WALK THIS WAY, TALK THIS WAY

July 25, 2018

With the average worker spending up to 9 hours a day at their desk, research has found integrating walking meetings into your work culture can have huge health benefits and increase efficiency. Here are a few reasons why your office should make the change:

Employee Health:
Walking meetings allow employees to unplug, energise and introduce physical activity into their daily routine, reducing the health consequences of sitting all day. Studies suggest 30 minutes a day of walking can have a significant impact, so why not carry it out with ordinary meetings?
Increased Collaboration:
Moving away from the more traditional setting of a conference room breaks down the organisational hierarchy of roles and promotes free thinking. Walking side by side or in a group reinforces teamwork, supporting cognitive engagement and focus.
Improves Creativity:
Research suggests nature and changes of scenery promotes divergent thinking for employees. Different environments can inspire new ideas and problem solving, not only on the walk but also afterwards.

The rise in a sedentary lifestyle has led to workers becoming conscious of their health. By replacing time spent at their desk with more active exercises, physical and mental wellbeing will improve. While not all meetings are suitable to be taken outside, knowing your intention or goal for the outcome will help determine whether it is appropriate for you or not.

5 Tips to Create Sustainable Workplaces

June 15, 2018

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle has been embedded into our society to manage everyday sustainable practices. But how do we transform this ideal into common practice in the workplace? Here’s some tips on going green in your office…

1. Waste Management: Create a recycling culture within the workplace by implementing simple strategies to reduce waste. Set printers to print on both sides of the page as a default, use reusable ink cartridges and ensure there are paper recycling bins located throughout the office.

2. Work Online: Encourage staff to go paperless as much as possible by switching to an online interface. This will not only help the environment but also save on expenditure. Activities such as reading reports, invitations, meeting notes and sending documents online minimise paper waste significantly.

3. Hit The Streets: Whether you’re heading to a meeting or going to lunch, reducing the amount of time spent in a car can have a big impact. Instead of driving solo, try walking, carpooling, cycling or public transport.

4. Energy Consumption: With the amount of electrical products left on or in standby mode after business hours, small changes in electrical consumption can make a huge impact on your carbon footprint. Power-saving tips include turning off lights when not in use, switching to LED lights or investing in automatic switches that detect people’s activity. Streamline your company’s computer efficiency by disabling screensavers, turning all electronic items off when not in use and recycling them once obsolete to reduce landfill. Installing solar panels is another great long term power saving solution.

5. Extra tips: Further reduce your footprint with effortless practices such as switching to simple cleaning supplies, providing reusable dishes, silverware and glasses and encouraging employees to use reusable coffee cups and plastic containers.

With every small action adding up when it comes to office waste, introducing a holistic approach to create a workplace that cares for both people and the environment can have significant impact.

Colouring the office environment

April 11, 2016

According to a study by the University of Texas, colours in our surrounding environment can affect emotions and behaviour and therefore impact on employee productivity.

Selecting the right colours is not as simple as it may seem. Indeed, the colour that improves productivity depends on the type of work that each person undertakes:

Grey, beige and white: often induce feelings of sadness, especially in women
Purple and orange colours will have a similar impact on men, yet orange can also boost self-esteem and enthusiasm.
Blue: is a stable and calming colour. It helps employees focus on the task at hand and is an excellent colour choice to improve productivity.
Green: induces feelings of calmness, does not cause eye fatigue and improves efficiency. It is a great colour for people who tend to work longer hours.
Yellow: is associated with optimism and encourages creativity and energy. It is a good colour to use in artists' and designers’ workspaces for example.
Red: draws attention, increases activity, heart rate and blood flow. It is a good colour if you want your employees to take urgent actions, take notice of something or for employees performing physical tasks. Red can also be seen as alarming and aggressive and should be used in moderation.

Some great ways to achieve a backdrop of colours that suit your company are through our soft furnishings, breakout furniture or workstations screens.