Motivating staff and keeping them motivated is just one of many challenges that a business faces. At the core of any organisation is the employees who operate like the cogs in a machine and should one of those cogs ever grind to a halt, it can bring every other function to a standstill. In the business world, exterior issues affecting individual staff or whole departments can certainly hinder or even prevent others from being able to complete their work. This is why industry experts keep talking about ‘company culture’ and neglecting it can at best stifle growth, but at worst it can sign the death knell for the organisation. Regardless of how talented employees may be, if they are not motivated to contribute towards the organisation, then those skills will ultimately go to waste.
The concept of workplace culture encompasses a variety of different factors which are intertwined with the ideology of the company itself. One element which can often be overlooked by business owners is the design of the workplace. Nobody likes staring at a blank white wall all day and clinical studies have revealed that furniture, paint colour and even how big your windows are can all have an impact on how your employees operate. For some context, be sure to have a look at the Steelcase study in collaboration with research firm Ipsos which revealed how approximately only 11% of people were highly satisfied with their office environment.
Open Offices Look Great But Are Highly Impractical:
Office design has come quite a long way from the cubicles that used to litter offices fifty years ago and now the most common designs are geared towards collaboration and teamwork, rather than restricting staff to small boxes. The reality is that office design needs to strike a balance between the two. This means treading the line between creating an environment which is open enough to allow staff to communicate both professionally and socially, but also have room for privacy so that they can focus when deadlines are encroaching.
The solution is the office screen. An evolution of the office cubicle, these are designed to divide and distinguish open offices, while maintaining the open office appeal. They are no longer made out of a thin piece of cardboard either, as modern designs increasingly feature acoustic foam, pinnable boards or a variety of other accessories to enable them to be more adaptable within the overall design of the office space. If the space is available, then an ideal arrangement incorporates professional and personal working areas, offering space for employees to focus when working and another to let off steam.
Natural Light is More Important Than You May Think:
Okay, many of us are not blessed with an office which is surrounded by large glass panes which allow natural light to immerse the room, but there are lots of reasons to make the most of the light sources that you do have. In the same way that sunshine tends to boost our mood while rain can bring it down, natural light influences many physical aspects of ourselves which you probably did not realise. While sunlight provides us with vitamin D, a lack of it can also lead to issues with sleep efficiency, sleep quality, daytime dysfunction and sleep disturbances. Summarised into one, that means a lack of natural sunlight can severely hamper that one period in the day which people take to rest. Interruptions to this can lead to high stress levels, exhaustion and an ever-growing list of mental conditions caused by poor sleep.
So how can this be achieved considering open offices are also bad for employees? Well, Glazed Office Screens can be designed with this in mind, by incorporating a Perspex panel, these can be located in crucial locations by light sources to ensure the environment can look towards the outside world throughout the day.
Even The Colour Counts…
So, you’re finally committing to upgrading the design of your office and it is time to get rid of the grey scale appearance that encapsulates the whole room. However, even if your logo is pink, that is not a reason to buy all pink furniture and paint the walls the same to boot. No really, please don’t! Colour is great for subtly influencing people’s mood, and while you will want to introduce your brand in there somewhere, there are a variety of ways of incorporating colour without making the office look like Van Gogh’s pallet. One idea we have loved to see being incorporated with office screens, is them being used with different colours to indicate different departments. Yellow helps the creative juices flow, so it goes well with marketing teams, while red evokes passion which has made it a great addition to sales teams. Whatever industry you work in, be sure to research which colour can benefit your staff the most.
If you’ve been thinking that office screens could be exactly what is required to upgrade the office, then we have a team of advisors on hand who can provide more information on the various ranges that we manufacture. To get in touch please call 01733 394941 or send an e-mail to sales@rapind.com.
