With most offices wrapping up in December to begin celebrating the holidays, it’s a great time to take advantage of the natural behaviour that generally occurs in the month.

You’ll often find your team cleaning through their desks, organising their space and getting rid of any unnecessary paperwork. Use this period to take a new look at your office space, consider a possible office fitout for the new year, or just implement some of the little tips and tricks below to make your space feel brand new once your team is back in action during January!

Get your green on

Nothing brings new life and dimension into an office space like some greenery. If you don’t have an office fitout on the cards, adding some indoor plants and succulents can dramatically change the vibe of a room.

There are few small indoor plants you can consider, making it easy for them to fit on desks or bookshelves around the office. The following are suited to Australian climates:

Bromeliads: Choose from a variety of shapes, sizes and foliage colours. They’re also hardy indoor plants which also grow well outdoors.
Peace Lilies: A glossy foliage and frequent blooms. They prefer moist conditions and a bit of humidity.
Walking Iris: Perfect for a bit of privacy, these have upright leaves that can grow up to two metres tall.
Mixed Garden: Designed for medium to high lighting situations, like receptions or meeting rooms.

Earn your ergonomics badge

Surprising employees with new desk equipment over the holidays is a great way to encourage enthusiasm during the new year. Consider anything that may need an upgrade; from chairs to foot rests. These thoughtful ergonomic pieces will have a positive impact on the day-to-day life of your team. If they mostly work on laptops, providing them with appropriate laptop stands or even a simple keyboard wrist rest can help prevent any future arm and neck pain.

Create culture

Workplace culture has never been more important and while an office fitout is the most powerful way to create a space that’s truly reflective of your culture, small additions to the office can encourage the message. Depending on your needs, adding a wireless speaker connected to a music streaming service is a great way to mentally stimulate people and help them focus. While silence may work well for some, trialling ‘Music Mondays’ or ‘Throwback Thursdays’ could be an easy way to bring some spark and fun into the workplace.

You can also consider if enough open plan seating is available in your space. You might have a communal area, where your team can sit during lunch or catch up for open meetings, or a few seats in the kitchen, it’s always a good approach to encourage positive social behaviour in your space.

Have any other great ideas to add some life back into your office over the new year? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!