January can be a tough month for many reasons – the excitement of Christmas is now over; it is often dark, grey and cold; lots of people are cutting down on going out, spending money or eating treats; and you have to head back to work at full speed after a couple of weeks off.
That’s why it is essential the office environment is as welcoming as possible, as nobody wants to return after the festive break to a cold and gloomy environment where everyone is also feeling pretty miserable.
One way to really brighten up the morale in the office for the new year is to make it much lighter.
Here are some tips on how to add plenty of light to your office to encourage workers back in after Christmas and start 2024 as you mean to go on.
Swap walls for glass partitions
The best way to add light is to open up the floor. Although you will still need separate office spaces, conference rooms, and meeting zones, you can create the open-plan feel by swapping the walls for glass partitions.
These enable the rooms to be kept separate, and indeed, they will have sound proofing so that people outside the area cannot hear what is being said indoors. Therefore, private meetings can still be held despite others on the outside being able to see through the glass.
Restricted information can still be discussed, without cutting the room off from the rest of the office.
For departments that require more privacy, tinted windows can be chosen that reduce visibility within the partitioned area. Therefore, if something delicate is being shared, the rest of the office does not have to see what is happening.
At the same time, using glass instead of stud walls creates the illusion of a larger, brighter space, as light can travel from one end of the building to the other.
Allowing this natural light to flow through the area has multiple benefits, including reducing incidences of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) among staff members; improving their sleep, so they are able to perform better at work; and boosting their vitamin D levels, which lowers their risk of heart disease, cancers and even weight gain.
Remove dividers from desks
Long gone are the days when everyone’s desks needed to be separated by pinboard partitions, as employees prefer to be able to see their colleagues above their laptop screens now.
This encourages more collaboration and conversation, which helps to increase morale and makes people feel excited about coming into the office every day.
It also helps the light to flow through the office, without it being blocked by the boards.
What’s more, following the pandemic and the work-from-home order, many offices have a hot desk policy. Therefore, lots of employees do not have their own personal desk, but choose a different one when they come in every day.
As a result, they don’t have the need for a place to pin their notes or personal momentos, as they have to clear away their belongings at the end of the working day.
Use mirrors on the walls
If your office is low on natural light, one way to increase this is by hanging lots of mirrors on the walls.
Place the mirrors opposite the windows, as these will reflect the light and give the illusion of a brighter, more airy space.
‘Natural light’ bulbs
It is also worth investing in light bulbs that give off a more natural look, so workers don’t feel like they’re subject to harsh, artificial lighting all day long.
Cooler tones, such as ‘true white’ bulbs can help create this feel, so bear this in mind when setting up the office for the return of workers.
It is also worth adding lamps in corners where there might be less light, as this will make them brighter and the room appear bigger.
Incorporate glass doors
Having glass doors instead of traditional wooden ones has the same impact as incorporating glass partition walls into the office.
They prevent the light from being blocked, helping the office to benefit from the light beyond the doors.
Transparent doors allow for the maximum light flow, while it is also possible to get frosted ones that provide an extra level of privacy if required. They still enable some light to travel through though, helping to create a brighter, more pleasant, working environment.
