Although more and more people start to work from home or from cafe’s and libraries, many people still spend their days working in a traditional office space, or a co-working space. These spaces come in all forms, big or small, light or dark, modern or more traditional, home to one company or shared between several companies, and so on. However, they have one thing in common: They are all designed for productivity in some way. Both employer and employee (or self employed workers and freelancers of course) want the office time to be spent as productive and enjoyable as possible.
Apart from natural light, natural materials and a comfortable desk space, art in the workspace is a way to impact the atmosphere in a and make people feel good. When a workspace looks beautiful, interesting and well taken care of, people enjoy their work more and usually spend their days more productive.
But what exactly are the benefits of art in the office? We have created a list of three ways in which art in the workplace impacts our productivity and wellbeing in the office:
1. Employees feel taken care of
Both as an employer and a self employed worker, you dedicate a lot of your time working on your project. Although you most probably get paid to do so, a bit of reward and appreciation seems fair. It’s common knowledge that feeling appreciated, heard, and cared for is a nice feeling. And when you feel good, you are more productive, less likely to get sick and more motivated to work hard for your employer or client.
Taking care of employees (or in case of self employment, taking care of yourself) can have many forms. Some offices offer their staff great food, some offer Friday drinks, some organise work events, sport classes, and some just give their staff lots of attention and appreciation. A proven way to make people feel good and appreciated, is art in the office space.
The fact that an employer or office building makes the effort of providing workers with beautiful art, makes employers more likely to enjoy being at work and dedicating their time to working on their project. The same goes for freelancers or business owners. When you are able to treat yourself and spend time in a beautiful office or co-working space, you enjoy your work more and feel like you get the comfort you deserve.
2. Art makes people happy
Both creating art and looking at it is proven to make us happy. It keeps us engaged, makes us think, stimulates creativity and can even stimulate the same psychological effects as the euphoric experience of romantic love, according to a study by the University College in London.
And let’s be real, people who feel happy are performing better at work. Happiness brings creativity, connection, it makes people want to go to work, it makes them enjoy their tasks and increases their motivation to do well.
In a study focused on productivity and happiness, researchers found that companies who invest in staff happiness get significantly more work done. For instance Google, who is known for taking great care of their staff, research showed that the increased happiness of their employees, resulted in a 37% rise of productivity among them. Art makes us happy, and happiness makes us productive. It’s that simple!
3. Art connects
If it’s with a client, a visitor, or with your co-worker, it’s always nice to have something to talk about. Since art is incredibly subjective, everyone will have an opinion about it – and we all it’s common knowledge that people love to share opinions.
In large office buildings, art is a great way to get people to move around in the building and meet their co-workers. People who usually spend their days in their own office room, will now most probably be moving around and will make connections with people on another floor or in another room. An office can even take it a step further, and organise an exhibition event or celebration, which will make interactions between co-workers, visitors and the artist even easier.
From a business perspective, when having clients visiting your space, art is a great way to impress them, as well as make them feel comfortable. A space that is well decorated simply increases trust from (potential) clients and the art provides a perfect conversation starter too.
At Anda Cowork we host regular art exhibitions, where we show the work of Granada based artists. We are currently showing the art of the talented Chari Nogales. Would you like to show your art in our beatiful space and organise a succesful exhibition event with us? We would love to hear from you.
Please, send us an email to hello@andacowork.com or send an Whatshap +34 958273889 and we start to plan it.