It seems we’re all on the same page when it comes to understanding that stress can seriously hinder productivity in the workplace. Anyone who has control over an office or workspace should prioritize minimizing stress within that space. At Brown Paper Packages, we think one of the ways you can make an effort to do that is by adapting the workplace environment to create a less stressful vibe.
So here are 5 ways you can change the office around a bit to reduce stress:
1. Add some green to the office environment
There’s been many scientific study’s that suggest being around indoor plants may reduce stress. A study[1] published by the Journal of Physiological Anthropology concluded that -“active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress compared with mental work.” With this in mind it might be time to chuck some plants on your desk or perhaps just scatter them all around the office!
2. Improve the lighting in your workspace
In our opinion lighting is really important when it comes to setting the right tone / mood in an office environment. We’re not alone in thinking this either. A study[2] published by PLOS One found that there was “a strong correlation between mood and the appraisal of the lighting. If the lighting was judged right, self-reported mood was high, while mood decreased when the lighting was judged to be too dim or too bright.”
Essentially lighting sets the mood of the work environment so let’s not make our offices stressfully bright or depressingly dim! Instead we should try to find out what lighting everyone in the office feels most comfortable with to boost productivity and reduce stress.
3. Make your office space personal
Another key thing that we feel can really reduce stress is making your space within the office a bit more personal. Whether that’s a picture of loved ones, a desk statue or mascot you like or even just your work computers desktop wallpaper. In our opinion being surrounded by things that you enjoy being around is a very simple and pure way to reduce stress levels at work and improve the physical workplace environment. You could even help make other peoples desks at work a bit more welcoming by sending them some gifts - from our Brown Paper Package store perhaps? Remember your desk alone won't improve the office environment as a whole so try to get others involved!
4. Keep it organised
Sometimes just looking at your desk can cause us stress... An easy way to resolve this issue is to simply keep it tidy. If everything is in it’s place and your desk looks neat it can definitely help remove that element of chaos that we all feel occasionally when looking at piles of unorganised work all over our desks. We’d also like to emphasise that it’s easier to keep on top of this stuff rather than tidy up occasionally. Making sure everything goes where it belongs right away can save you a lot of stress!
5. Relax the rules!
Being in an office with a strict dress code, rules on food and drink at desks and policing how people communicate with colleagues can make the office a very stressful place to be. Giving people a bit more freedom within the workplace can really help loosen the vibe a little bit which we feel is more likely to increase productivity rather than reduce it!
We think these 5 methods are really great ways to reduce workplace stress and improve the office environment. We hope you do too – for more information on stress and how to minimize it why not check out Mind:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419447/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4507869/
