Treat Your Desk Like a Home Away from Home

At the office we’re surrounded by corporate policy that dictates everything about the corporate environment from the ways the bathrooms are decorated (or not decorated) and the color of the kitchen refrigerator to the number of plants in the lobby to even what you and your coworkers can wear. It’s overbearing and can make us feel almost inhuman.

However, for most office professionals, there is a small amount of space that is under their aesthetic jurisdiction, where we are allowed to exercise our humanity by decorating it the way we want. Unfortunately, and for inexplicable reasons, some office professionals opt not to take advantage of this opportunity. As this article explains, “Staying constantly motivated at work can be tough when you’re sitting in your office for eight (plus) hours a day. With all that intense and stationary work, it’s no wonder most of us leave the office feeling exhausted and depleted.”

Office professionals should not underestimate the how much a comfortable and meaningful workspace can affect our productivity and workplace happiness. Employees should capitalize on their personal space by filling it with images of the things and people we love, because ultimately, these are the forces we are working for.

Whenever you feel exhausted and overworked, that family portrait can immediately provide perspective and motivation. Anything artful—from your child’s finger paintings to that postcard of Starry Night—can create a sense of calm and warmth when the frozen corporate aesthetic weighs us down. What do you have in your workspace? Let us know in the comment section.  

Photo courtesy of LaurenKates.