Search for the companies with the happiest of employees and you’ll notice one thing they all have in common – beautifully and strategically designed interiors office.
Despite word around overly glamourized office spaces, it turns out that your office interior design does affect the way you work.
It all started with tech giants like Facebook, Yahoo and Google paying attention to creating an employee-friendly environment. They didn’t just notice that their employees enjoyed the ‘fun’ interiors all day long, but also that their productivity levels increased drastically!
Today, you see all the startups too focusing on office interiors. If they don’t own an office space of their own yet, they choose to work from co working spaces that are smartly designed to suit their needs. But the needs, aren’t just restricted to a working coffee machine. They include comfortable seating, lounging space and of course, a few good interiors that make a dull Monday look better and turn it into an inspiring workplace.
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Take a look at this co-working space, Awfis, for instance. The space offers flexible seating, fixed seating, work cabins and meeting rooms, that are all designed aesthetically to encourage networking and build team strength.
You might wonder if investing in a space that looks as ‘fancy’ may be worth it or not, if office space aesthetics actually have an impact on companies and their people, the battle of the coolest work spaces is real. Having spent time with my team, working from what you may call a usual office and one that looks really cool, here’s why I have become an advocate of focusing on office interiors now.
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We all spend a lot of time in the office
According to a study published on the Wall Street Journal, employees who worked from the older styled and noisier office spaces suffered from higher stress levels than those that worked from roomier, well-lit spaces. In fact, the difference in office interiors also had a direct impact on employees heart health. A healthier heart, leading to happier moods and high productivity.
In fact, while working on office space interiors ourselves, we noticed the difference too! For instance, this office space designed by Atelier Cosmas Gozali uses bright colors in the meeting room. It takes the employees away from the usual uptight meeting room environment and instills energy for a great brainstorming session.
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Creative minds seek creative spaces
For every company to be successful, you don’t just need a motivated team. You need to hire the right people with the right skill sets – especially when you’re in the growth phase (which we at startups, are always in). But these skilled professionals are those that are always on the lookout for career moves that will give promise them growth.
Now you might feel what the office space interiors have got to do with it. But the very first thing that these professionals do, is research a little about your company on Google. They go through some of the first few pictures shared on social media or by your employees and a few reviews to start with. The idea being, they want to know what it is like to work for your company and how happy your employees are. It’s pretty much similar to how good you look in a profile picture on Facebook.
If you design an office space that is unique, you’re immediately going to appeal to their interest and have them apply for a position in no time.
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Clients have expectations too
It’s not just your employees that are showing up every day. You will have your clients walking in too every other day and the only way to get business, is to make the right first impression. While building our interior design company, we had several customers visit our office. Their very first way of gauging our competency being how well designed our office space was.
Understanding the importance of these one on one meetings, we opened another office. But this time around, we chose a co working space to save time on interiors right from scratch too. Our first choice while seeking which co working space we wanted to move into, was obviously one with impressive interiors. We now have all our meetings in the office, making it easier for our customers to meet the designers.
In fact, we find the idea so promising, that our team of expert interior designers is looking at working with upcoming co-working spaces.
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The design speaks of values
When you run a company, every little choice you make speaks of your values. Right from where your office is located, to what it is used for, how big or small it is and the color theme you choose for the interiors, everything reflects your vision for the company and also your employees. Just as the interiors of your home reflect your personality.
For instance, this office space immediately reflects how the company follows a modern and minimalist approach in their offerings. All this just because the interior designer chose minimal furniture.
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Strategic design drives a strong culture
Have you ever visited a startup’s website and seen glimpses of their office space listed right under ‘why you should work there’? That’s because a mission-vision statement sometimes is not enough for a culture to be imagined and nurtured.
If you want your team to work together, you need to make room for your employees to socialize during break time. And no, we’re not just talking about chairs with wheels. You want to tell them that socializing and getting together every now and then, is a part of the culture and you encourage it.
Like this informal setup in the office, encourages a casual catch up between employees. It helps them build stronger relationships with one another, promoting teamwork.
There are plenty of reasons why you should be focusing a lot more on your office interior design than you think. But to sum it all up, it is what keeps your rocket ship fueled even when you’re not there to motivate your team with pep talks and it’s not all that difficult to take care of.
All you need to do, is think through your vision and mission, identify what you want to be perceived as by both employees and customers, what message do you want your employees to remember every time they set foot in and the general feeling everyone gets on reaching office. Honestly, I prefer a happy feeling for a productive day.
Office interiors are like an investment you make. You make it at the right time and on the right aspects, you reap its benefits forever!
About the Author
Ratul Ghosh is the Chief Marketing Officer of Mansionly, an integrated platform for turnkey Interior Design Services, for premium residential and commercial properties. Mansionly provides for teams of award-winning international designers and the best of Indian and international furniture and décor on a technology-driven platform that ensures transparent execution for the best in cost, quality and time. Do visit mansionly.com for more details.
Get a chance to be recognized as an Amazing Workplaces® Certified Organization.
Is your workplace truly amazing? It’s time to find out! Take the Amazing Workplaces® survey and certification – your chance to benchmark your company against top performers, uncover hidden strengths and weaknesses, and embark on a journey to build a workplace that’s the envy of your entire industry. Know more
