Office blues: Bored with your office design? Here are a few interior decor trends to give your workplace a wow touch

Employees spent their 5-6 days out of a week at the office, multiply that by 8 to 9 working hours and if the math is correct, the statistics would surely go up to 30%, which implies that you spent 30% of your whole week at your workplace and this is a pretty big number. Therefore, considering the interior design of the workplace is very essential, especially for businesses or companies that are associated with hotels, restaurants, furniture stores, real estate companies and others but what about other workplaces?

Do they need to consider the interior designs as well? The answer is yes because a good interior design of a workplace encourages interactions among co-workers. The ideal work environment encourages personal interactions hence, if you want to enhance the number of productive encounters between co-workers, interior decor experts insist that you should build your office with an open design.

An organized environment helps in smooth functioning hence, organisation and planning should be done well in the workplace of a company and this is crucial since a cluttered office can ultimately hinder communication, which would lower productivity levels. You will be able to segregate work activities from one another with a large space, avoiding unwanted encounters with other employees.

The workplace requires a lot of creativity, innovation and motivation and your office’s aesthetic appeal will significantly improve these traits. For instance, a modern, elegant office boosts employee motivation because it gives employees a sense of importance, professionalism, and commitment to their achievement.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Husain Johar, Creative Head and Co-Founder of Makemyhouse.com, suggested that workplaces or offices are one of those places where an interior designer can play with decor as it has a lot of possibilities to showcase creativity. He listed a few ways that will make your office gloriously different from other:

1. Play with walls – Walls are the main part of decorating any interior space. They are white pages waiting to be decorated with paints. There are lots of different elements that can be added. Wall arts, accent walls, decals, decorative items, you name it. You can go for a theme where you can pick 2 to 3 colours and make a combination or choose one different from the other and make it a statement wall.

2. Careful with furniture – No one wants to sit in a chair that hurts their back or work on a table that cannot be adjusted to their need. Nor does anyone need those big tables and cabinets that take up a large amount of space. Investing in a good set of furniture is very important. Opt for a kneeling chair, height adjustment desk, small space cabinet, and others that are aesthetically pleasing as well as liked by your employees

3. Space is crucial – The bigger the office space, the better the organization of work. Offices with small spaces are very cluttered and messy. The look won’t appeal to our own eyes, forget the employees to be impressed by them.

4. Keep your employees well being in mind – Everyone requires their own space. So do your employees. Make some room for casual meetings, chit chat for your employees to take a break from work. No one like to work constantly and requires some break. You can include a separate room and add elements like a cafeteria with sitting space, add some fun games, or even karaoke for your employees to take some break to enjoy.

5. Customised work stations – A great approach to regularly remind yourself of your life outside of work is to display photos of your family, friends, or pets. Select handful photos of your favourite memories with them, making sure they are appropriate for the workplace, and pin them on the cubicle wall. Although it is frequently disregarded, workstations should be creative and enjoyable place to spend each day. When workstations are thoughtfully built and customized according to the preferences of the employee, stress is decreased by 77% and creativity is improved by 64%.

6. Environment-friendly designs – Adding a little greenery is one of the favourite ways to liven up a workplace as it never fails to bring a smile on your face. Measurable advantages for employee performance, including productivity, emotional well-being, stress reduction, healing, and learning, have been shown for workplace designs that incorporate natural components. Employee health and performance are directly impacted by a building’s health (green building), which also influences the employees’ focus and dedication. Natural light is ranked as one of the top design components in corporate design. Sufficient natural light in the workplace does both reviving the thoughts of the workers and strengthen positivity. While designing a workspace, other aspects like energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and green materials should also be taken into consideration.

Insisting that offices can no longer be imagined as rigid 9-5 spaces after several months of work equipment consisting of nothing more than a laptop and stable internet connectivity, Nakul Mathur, MD at Avanta India, advised, “For re-striking a bond with colleagues, office design must include elements of play and relaxation such as lounging spaces, break rooms, beanbags, and mind-stimulating gaming options. Make sure that the graphics and imagery in the lounge rooms are interesting. As organizations strive to strike a balance between remote and physical work, with in-office teams collaborating with remote workers, seamless cutting-edge audio and video teleconferencing technology will save employees the time and hassle of power cables and trying to connect multiple times. Investing in multiple spacious, fully-equipped conferences or meeting rooms at once is a big trend in workplace design this year.”

Bringing her expertise to the same, Kinjal Sanghvi, Lead Designer at Kinjal Sanghvi Designs, said, “There is something universally appealing about listening to the pounding waves of the ocean, seeing trees sway in the breeze, and dipping your toes in a pool. Biophilia is the term used to describe our innate affinity for nature and green environments. However, with our eyes fixed on the blue light from digital devices instead of the huge blue sky above, we live in a concrete jungle rather than an actual one. The office design community is seeing a rise in the popularity of “biophilic” (or “nature-inspired”) design. It extends from the notion that human beings have become too estranged from the natural world. So, the biophilic design aims to bring nature into our daily life by adding natural aspects into the design of workplaces. Natural materials such as wood and stone, real plants, green walls, and earth-tone colour schemes are some of the ways in which we aim to achieve this goal.”

She added, “Artwork and textures that reflect the impression of nature are also a part of this effort. Moreover, utilizing colour psychology, natural, and environmentally-friendly aspects, Ergonomic furniture, integrated technology, and contemporary design (like artful light fixtures or attractive wall coverings), Recreational and lounge spaces (nap rooms are also an increasing trend) as well as lots of natural light and creating a feeling are top trends to integrate to banish the office blues indefinitely.”

Talking about a major office design trend for 2022, Vinod Kumar Aggarwal, Director at Indo Innovations, pointed at the incorporation of natural elements into the workplace. He recommended, “Consider indoor plants, exterior gardens, neutral tones, and open spaces, as well as elements of play and relaxation such as lounging areas, break rooms, beanbags, and mind-stimulating gaming alternatives for re-establishing bonds with co-workers. Interior plants focus on providing companies with a natural and attractive addition to their interior while also benefiting staff well-being. Plants not only bring unique rich shades of green to the workplace, but they also offer a soothing encounter, which leads to happier and healthier employees who are more productive and balanced. Residential elements such as comfortable couches and chairs, soft lighting showcases in common spaces, or illustrations displayed throughout the office can also be incorporated by designers. Wood flooring can make a room feel cosier.”