Get the Office Ready
April the 12th has been and gone. The shops did actually open, and life is returning to normal, and so companies are now seriously thinking about opening their offices and inviting their staff back. Which means that now is the ideal time to get the office ready!
But where do you start? Some staff may be reluctant to come back to the office because they’re worried and anxious and some may be raring to get back to a work environment, plus in all likelihood the majority of staff are going to be working flexibly and some may even want to stay remote, so how do you cater for everyone?
A big consideration is of course your office space. Start with first impressions here – what do people (meaning your staff) see when they walk in? You only get one chance at a first impression so make it count! What you want to create is a wow factor when people walk in the door, so hang an amazing piece of artwork in reception (or rent a sculpture if you have the floor space). That will really boost moral when people walk through the door.
Also, don’t just restrict art to the meeting rooms where you want to impress clients, but make sure you put it in your back-office space as well for the staff. Research has proven that workspaces with art see productivity increase by 35%!
Next, consider how you want your people to feel when they walk into their office. After so long away you’ll most likely want to make people feel welcomed and show your sense of appreciation for all that they’ve done over the past year. If your staff walk into an office which was once bland and is now spiced up with art, they’ll know their company is treating them and showing their appreciation. On top of this, workspaces with art see wellness increase by a staggering 42% and this can be seen very immediately, for example: Levels of anxiety go down, stress levels go down, symptoms of other mental health issues are alleviated. Happiness levels go up, interactions between staff are more joyful and friendly, moods are improved, and better work is done.
How do you make the office a destination again? If people are only going to be working in town 2 – 3 days a week they’ll want additional reasons to make the commute worthwhile and this is where programming and events is important. At Art in Offices, we offer our clients a programme of events which can be done at the office AND remotely, to build that sense of engagement and community. This includes things like artists talks, (virtual) studio visits, creative team building activities, workshops and visits to galleries and a curry after work. Building a community laterally within a building is also going to be more important, so that a building community is created, not just limited to an office or a floor.
How do you create that sense of community again? Lots of this is down to collaboration and creating spaces to collaborate. Many of our clients have used art to “zone” spaces. Quiet working areas are curated with calmer artworks, collaboration stations have exciting and colourful artworks which get the mental juices flowing, break out spaces have artworks which bring nature in to help people relax. People will naturally build their micro-office communities again when you give them spaces that convey different energies.
And don’t forget that you can rent art and even rotate it. That means you can refresh your space at regular intervals and keep the energy up, plus create a real talking point if you give the staff the option to curate their own office.
We’ve seen what a difference art makes to an office, now let us show you.