If your work brings into an office every day, you’ll be familiar with the concept of it having an atmosphere that inspires feelings. The main goal is always to make sure that the atmosphere in the office is a welcoming one, but that takes work and some thought. Making your office a warm and inviting place can be split into two categories: the appearance and the people. The way your office looks and the people in it are what creates the atmosphere and, usually, the office’s atmosphere will work wonderfully if these two things come together.
The idea that “if it looks good, it feels good” can definitely be applied to any office. If you walk into a dimly lit, messy and dull office space, it doesn’t really inspire any positive feelings. That’s why it is important to know how to make your office look good. You can start by making sure that your business name, logo and/or slogan is displayed tastefully without being too loud. Not only does this bring awareness to your brand but it helps to instill brand loyalty in employees. This contributes to the idea that office spaces should be personalized. This means that the offices should have unique showings of the people that work there, such as family pictures on employee desks. Personalization makes employees feel more comfortable at work and gives morale a good boost, as well as showing clients that the business is flexible.
Something important for every office to do is to organize everything. Papers, files, books, devices, everything. By doing this, you avoid having a messy and cluttered space, which is generally not well received in a professional environment. Cabinets, lockers, bookcases, etc., are excellent additions to an office as they help to keep everything organized and also adds style to the space. Something else that adds style, is the seating. The seating for the employees needs to be comfortable and supportive to allow them to sit for hours at a time without feeling discomfort or pain. Visitor chairs need to comfortable so that the client is kept happy.
In terms of your office decoration, it is important to bear in mind that the way your office looks affects clients and employees alike. Always ensure that it is well lit without feeling like you’re standing on the surface of the sun. Dimly lit offices are associated with sluggish productivity and overtly bright offices report a higher chances of eye strain and headaches. The way you light up your office is also dependent on the colour you choose. A dark colour scheme requires more lighting than a bright colour scheme. With that said, if you do decide to go with darker colours, it is always a good idea to add bright coloured accents. For example, if you have a black couch in the reception area, you could add brightly coloured cushions. This will break up the darkness a little and add character. Something else you could do, if you have the space, is to add plants. Plants add “life” to the space they occupy and are linked to boosted productivity in office environments.
Now that we’ve covered the various material aspects of making your office more welcoming, let’s get into the most important part of any office. The people that work and interact within the office can make or break the atmosphere with their attitudes and behaviours. A welcoming office will have polite, kind and courteous employees that not only put the clients at ease but make working with each other a pleasant experience. You don’t have to be friends with everyone you work with but maintaining a positive relationship with your co-workers and clients is vital.
There are a large number of things you can do to bring warmth to your office and make people feel welcome there. A lot of it has to do with the décor you choose and how you organize the office, but the true onus is on the people to boost the atmosphere for themselves and each other, with the décor being more of an assisting force.