Trevor Chaplin of local company Candour Business Consultancy says Get creative and add a splash of colour to lift your workplace.
In workplaces and work environments the colour of a wall, office or meeting space may seem trivial as many businesses don’t get a choice or even consider what the colour of the office will be. The colour is much more important than you think and can make a difference in the workplace. It matters because it can actually have an effect on your staff and their wellbeing. You may not notice but the colour of your office might also be having a negative effect on your teams. And it’s not just the colour of your walls either, but other colour schemes such as the furniture and other decorative features can have an impact too.
It should come as no surprise that bold colour – any colour, for that matter – has a tremendous impact on mood. As Carl Jung put it, “colours express the main psychic functions.”
When www.candourbusinessconsultancy.co.uk do office fit outs and refurbishments we try to encourage businesses to embrace the use of colour. This doesn’t need to be expensive as it can be done as part of an overall project and normally cost neutral alongside what would have been spent.
We spend a vast amount of time in the office so when it comes to an office environment, the impact of bold colour becomes even more powerful. A splash of a bright hue on the wall, floor, furniture or desk can mean the difference between a successful brainstorming session and an unproductive one; it can boost an employee’s confidence before a big meeting; and it can even make workers more detail-oriented. And that’s just to name a few of the potential outcomes.
Each colour produces a different psychological response, and it’s important to learn the nuances between them to ensure that you’re getting all the benefits.
Green for productivity
The colour Green is linked to broad, creative thought as it is accepted the there is a positive association between nature and regrowth. So if you want your employees to be more productive, consider painting productive work areas green.
Blue for creative tasks
Blue is suited specifically to creative tasks, like brainstorming. Through associations with the sky, the ocean, and water, most people associate blue with openness, peace and tranquillity. It makes people feel safe about being creative and exploratory.
Red for attention to detail
Red is ideal for detail-oriented tasks, like proofreading. Think stop signs, emergency vehicles and teachers’ red pens, we associate red with danger, mistakes and caution. The avoidance motivation, or heightened state, that red activates makes us vigilant and thus helps us perform tasks where careful attention is required to produce a right or wrong answer.
Yellow for decision making
The right yellow will lift our spirits and our self-esteem; it is the colour of confidence and optimism,” according to British colour therapy consultancy Colour Affects. “Too much of it, or the wrong tone in relation to the other tones in a colour scheme, can cause self-esteem to plummet, giving rise to fear and anxiety.” In short, the right splash of yellow can result in clear-headed and alert employees well-primed for confident decision making.
Purple for good impressions
People tend to link a grayish violet with sophistication. It can be a good colour selection for places where you’re trying to make the ‘right’ impression. It has associations with royalty and usually communicates the finest possible quality.
With these psychological implications, it seems like a no-brainer to incorporate purple into office design. You can use the bold colour on the flooring and columns of a section of an otherwise pared-back workspace area to create the right effect.
Colours, have been used as a wayfinding tools, indicating various spaces within buildings, so staff can easily navigate around and feel more comfortable with their surroundings.
In short, with a little know-how, bringing any colour into the workplace can be a fun, productive and initiative.
If you are thinking of having a refurbishment or just a general update of your office get in touch if info@candourbusinessconsultancy.co.uk can help.