How Atmosphere Affects Productivity

People often try to become more productive workers by attempting difficult personal changes without first considering adjusting their own surroundings.

If you can make it in to visit us here at fSpace, we’ll show you how to create your very own effective workspace to encourage productivity and creativity.

Seemingly insignificant things like lighting, noise, scents and even a room’s arrangement can dramatically affect your work output in either a productive or counter-productive direction. Maintaining an optimal work space designed to enhance these factors  can be commonly overlooked leading to poor performance, discomfort, procrastination and stress.

Here are some tips to turn your space into an optimal work environment.

Lighting

Natural lighting is an effective way of raising productivity through affecting our body’s circadian rhythm and the release of cortisol and other hormones in the endocrine system to regulate how alert or tired we feel. Studies suggest, people exposed to artificial light rather than natural were much less alert and focused than their counterparts while at work or not.

Noise

Probably the most infamous distraction or annoyance people find while working relates to unwanted noise pollution infiltrating your space. At fSpace we’ve found a good constant background noise at a relatively low volume to be the optimal option, it fills the space covering any other distracting noises or other workers’ chatter but doesn’t take away too much of your concentration. Ultimately your noise limits will also depends on the type of work your attempting. Don’t need to concentrate? Try some music with lyrics in it. Need to focus? Perhaps a pleasant upbeat instrumental track will work best for you. Positive sounding music can also help reduce to stress and keep up a productive vibe in the work space.

Temperature

According to a studies of temperatures in work environments, people are happier in warmer environments. This is because of a close association with physical warmth to psychological comfort making people literally feel ‘warmer’ toward their work,  co-workers, and work environment. One study found workers were more likely to make mistakes when temperatures were too chilly. Workers made 44 per cent more mistakes than if the room was at a comfortable temperature. Western Australia has some of the most amazing climates in the world year round, although summers can often get too hot and sticky if you’re trying to focus. Luckily, here at fSpace we maintain a comfortable working temperature with help from our local daily sea-breaze, The Freo Doctor and our newly installed ceiling fans and air-conditioning.

Furniture

We crave wide open spaces free of too many distractions and clutter to get our work done effectively. Interestingly a study conducted on office spaces found between an untidy workspace and a neat and ordered one, an untidy space is more likely to inspire creative thinking, although proved it wouldn’t help you if you need to use some discipline to be more efficient with your work. Participants in the study from the tidier room were also more likely to choose the healthy eating option when offered either a chocolate or an apple. So next time you’re too lazy to clean up your work station just remember, it may have a direct positive influence over the way you look after your body’s health also.

Scents

Scents and smells aren’t nearly as important as other factors in this list unless something really wreaks. That said, there is nothing worse than trying to concentrate on an empty stomach while you can smell something delicious nearby. People opting to work in co-working spaces such as fSpace over working from a café gain the atmospherically benefits of the crowded space without the rumbling stomach. But don’t panic there are still plenty of cafès and other places to grab a bite or coffee right downstairs from our offices.

Some extra tips

Maintaining a strong free flowing air current is an effective way to open up a space and to prevent your space from accumulating any stuffy, stagnating energy and air. Good air quality and having some plants around the office are just some things that go a long way in creating a productive, pleasant space for office workers. According to one major study, productivity of workers increased up to 50 per cent simply by placing houseplants on their desks. Another study said incorporating plants into a workspace can effectively increase both productivity and creativity amongst workers. Plants not only provide an additional oxygen boost to keep everyone more alert but also impact us on a visual level. Bringing living plants into a work space promotes tranquillity and calmness while grounding those nearby and reconnecting them with nature to reduce stress and be more present in their work.

fSpace would love to hear what ways our readers  increase productivity in their workspace.

Do you agree with the methods above or do you have your own approach to creating an efficient work atmosphere?