Open office environment – personalise your space.
A couple of days ago I was researching about small office design; when I came across an article about the importance personalising your workplace. I found it really interesting as I have experience working in an open office work environment.
Apparently, employees in open office show higher levels of stress and lower motivation. Researchers explain that employees with lack on privacy suffer higher emotional exhaustion than those working on close offices. The study itself sounds a little depressing, because a lot of companies prefer to have an open office as a way to controlling the employees and saving space.
However, we can change it! The study shown that transforming your simple desk into a personalise workplace, will help you feel better by improving your motivation and productivity. If you are going to spend 8 hours of your day sit on that desk, at least make your workstation comfy and welcoming.
I am going to give you some ideas to personalise your office space, but first consider your company’s culture. If you work for a conservative company try to keep the decoration to minimum and play more with the stationary. While if you work for a more creative company, have some fun and show your personality at work.
6 tips to personalise your office space
Get organise. My first advice is really simply, keep your desk organise and tidy. No one wants to go to work every day to find a dirty and full of papers desk. You can find some nice desk containers or a stylish hanging organiser to help you organise your stationary and work papers.
Bright your computer. Change the screensaver for an image that makes you smile every time you see it. In the majority of offices, the employers are happy to let you have your own screensaver, so do not be shy and change it!
Find nice stationary. Pens, cards or notebooks, you can treat yourself with a nice notebook and make a statement at the office. It is a great way to show your personality or your hobbies, without going over the top. Nowadays, you can find really nice and original stationary in any shop near to you, but also personalise design in a variety of online shops.
Inspire the walls. You can use Velcro Tape to place some decoration in your cubicle without leaving a mark on the wall. We all know it would be times when you would feel stress at work and wonder what are you doing there. But you can prepare yourself by hanging some inspirational quote or nice picture of friends and family. Use it as a little remainder of what is waiting for you outside work.
Get an especial mug. You can make your coffee and tea breaks more fun and personal by having your own mug. Also, you can find a personalise mug, either in your local shops or in online shops. Find something that makes you smile or that brings you good memories.
Have snacks ready. This point is really important for me, as I get cravings when I am bored. I try to always have ready fresh fruit and nuts on my desk, to avoid the ‘bad food’ cravings. If it also happen to you, try to have some healthy snacks on a drawer.
Personalising your work space will help you to feel more ‘at home’ even when you are working. So if you work on an open office environment, try some of this tips and let me know if it helps in the comments bellow.
