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How an Unconventional Office Space Can Produce Creativity

Creativity has always been essential to a company’s success. The traditional drab office setup with its mazes of cubicles and neutral design schemes does little to encourage employees to adapt to the new challenges of today’s modern business environment. More and more, companies are turning to unconventional office design elements to spark the creativity necessary to compete in a changing market.

Brighter Decor
Many offices are still based in the same basic color schemes. White, gray and black with the occasional piece of blue or maroon furniture creates a space that feels boring, uninspiring and restrictive. On the other hand, workplaces that include bright colors and fun decorations help to stimulate the mind. Incorporating unique artwork and lots of natural light boosts moods among employees and provides a healthier work environment.

Outstanding Furniture
Who hasn’t worked at an office where they should have upgraded their chairs and desks 10 years before? Creating a stimulating work environment is all about finding the right office furniture. Make sure to spend the time researching the right stuff for your team, check out sites like ComputerDesk.com that specialize in one particular part of your office, and find something that will fit with your new environment, and that will help your employee be more comfortable and productive.

Common Areas
Common spaces allow employees to break free from the confines of their desks and interact in meaningful ways. These areas are sometimes called a “third place;” that is, a space that’s not work or home, and they serve a couple of important purposes. One, having a space designed for collaboration encourages creative conversations between employees. Two, spending time outside of office and cubicle spaces gives the brain a break from repetitive tasks. Another benefit of a common area is that it encourages movement throughout the day, thus decreasing the potential health hazards of sitting for hours at a time.

Privacy
Bringing balance to your office with private areas is essential as well. Employees need personal space where they can go to perform necessary daily tasks and work on the ideas formed when collaborating with co-workers. These spaces don’t have to be cubicles, but they should be closed off enough that employees can work uninterrupted.

Playtime
Kids aren’t the only ones who need time to play during the day. Even in an office where employees are encouraged to move around and collaborate, stress can sneak in and cause tensions to build. The key to offering a playful area for workers is to make it meaningful rather than frivolous. Anyone can stick a ping-pong table in the break room and claim that the office is “fun,” but a company truly striving to foster creativity will provide manipulative toys that help employees focus and brainstorm as they unwind from whatever is bothering them.

Flexibility
A truly creative office design takes into account the needs of a company and its individual employees. Though many businesses are now taking advantage of unusual office layouts, it’s important to remember that no two groups are alike. Copying another company’s ideas in the hopes that it will work the same way for a completely different company can be a recipe for failure. Originality is a big part of fostering creativity. Supporting the work style of a unique group of employees produces more benefits in the long run.

Adopting a new office setup that breaks free from conventional styles can be a great asset to any company. When a business responds to the needs of its employees with unconventional design elements, creative juices flow more freely. Each individual company has the power to unlock new ideas and collaboration methods simply by changing the environment in which employees work and interact every day.