Maybe you haven't caught on to the Trading Spaces* mania that has taken over the home remodeling and decorating world, but it's more than likely that most of your employees have. So what happens when these employees bring their decorating ideas to the office and into their workspace? How far should you let them go?
Recent polls indicate that making employees feel at home when at the workplace is important for morale and productivity. Things like plants, window treatments, wall hangings, and ambient lighting go far in making employees feel more comfortable while at work. And comfortable may be all that it takes to boost employee production.
A study done by Robert S. Ulrich, Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A&M University, found that the presence of flowers or plants can have a measurable impact on creativity, production, and worker well-being.** The study of 100 people, half men and half women, found that when flowers and plants were in the room, people felt more pleasant, which led to significant increases in creative thinking. People were able to produce more ideas, and at a higher quality, than people without flowers and plants in the workplace.
Further, if your employees feel more comfortable, chances are clients visiting the office will too, which should lead to better business for you. So, if your office is looking rather blah, consider investing a little time and money into some workplace decor. Buy some plants, put some flowers at the reception desk, involve your employees in picking out wall colors or nice window treatments, and encourage them to bring pictures from home. Just make sure that all art and decor is preapproved as appropriate for the workplace. Go try a little Trading Spaces office style and have fun with it; it just may pay off.
*Trading Spaces is a home improvement show on the TLC cable television channel. Though there are different versions of the show, the original show is based on two couples that exchange houses for two days, in order to redecorate one room within each house. Trading Spaces provides a designer, decorator, carpenter, and $1,000 to redo the room. At the end of the second day, the couples return to their own houses to see their newly finished room.
**Kathy Lamancusa, “Trend Talk: Translucency Makes a Comeback,” RealtyTimes® (April 28, 2004), at http://realtytimes.com.
This article was provided by Jennifer M. Vogel, Berens & Tate, P.C., Omaha, NE, Phone: 402-391-1991, Website: www.berenstate.com, Email: berens@berenstate.com. © 2004 Berens & Tate, P.C. Reprinted with permission.
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