The assumption that office work is largely free of strain can safely be consigned to the realm of myth. A quick look at current figures on work-related back pain, eye problems or stress symptoms is enough to show that office jobs are not all that healthy. However, problems can be avoided with the right working environment. It not only affects mental wellbeing and creates a sense of comfort, but also has a direct impact on productivity and creativity. Anyone who has a say in the office or is setting up a home office can also draw inspiration for their furnishings from the Chinese philosophy of harmony known as “Feng Shui (for the workplace)” .
- Keeping your career flowing
- What does Feng Shui mean for my office?
- Feng Shui for the office: location and surroundings matter
- Your back to the wall, the windows in view
- Optimising existing workstations with Feng Shui
Keeping your career flowing
Whether it is the generally tougher labour market, increased competition among colleagues or the fear many employees have of losing their jobs. Whether it is a strong order situation, seasonal overload, dedication to a work matter close to the heart, or the prospect of commission or promotion – the fact is that around 18 million screen-based workstations in Germany are occupied ever more frequently and for ever longer periods. The rise in average working hours, and the fact that the end of the working day is increasingly becoming more of a well-meant recommendation than an iron rule, is turning the workplace more and more into the centre of employees’ lives.
Many people pay more attention to the design of their living spaces at home than to their workplace – and in a way, that does make sense. Of course, people prefer to focus on making their own four walls cosy, because that is where they would rather spend their time. In reality, however, many employees – especially commuters – only see their home “nest” during the week when they go there to sleep, and spend the whole day at work. Naturally, there are employers who care about making their staff feel comfortable at work. With attractive office spaces and little extras such as a gym, a quiet zone or in-house catering, they not only create a positive working atmosphere but also foster a close bond between employer and employee.
But many employers are also relatively indifferent to their employees’ working environment: the so-called break room is a windowless space with a kitchenette, ideally with a view of the toilets. Lovelessly furnished offices designed more for functionality than comfort, with the visual highlight being a houseplant brought from home sitting next to the computers. This leaves countless office workers staring all day at exposed cable tangles, piles of files, and the shared copier or printer as the focal point of an open-plan office.
The average employee spends over 2000 hours a year at work. With so much of your life spent there, it is worth thinking about how and where that place is set up. Experience shows that bosses are not usually pleased when their employees turn up at work with an interior designer and start making unauthorised “Feng Shui” alterations. Even in a home office or a freelancer’s office, the existing conditions and budget place certain limits. Accordingly, the following advice should be understood more as guidance than as a blueprint for the perfect workplace. Still, give it a try: a workplace with good “Feng Shui” can also be created by changing small details and moving closer to the bigger picture.
What does Feng Shui mean for my office?
In very simple terms, this is what it is about: the ancient traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony “Feng Shui” stands for the interplay of wind (Feng) and water (Shui) and the energy “Chi” that permeates the cosmos. The fundamental aim is to keep this energy flowing. This is meant to be achieved through the balance of the five elements of “Feng Shui” – fire, earth, water, metal and wood.
Feng Shui - office plants: wood represents upward-reaching elements such as columns, houseplants or pillars, as well as the colour green; water stands for bathtubs, aquariums, fountains and shades of blue; fire represents lamps, light and triangular shapes, as well as red, yellow or orange colours; earth stands for heavy furniture or objects made of clay or ceramic, along with the colours yellow or brown; metal naturally stands for the same, as well as round shapes and cool colours such as white, grey, gold or silver.
Feng Shui office: is it all about the area and the location?
It is said that a good workplace is located in a thriving business district. Wherever energy flows and creativity flourishes, an office is also in the right place. According to “Feng Shui” experts, buildings at intersections or premises that previous tenants had to give up because of poor business should be avoided. A good office should have few corners, projections and edges and instead feature clear shapes and surfaces. Sloping ceilings and dark ceiling beams are also said to have a negative effect – so the expression “oppressive” atmosphere also rings true when it comes to architecture. And who likes working with their head pulled down between their shoulders?
In a good office, air can circulate freely, so workspaces should generally be well ventilated. Constant draughts should be avoided, however; regular airing has a much more positive effect on “Feng Shui in the workplace”. Light also plays an important role: according to common belief, workspaces should be virtually flooded with light. But since only a few office owners can afford a fully glazed loft on the Upper East Side, artificial light that resembles daylight can also be used here.
Your back to the wall, windows in view?
According to “Feng Shui”, creativity requires an environment free from sensory overload. Both colour and furnishings can be used to create a calm, harmonious atmosphere in a room. Subtle, friendly colours that do not dominate create a pleasant ambience and are therefore the right choice for a workspace. Calm can also be created with the right arrangement of furniture. A clearly structured, tidy room concept with coordinated furniture ensures the right flow of energy. As few objects as possible, such as waste paper bins or mobile pedestals, should be placed in front of doors and in passageways, just as office furniture should not protrude into glass doors. In other words: energy should be able to flow freely through the doors and rooms towards windows and balcony doors.
FURNISHING AN OFFICE ACCORDING TO FENG SHUI: WHERE SHOULD I PLACE MY DESK?
Desks and workstations should be positioned so that the employee’s back faces the wall and their gaze can wander freely through the room and out of a window at any time. To prevent the eye from getting caught on piles of paper and other objects, it is advisable to keep desk surfaces as clear as possible – and to hide all kinds of storage behind closed doors. An office with good “Feng Shui” therefore has plenty of closed cupboards and shelving units. The effect is quite obvious: external order is intended to lead to greater inner calm – which in turn leads to better concentration and productivity. Feng Shui for the workplace: choose a desk that is large enough to keep things organised.
Optimising existing workstations with Feng Shui?
Very few office workers get to choose their office, the furnishings or a colour scheme – let alone the building or the area they work in. However, even an existing workspace can be improved with a few simple tricks to create better “feng shui for the workplace”. Here’s an example: a desk chair in bright red, a poster of a jumping dolphin in a loud blue sea, a wildly cluttered pinboard next to the window, a white desk, colourful files and book spines on the shelf? A certain variety of colours has its merits – but calm colour design is something else entirely. Since an office chair is harder to replace than a poster, the dolphin and its sea have to go, and the file spines should be given matching labels, either in the colour of the desk or the office chair.
WHAT SHOULD I KEEP IN MIND WHEN FURNISHING MY OFFICE?
Furnishing an office according to feng shui: colourful walls of book spines and loose piles of paper are best hidden behind cupboard doors with a smooth, calm surface – if that’s not possible, then simply sort the books by colour. The colourful mix of notes on the pinboard, from expired prescriptions to the current lunch menu, also benefits from being thinned out from time to time. The important notes that remain look calmer when pinned up in neat, straight lines. If you want to be very precise about feng shui in the office, you can even write all notes on the same paper using the same pen – this simple trick also creates a sense of visual calm on the pinboard. In short: Feng shui office: create a calm working environment in both colour and form. And last but not least, staying organised pays off: getting rid of unnecessary items not only reduces annoying searching, but also helps create a distraction-free working day.