Does your business workplace suck? How to change it

Sodden walls, dodgy tables, depressing artwork and slumped employees – if you were a client entering into this company’s building for the first time, would you want to do business with them?

First impressions count in a business deal, and your workplace represents just how much you care about attention to detail, the welfare of your workers and the smooth running of a company.

Your workplace is more important than the fancy suit you wear or the car you drive. It is the lifeblood of your organisation.

And it should be treated as such. With that in mind, we’ve put together a few tips and tricks that will wow any visitor to your office. Have a look.

Powerful plants

You’ve probably been in hundreds of dank, lifeless offices, but you might not have been able to put your finger on the reason behind its mustiness. But we have – it all lies in plant life.

Plants can clean up the air in your office, giving rooms more light and an all-round cheerier disposition.

And you don’t need green fingers to kit your work out with a healthy number of office plants. All you really need is a provider that knows its stuff. Place the plants in various spots around your office and you’ll be breathing clean air in a healthy environment.

A scent to remember

It might not occur to you, but the scent of a place can really stick in your mind. Our olfactory memory is finely attuned to place and time. So if you’re sitting next to a pongy client in their office, you’ll remember that stifling stench for years to come.

That’s exactly why scent marketers exist. These guys will give your office a signature scent, one that will stay firmly in the category of “pleasant memory” for any clients.

A dash of culture

Few offices have any real grasp of cultural currency. Instead of a good picture, they’ll hang motivational posters with the type of phrases that could only motivate the lobotomised. “Reach for the mountain of success,” they say, in an epigram more condescending than the 40s’ schoolmaster.

But a dash of culture in your office will make the world of work a pleasant and stimulating place.

That doesn’t mean you have to buy Rembrandts and Picassos. Simply hang a few pictures with personality and your enthusiasm for the arts will trickle down to the rest of your office.

This is especially true for creative fields. Just imagine how badly a media company or publishers will fare without a smidgen of inspiration around them.

Ultimately, the office you create should project the impression that your company is vital, vivacious and professional. When a client walks in they should see busy bees moving around an office designed to calm them into their workload.