You spend more than 40 hours per week in your office. Outside of your home it's the place that you spend the most time, and it is definitely where you and your employees spend the most waking hours. Are you creating a work environment in which they're looking forward to spending time? While employee morale and engagement is a hot debate among startups and small businesses, you can't forget about the physical office. Here are three ways you can make DIY improvements to your office even if you're on a budget.
A Coat of Paint Fixes Almost Anything
Image via Flickr by US Army Africa
If your office space feels drab or you're operating out of a space only because it's "budget-friendly," consider taking a weekend to repaint it. First, the process of painting (i.e. moving desks, bookshelves, and art away from the walls) gives your employees an opportunity to clean out their desks and offices. This is a great opportunity to purge anything they don't want or need. Next, a fresh coat of paint can make a space feel cleaner and bigger, plus it gives you an opportunity to showcase your brand. Consider incorporating your brand colors in the job either on an accent wall or on the trim.
If you don't want to hire professionals, consider scheduling the painting on a Friday. This will give employees a mental break while building teamwork through painting. All you need is a few brushes, a lot of drop cloths, and a scissor lift to reach the outer facade.
Lighting Directly Correlates to Morale
Psychologists have found that employees do better work when they're exposed to natural light throughout the day. People who work in windowless offices struggle because, without exposure to the sun, their circadian rhythms are thrown off. This leads to less sleep (or poorer sleep quality) and decreased performance. Studies have also found that employees in windowless offices have lower morale.
To fix this, look for opportunities to let natural light into the office. This might mean tearing down blinds on the windows or transitioning cubicles into an open floor plan. If you're unable to add more natural light to your office, look for ways to soften the light or use ambient lighting instead of shining fluorescent light on your team all day.
Create a One-time Stipend for Furniture Improvements
Talk to your employees to learn what most frustrates them about their workspaces and what they wish they could change. Maybe they have a chair from the 1980s that gives them back pain or they wish they had a whiteboard so they could brainstorm ideas with co-workers. Then, offer each employee a one-time stipend for office furniture. You can give them a budget and then place an order through a supply company so they're not going to Office Max on their own.
Not only will this give your employees ownership of their work environment, it will help you modernize the office in a way in which everyone approves.
Updating your office doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn't have to be a large project. With careful budgeting and planning, your space could look brand new and feel like a young start-up again.
