It’s no secret that productivity is a major key to success on an individual and company basis. We now live in a day and age where science is able to break down the components to productivity and we now know just how impactful our environment can be. Thanks to studies done over the past decade we now have the tools to make improvements in our space and increase productivity. Listed below, we have broken down some of these key factors -
Improve Lighting
Lighting is a crucial factor when it comes to a more progressive/productive work environment. People receive about 85% of their sense of information through the sense of sight. Too often this factor is overlooked when considering an office space. According to an article posted by Forbes Magazine - “bad lighting is associated with a range of ill-health effects, both physical and mental, such as eye strain, headaches, fatigue and also stress and anxiety in more high-pressure work environments.” Yikes!
This is also good news because becoming more aware of this can help you significantly improve your work environment with just a few lamps. However, more important is choosing a space with more natural lighting and a lot of windows.
Add Color
There have been many studies done on the effects that color has on mood and motivation. Color is directly correlated with stimuli in the brain. According to a study posted by Sage Journals adding a variety of color to your office space can have a number of benefits including improvement on motivation. As pointed out by the writers at Sage - “Well-chosen, colorful pictures can also improve an office immensely. Try introducing some of your own artwork into your work space. Many online printing services will now print to canvas, so you can make your psychedelic Photoshop creations look professional. Photograph some bright flowers, blow up huge, print on canvas—easy.”
Like lighting, this one is a fairly easy way to improve your office environment. Add artwork and encourage your employees to add some color to their personal space as well.
Throw in some plants
Office days often include long hours and subjugation to the indoors. Adding some live plants around the office is a great way to bring the outdoors in. Office plants have a number of benefits, including oxygenating your work space. Humans on average spend about 80-90% of their time indoors, this shouldn’t seem like such a problem however, it can be. The ozone levels are typically much higher indoors having an impact on human health.
A study posted by Science Daily claims plants can help reduce the levels of ozone by re-oxidizing the air.
They are also another great way to add color to the work space with colorful pots. Win, Win!