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Shelta Chieza Change Management
I have had the experience of working in different work spaces, from a desk in a little corner as the whole company was housed in one room before upgrading to a small office, and eventually occupying an air conditioned office at the top floor.

It’s quite an experience going up the corporate ladder but the experience certainly makes you appreciate your subordinates and prepares you to manage individuals that are in the positions that you passed through.

It also comes with a unique ability for one to be able to design their work environment. You will appreciate that the physical office environment does affect employee productivity.

I used to wonder why most upmarket offices have big windows, most of them have French doors or sliding laminated doors.

Now I understand that the outside view is important. Experts postulate that a beautiful outside view leads to faster and better performance by a margin of up to 16 percent.

Many modern office parks are equipped with interior office spaces to landscaped areas full of greenery and vegetation.

Some are equipped with natural landscapes like ponds, rockery or hills. This is because looking at these features has been known to recharge the mind.

If you work in town, you may choose an office that has a garden or park nearby so that during lunch time or tea time you can take a stroll and recharge those creative juices.

There is still ongoing debate on how influential an open floor plan is in this modern environment.

I have both nasty and pleasant memories of working in an open floor office. Much of it is very negative though.

The idea behind open floor is to share ideas or cut costs, but sometimes it’s meant to increase employee contact and better accountability.

However the ugly side of an open floor office is that there tends to be a lot of noise and distractions and in most cases so many cases a high amount of pilferages.

Try by all means to invest in an efficient air controlling system. If employees get too cold, they may feel alert but uncomfortable; if it gets hot, they feel sweaty and uncomfortable. All that really contributes to your productivity.

The entire office’s lighting, has an effect on your productivity. I have been in reception areas of big companies that have poor lighting and instantly my senses became judgmental and awakened.

The moderate lights are a conducive environment to seal contracts and deals. Dingy little offices are not the places for conducting real business.

You would rather meet a potential client in a hotel or a coffee shop if you are not too sure about your office setup.

The position of your desk is very important. There are some positions that will hamper your thinking.

You may not pay attention to it when you move into your office but after some time it starts to affect you and you’re not even aware of it.

If possible place your desk near a window, surround yourself with things you love and you will see a positive impact instantly.

There are different opinions and interpretations of how music in the workplace affects productivity.

The debate is still ongoing especially in this era that we have personal devices such as headphones that allow individuals to listen to music without disturbing others.

However, it’s not all type of music that aids productivity, some of it is a distraction. Music in a store does contribute to the amount of sales you make.

There is music that is known to serenade the shopper to the point of enticing them to buy more. Classical and contemporary jazz music has that effect on people.

I also have read a report that rounded or curved furniture as opposed to sharp and straight-edged has an effect on productivity.

This is because of the link with positive emotions. Psychologists believe that rounded spaces triggered more activity in brain regions associated with reward and aesthetic appreciation.

According to exhibitevents.co.uk the great King Arthur said that sitting in circles provokes a collective mindset, whereas sitting in straight lines triggers feelings of individuality. .

I need not emphasise how much choosing the right colour for your office enhances performance.

The research-digest.blogspot suggests that colours such as blue and green have been shown to enhance performance on tasks that require generating new ideas.

However, the colour red has been linked with superior performance on tasks involving attention to detail.

It may not been easy to change, but the ceiling height has also been shown to have psychological effects.

It’s been said that a higher ceiling is associated with feelings of freedom, together with a more abstract and relational thinking style that helped participants see the commonalities between objects and concepts.

With the amount of pressure we have these says, organising a desk may not be too easy. You will recall pictures of Albert Einstein’s desk with all its “organised clutter”.

But you are not Albert Einstein and you can’t keep on justifying that it’s called “organised clutter”.

Unlike you, he got away with this famous saying: “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign of?”

Till next week, Happy office designing.

• Shelter Chieza is a Management Consultant. She can be contacted at [email protected]