How To Set Up Your Office To Inspire Your Team

If you want your business to be successful, getting the most out of your workforce is important. And having a happy, inspiring office is a big part of creating a productive atmosphere.

Everything, from the type of lighting that you use to the color of your walls, will influence the way the space feels and how the vibe affects the people working there.

So if you’re trying to redesign your office, here’s how to maximize inspiration and minimize frustration.

Keep it light and bright

Coming up with creative and original ideas when you haven’t seen the sun all day is never easy, so the most important factor in inspiring your employees is to create a light, bright atmosphere.

If you haven’t redecorated for a while, spruce up your décor with some white paint, invest in some new flooring and generally give the office a bit of a perky makeover.

Anyone who’s worked in an office with strip lighting will know how depressing it can be, so rip out those fluorescent bulbs and replace them with some more sympathetic light.

Keep it clean

Overflowing bins and garbage-strewn-desks are less than conducive to working conditions. A messy office also gives the impression that you don’t really care about your work, so why should your employees?

Make sure the office is cleaned on a regular basis, with a really thorough, deep clean at least twice a year.

Add a few personal touches

When staff feel part of a cohesive team, they’re much more likely to work hard and contribute to the business, so make everyone feel included by personalising the space.

You could hang some art on the walls, create group photos or just allow everyone to bring in few of their favorite pictures to decorate their workspaces.

Create social areas

As people spend the majority of their waking time at work, it’s important that they have a space to relax in for at least a few minutes a day.

Even though the office is for working, if you’ve got a good team, they’ll probably be friends, too. Give them somewhere to meet and unwind.

Having a proper break from their desks will help employees to rejuvenate and make the time that they are in front of the computer a lot more productive.

Mix it up

These days, many offices go for an open plan layout to try and encourage collaboration and ensure that no one is slacking during the working day.

And though open offices do generally have a nicer atmosphere than closed or divided ones, ideally you should still have a mix of spaces within the workplace.

Having a bit of variety is always more stimulating and caters well to individual people as different people will respond better in different areas of the office.

Make areas for contemplation

Unless you’re incredibly lucky, inspiration rarely falls out of thin air, so giving employees an area to contemplate and explore is really important.

It could be something as simple as a shelf stacked with relevant books or simply a seating area with a good view. Pretty much anything that takes them away from their desks and facilitates a bit of variety will help to get the creative juices flowing.

As inspiration can be hard to harness, there are no set rules for creating an environment where it can flourish. But by making your office light, bright, airy and making your employees feel part of a united company, you have the best chance of thriving in your business.

Author bio: The Workplace Depot is the U.K.’s leading supplier of industrial supplies and warehouse equipment, writing this article to offer ideas and inspiration to businesses of all sizes.

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