How to Improve Productivity in the Workplace with Art, Plants and Music

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How to Improve Productivity in the Workplace with Art, Plants and Music

Donna Stone Art Drawing Jade LadyIt might sound a little unusual that art, plants and music can boost productivity in your workspace, but this is in fact true!  Many might assume that these works of art can be rather distracting and divert one’s mind from the actual work. However, if you are distracted with a work of art, it might boost your productivity as it lowers your stress and increases your wellbeing.

Although many companies believe that having a lean workspace with no distractions is the best way to get the most out of their employees, it may not be the smartest thing to do.  Research shows that having a workspace that is more relaxed, colourful, and artistic, makes the employees work better and feel a lot happier while at their workspace.  One of the best ways to do this is through having pieces of art hanging off the walls, soft or invigorating music playing on the cello or even having plants around.  Art is known to be a great way to loosen up oneself and unwind the daily stresses. Animals are another area known to help reduce stress in the workplace, but that’s another whole different subject.

Read Benefits of Having Art in the Workplace.

Perhaps, art doesn’t make everyone think in a creative manner, but it sure does get them engaged on a more intelligent level about creations all over the world.  There are many different kinds of workspaces that showcase a different response from the employees. Employees working in lean workspaces wherein they only have the material that is essential to do the tasks, are more likely to get bored of their work and not be that very productive.  Then you have enriched workspaces that feature art and plants that have already been arranged.  The third type is the empowered workspaces, wherein you, yourself can arrange the pieces of art and plants and customize them as you like.  Workers showed great productivity in this kind of workspace as they had the free will to move around things as they like.  They felt a sense of freedom thus showcasing great productivity at work.

Art is one of the best ways of staff retention and encourage them to stay working in the office, especially at a time like today, where people want to work from their home.  Aesthetics give employees a great sense of energy that the workplace demands, rather than an industrial, bland environment.  It is also said that a momentary distraction in the workspace due to the presence of art is not bad.  Art has always been about escape, and we need to escape at times.

Having plants in the workspace also helps the employees a lot. Being able to see a plant from the desk space can immediately make the employees happier and improve their mood.  Not just that, it also improves memory retention and other basic tests improved significantly as well.  It has also been proven that not just plants, but also photographs, changes in light, and even smell could be used to get similar results.

Other than art and plants, music can play a huge role in shaping the way employees work too. Music soothes the brain and helps workers think better. It has been found that music helps to make repetitive tasks much less strenuous to do. When the task to be completed is clear and well-defined, music can help get through and get the work done faster. Research shows that workers showed great efficiency and increased happiness while working whilst listening to music. Thus, music helps to boost your productivity in your workplace.

A noisy workplace may be difficult or challenging to work in, but when you have soft music playing, it calms you down and helps you work better. Playing music however, doesn’t mean music with lyrics, especially if we talk about intensive work.  This will defeat the purpose altogether, as it distracts a person furthermore and the person may lose concentration. Thus, the best kind of music for such an environment would be soft music with no lyrics.   However, if their work is repetitive and doesn’t require much thought, music with lyrics will work fine.  In this case, music with lyrics will not really distract the workers but help them get the work done faster, especially if the tempo is upbeat and faster.

One other good way of putting up art in your workplace is by adding art done by your own employees.  This will make your employees think that that you are actually investing their work in your workplace.  This can also help foster your relationship with your employees. This is also exactly where art can make people more productive. It is a part of the bigger message which is to say to the employees that you care for them.  It is also a way of showing that you care for your employees and invest into making their time worthwhile while in the office.

Creating an ambience that the workers will enjoy working in and will be motivated to come to the office is ultimately what the company wishes for. Even having an environment that is colourful and pleasing to the eyes can help the employees a great deal.  This can indeed help them boost their productivity. Whether you agree or not that art can boost productivity in a workplace, it can undoubtedly create a more aesthetically pleasing environment that will leave a positive mark on your employees and on the visitors as well.  Well, who wouldn’t want to work in a place that is aesthetically pleasing?