How Office Design Can Boost Positivity in the Workplace

We all know that our workplaces should be positive places. It stands to reason that a happy office culture is more productive, promotes greater staff recruitment and retention, and all-in-all means the workplace is a healthier place to spend time in.

So how does office design fit into all this? How can the furniture, furnishings, colour scheme and arrangement of space reflect your office culture? How does the relationship between them work? Aren't they two completely separate things?

We're going to take a look at those questions in our latest blog, investigating how the way you set up your workplace can reflect your attitude to your working environment.

And we'll reveal how the synergy between these two important elements of your workplace flows to create a truly positive and productive workplace where your employees actually want to spend their working days.

So What Is Workplace Culture?

It helps to start by defining what workplace culture actually is. The easiest way is to liken it to the personality of your organisation.

Just as we humans have individual characters, so too does your workplace. Your office culture will be made up of a whole range of elements, from values and behaviours to customs, ways of working and even the built environment.

This means that every little detail — down to the type of furniture you choose for your employees — adds up to a bigger picture.

And while each workplace culture will be unique, the important thing to have in common is positivity.

Positivity at work means happier, healthier, more productive staff and better recruitment and retention rates too.

How to Create Positivity in the Workplace

There is no limit to ways of creating that supportive, positive culture in the workplace.

Here are some simple ideas to get you started:

• Express gratitude. This can take the form of a simple "thank you" for a piece of work well done or an "Employee of the Week" type reward system.
• Promote a work-life balance. Giving your employees the chance to recharge their batteries is essential to a positive workplace. Offering incentives such as hybrid working and flexible working hours are all ways to achieve this.
• Encourage health and wellbeing. Healthy and balanced employees automatically mean a more positive workplace. You can achieve this in so many ways, from offering lunchtime exercise, meditation or mindfulness classes to choosing the right office furniture that offers support and comfort for a healthier working environment.

So Where Does Office Design Fit In?

There's one important element of creating a positive office vibe that we haven't fully explored yet — and that's office design.

There are several elements of office design that all fit together to create a productive space that reflects your positive work culture. Let's take a look at some of the ways you can reflect that feel-good vibe in your design and vice versa:

• Bring people together. While working at home functions well for some of the time, there's nothing like bringing people together in one place to create a sense of belonging. So make sure you have a space big enough in your workplace to gather all your employees together at one time, whether that's for all-staff meetings, presentations or celebrations.
• Make your communal space comfortable. Going back to the working-from-home theme, now that many of us are back in the office, we want to retain the best bits of working from our own space. Many workplaces are now incorporating fixtures and furnishings that wouldn't look out of place in your own living room — think soft seating areas that are not only comfortable and inviting but offer ergonomic support too, artwork on the walls, a pleasing colour palette and accessories like cushions and ornaments for a homely touch.
• Offer flexible workspace. If there's one thing we've learnt from the recent pandemic, it's to be flexible when it comes to where we work. Employees no longer expect to work at the same desk all day every day. Instead, give them a choice of spaces where they can get on with their tasks, whether that's a hot desking system or enabling working outside or in the workplace kitchen or café. To make this a success, make sure that your office furniture can flex to fit all body shapes and ways of working. Choose ergonomic chairs that can be height and tilt adjusted and sitting to standing desks that allow the user to choose at which height to sit or to stand as an alternative. You can also switch up a space with ease by using freestanding screens that can be moved around to transform different areas of the office.
• Provide quiet and busy spaces. Nowadays, we recognise that workers are individuals. While some thrive on the buzz of the office, others need private space to focus and work at their best. Acoustic panels and screens are ideal for creating a quiet oasis in a busy space while acoustic pods create a private, sound-proofed space ideal for work that requires uninterrupted time. For the more extroverted, you can arrange office furniture in any number of combinations from huddles to large, communal tables to give a communal vibe.
• Emphasise health and wellbeing. For corporate culture to be positive, it must take into account staff health and wellbeing. Ergonomic office furniture and accessories are an essential part of positive office design. They're all about providing the user with a comfortable, supportive experience, whether that's by way of an adjustable headrest to take the strain off their head and neck or a desk with adjustable height to take the stress and strain off the spine. As well as providing a comfortable working experience in the here and now, using ergonomic furniture helps to reduce the chances of the user developing health conditions such as arthritis, repetitive strain injury and chronic back pain in the future.
• Showcase your positivity. So you've got this far and created a responsible, flexible and positive workplace. Why not shout about it to your staff and visitors? Brighten up a plain wall or corridor with graphics and information about your organisation, its values and achievements or provide digital and interactive displays that tell the story of your company.

Building a Positive Workplace Together

Once you've nailed your office design so it reflects your supportive workplace culture, you'll find that it's an ongoing relationship where each element boosts the other in a positive way.

Your employees will feel happy to be at work because they have well-thought-out workspaces, which will only perpetuate this positive vibe, creating a "virtuous circle" that feeds on itself in the best possible way.

If you're looking for ideas for office furniture that will support your positive workplace culture, look no further than the Ergonomics 101 range.

Every item in our collection has been designed to flex with the natural movements of the human body, supporting it at vital points like the head, neck and spine.

This translates into a happy and healthy workplace where employees feel supported in every possible way!

Give us a shout to find out more about our range of ergonomic office furniture. Let's build a positive workplace together!