How Your Home Office Space Affects Your Mood

Do you ever feel tired, cranky, and wiped out at work? If you’re like many Americans, then the answer is yes. But did you know you can take action to improve your mood in your home office? To boost mood, morale, and productivity for your home business’s employees, consider these simple ways you can positively tweak your office space.

 

- Jordan Shapiro

Improve Your Lighting

As Biz Journals reports, “Lighting in the workplace affects employees emotionally, psychologically, and physically.” Optimal lighting can lift moods and lead to productive employees, but poor lighting — both over-lit and under-lit — can lead to stress, headaches, and eye strain. Forbes reports on one study by Mirjam Muench that found that employees who work in natural light were more alert and productive than those who worked in artificial light.

So how do you let the right amount of light in? Start by promoting natural light. According to Northwestern University, natural light can improve health and quality of sleep, so don’t be afraid to open up the shades and get rid of workspace dividers that block sunlight from employees’ desk areas.

Do not rely on natural light alone, especially if you have people working in the evening. Consider installing adjustable lights. This will allow you to tweak the lighting in the workplace depending on the time of day and the weather.

Adjust Your Layout

When it comes to improving employees’ moods and productivity, an office layout is not the first solution you might think of. However, it can have a huge impact on how people feel.

As touched upon, the first obvious layout solution is to arrange workstations to receive more natural light. Consider, for instance, eliminating cubicles or installing low-level workspace dividers so that employees working toward the middle of the room aren’t completely shaded from natural lighting.