You’ve spent a lot of time researching your choice of office furniture, finding a good ergonomically designed desk and chair to minimise your health risks and make sure that you are comfortable in the office. But your productivity is still down, and you just can’t motivate yourself to embrace your projects with passion. Have you considered changing the colour of your office? Did you know that decorating your office in the right colours can help to boost the productivity and wellbeing of you and your colleagues?
Your choice of office colour can have a massive effect on the success of your business and also the image that it projects. Before choosing a colour, you will need to think about the type of emotions and personality traits that you want to encourage. Do your employees need to ooze creativity and boldness or do you want to increase focus and simplicity?
To help you, we discuss some of the colour schemes that you might consider and what effect these are likely to have on your workforce:
Blue
Blue is considered to be a calming and tranquil colour, it also has a very stimulating effect on the mind. It is thought to stimulate creativity and productivity while relaxing the brain and restoring mental clarity. By limiting stress, staff working in a blue environment are more likely to be happier in their roles and more focused.
Yellow
Yellow is a real happiness-inducing colour. It makes you think of sunshine, spring, warm days, daffodils, and lots of things that bring feelings of joy to our bodies. It can also brighten up a small or dark office area. Yellow colour schemes tend to be favoured by companies that thrive on innovation and creativity, such as those in the tech industry. As yellow can be quite an overpowering colour if used to excess, you may want to consider using a muted tone or incorporating yellow accents into your office, rather than going all out yellow.
Red
Red is an energetic and intense colour, that instils a sense of urgency into workers. If you work in a high-pressure environment, in sales, for example, red decor can increase your success. It can also increase energy levels and prevent work-related fatigue. This is a colour to be careful of though. Too much red can induce feelings of anxiety or fear, after all, red is also associated with fire engines, sirens and stop signs!
Green
Green colours make us think of nature, instilling a sense of calmness, balance and growth. Green office colours can help to neutralise stress and calm employees. As green is so easy on the eyes, it can also lessen eye strain in employees that work long hours in the office.
Orange
While orange is probably a bit too intense for painting all four of your office walls, adding a few pops of colour here and there may help to increase energy levels and motivate your workforce. Think warm orange cushions, fresh flowers and glowing orange lamps. Why not add a splash of colour and brighten everyone's day by investing in Flexispot’s Flexi-Chair Oka Office Chair BS9 in vibrant orange.
Purple
The colour purple is commonly associated with royalty, wealth and power. This dates back to a time when purple dye had to be extracted from the secretions of a particular snail. As purple dye was difficult to produce, only the most wealthy people could afford it. Who wouldn’t want their office to be decorated in such a decadent and sophisticated colour? Softer shades, such as lavender and lilac can have a calming and soothing influence.
Neutrals
If colour isn’t your thing, there are plenty of soft and subtle neutrals to choose from. The perfect off-white shade can warm up a room, without being too overpowering. Consider warm beiges, soft greys or a delicate shade of ivory.
Choosing Your Paint Colour
As well as choosing a colour that you like, you should think about how it will affect the energy of your office. If you are worried about making a big change to your office decor, you should consider adding accent colours initially and see how you get along with these. You can always add more colour as time goes on. Try pairing your accents with neutral coloured walls for a subtle yet effective statement. You might want to think about decorating various areas of the office using different colours, depending on what they are to be used for. Make sure your chosen colours pair together nicely, the last thing you want is clashing walls! Choose the intensity of colour carefully - you don't want to overwhelm your employees or any potential clients!
Finally, remember that we all respond to colours differently. By using a range of different colours within your office environment., you stand the best chance of boosting work productivity for all of your employees.
