It’s becoming more accepted that the design of office space has a significant influence on how people feel, as well as their mood, and behaviour. People typically spend 40+ hours at work per week. Which often means spending more time with co-workers than partners, family, and friends.

Let’s take a look at how the following design elements can potentially improve the mood or alter behaviour of your staff.

Diverse work spaces

Sitting at the same desk and staring at a monitor all day can make it difficult to focus. This is why companies, such as Apple, have different workspaces for employees to use for different purposes during the day.

Environments like break rooms, kitchens, reception, eating areas, and lounge areas are designed with two main focuses in mind—work and relaxation.

Taking a break from a desk and working in a different environment lets employees shift their minds by allowing them to relax, destress, and become more focused. Giving your mind a rest is also often instrumental when coming up with a creative solution for a problem.

Natural light

Humans are more active during the daytime than at night, which is why natural light leads to higher productivity, more energy, and increased creativity. Fluorescent lighting on the other hand can cause headaches, eyestrain, fatigue, and irritability. Not to mention, they don’t exactly have a warm and inviting look for employees or clients!

If you’re planning on removing fluorescent lighting in your office you could install LED lights and light sensitive switches instead. A smart lighting system can help increase indirect lighting and keep it from shining directly on employees.

Another way to increase natural light in the office is by using clear partitions that let the light through.

As fitout specialists we would also recommend combining natural light some warm light in the space, which adds a welcoming and homely feel. A popular way to do this is through vintage bulbs and modern lighting features.

Room colour

The effect of colour on how we feel and how our brain functions has been explored through colour psychology studies. Some have found colours affect us both physically and emotionally.

Although most colours can work in an office space when implemented in the correct way, you may still want to think about how your chosen colours could impact employee behaviour.

For example, some research has found yellow can lead to feeling anxious and red can increase emotions. While neutral colours such as blue or white have a calming effect which can increase productivity.

Lighter colours can also make the office space feel brighter by increasing the amount of natural light reflection.

Controlling noise levels

Everyone tolerates background noise differently. Some people enjoy working in an open office environment in a bustling workplace, while others get distracted by the smallest sounds.

Solutions include setting up private spaces throughout the office for meetings, as well as ‘quiet rooms’. You may also want to allow noise-cancelling headphones which enable employees to focus deeply without distraction.

Create visual stimulation

Working in an unengaging office with little visual stimulation can make work life monotonous.

In order to keep employees engaged, we would recommend mixing it up in the workplace with interesting layouts in your space, as well as interesting colours, textures and decor. Elements that add individuality to your space such as bright feature walls, cork or wooden panelling, plants, or artwork can all be used to create a more welcoming and engaging space.

It takes finesse to create a space that is engineered for collaboration and productivity. Implementing these ideas can make your employees feel more focused, relaxed, and content, as well as help them power through their work.