It’s not a secret that the design of the working space can improve the productivity of all the employees and affect the general work mood. Indirectly, it can also affect your business, so as a business owner or a manager, you need to do whatever you can to make your office a much more comfortable place to work at. One of the ways in which you can do that is by making your office greener – in the literal and in the metaphorical sense! Take a look at why this is so important and how to exactly achieve it. Trust us, the employees’ mood and productivity will skyrocket immediately!
It boosts creativity
As already said, having a green office can definitely boost the mood, but also the creativity all of the employees. This means that having good air quality, nice lighting and a green space can motivate your employees to think outside the box. The World Green Building Council (WGBC) conducted an examination of 11 green-certified buildings around the world in 2018 and here are the findings:
- It can save money – This report found that, by introducing green offices, the staff turnover, absenteeism and presenteeism (the state when an employee is physically present but unproductive) were quite reduced. Fewer people took sick days, which definitely saved a lot of money for the company.
- Employees felt happier – Another finding of the report was that all the employees felt happier and more importantly, healthier. Happiness and satisfaction are always very important in the company and they lead to higher levels of productivity.
How to do it?
Well, first of all, you need to think about the literal sense of having a green office. This means that the office needs to introduce plenty of greenery, and make the whole space much more natural and less artificial. Installing big potted plants all around the company and keeping the environment minimalistic is the perfect way to start this. Of course, you should also invest in the interior a little bit to make it much more natural. A great way to achieve this is by adding a soft natural rug so that it could give that special feel that everyone will love. We all love working in places that seem so healthy and natural, so making an oasis out of your office is a great way to enhance productivity.
What else is important?
In order to make your office the greenest possible, you will perhaps have to redecorate a bit. Apart from introducing plenty of potted plants and rugs into the office, it would be good to make sure that everything is made out of natural materials. Keeping everything simple is the key. You can either opt for a bit colder yet very cool concrete look, or add wooden elements everywhere you can, such as the floors, desks, chairs and windows. Another very important aspect is the lighting. Lighting can make or break the final look, so it’s super important to have as much natural lighting as you can. However, since this can be quite difficult to achieve if the position of your office is not a good one, there are plenty of lamps that look very natural, so try to find the best lamps that you can and make your space very light and airy.
Make it eco-friendly as well
Finally, apart from making your office green in the literal way, it’s time you made it greener in the other, metaphorical and more important sense. Being eco-friendly is a very popular trend nowadays, and it’s for a good reason. The first thing that you need to do is make sure that all of your appliances in the office are eco-friendly as preserving energy is really important in this day and age. Opting for eco-friendly solutions for lighting and printing is also a thing that you should look up and incorporate. It might be a small change now, but it’s definitely going to help our planet just a little bit in the long run. Also, motivate your employees to recycle, preserve paper and think before they print. Not everything should be printed out, so introducing different social platforms or websites for internal communication can be a great idea.
Green is not only a soothing color. Making your office green will not only make your working days much more comfortable, but it will definitely affect the overall mood and the productivity of your staff. So what are you waiting for? Go green or go home!
Tracey Clayton is a working mom of three girls, passionate about traveling, marketing and everything tech related. Her motto is: “Live the life you love; love the life you live.”
