker productivity by 11 percent. A poor set up can cause musculoskeletal injuries, which account for one-third of workday injuries and illnesses.
Choosing office furniture that is adjustable to the individual is a good start. Ideally when sitting at a desk, employees should be eye-level in front of a computer monitor with feet comfortably flat on the floor and arms at a right angle with wrists straight. Another choice: a standing desk, which experts say reduces the risk of diseases such as diabetes and cancer. The simple act of standing can burn an extra 750 calories over five three-hour workdays.
Lighting is another consideration. Andrew Jensen, a business growth and efficiency consultant, writes in his blog post How Office Lighting Affects Productivity that artificial lighting can cause eye strain and headaches. In fact, it is one of the most likely office features to negatively affect motivation.
Jensen explains: “With light being a key component of vision, and vision being responsible for 80 to 85 percent of our perception of the world around us, it’s not difficult to see why ignoring proper lighting strategies in your office could have a significant negative impact on productivity. Harsh lighting and dim lighting are equally detrimental to the productivity of your workers, and, by opting instead for more natural lighting or other lighting systems that have been proven effective, you stand to not only save energy but also increase productivity among your business’s employees.”
Ready to deck out your office? Begin by benchmarking and peek at other companies’ interiors. Inc.com highlighted the World’s Coolest Offices 2015 last fall, picking winners for offices from large to small. The common denominator: open concept, functionality, communal spaces and touches that inspire creativity.
