Gone are the days when businesses have to be all formal and professional. Nowadays, both employees and clients prefer offices that feel relaxed and inviting.
As an office manager or business owner, you ask yourself, “How can I make the workspace more welcoming?” Here are some effective tips:
Start Outside
The first thing that your employees and clients will see when they go to your office is its exterior. Make a good impression by giving your front lawn and the entrance a makeover.
For your building’s facade, contact commercial landscaping services in St. Simons Islands or wherever you are located. You can communicate to them what you want to see from the space, like adding flowers and shrubs or installing a water fixture at the entrance. These additions do not only make your office exterior a little more pleasant to the eye, but it might also improve the mood of everyone who walks in it. Nature has the ability to relieve stress and boost productivity, which is perfect for the workspace.
Allow People to Come Together
Your employees go to the office to work and earn a living, but that should not stop them from growing closer and forging a stronger bond. While you cannot force everyone to be friends, there are ways you can prod them into talking and spending time together without talking about their tasks.
You can introduce community spaces within and outside your building. Inside, you can set up your own cafe complete with seating and tables. Here, your employees can sit down for an informal meeting or just chat in the morning before facing the tasks ahead. Outside, you can add seating and tables where employees can eat spend their breaks under the sun. These open areas inspire collaboration and camaraderie.
Bring Nature Inside
There are also benefits to adding plants to the office. Plants have the ability to pull toxins from the air, keeping the air you breathe indoors fresh all day long. Plants can also bring life to a drab office, adding a little color to the beige and gray tones of the space.
There are plenty of plants that do not require either sun exposure or constant maintenance and monitoring to survive. A lucky bamboo, for example, is often found in offices because it can survive pretty much anywhere, including full-shade locations. Moreover, having a lucky bamboo is said to bring good fortune, especially if it was given as a gift.
Declutter
Decluttering is more popular among individuals and families. However, your office might need to declutter, too, to free up some storage and give the space a refresher.
Sort through paper documents and toss everything that you no longer need to the recycle bin. Clear surfaces of equipment and put them all back in their proper storage. Clutter can reduce productivity because it creates distractions. Remove any non-essentials from desks and other surfaces. Keep only those that are necessary for day-to-day operations.
You can choose to make more improvements to your office to create a welcoming vibe. Although spending money can certainly help, you do not have to have a huge budget to make positive changes. Simply make sure to involve your employees when you are developing plans to give your office a makeover so that they can give you suggestions on how to improve the space to boost productivity and make work a lot more fun.
