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Low-cost ways to add colour and productivity to your workplace

Growing office plants has helped to create a collegiate, relaxing work environment at Hubble - Hubble
Growing office plants has helped to create a collegiate, relaxing work environment at Hubble - Hubble

From growing plants from seed to making quirky decorations from leftover bamboo, SMEs share some cost-effective ways to make your office space more productive.

How an office is organised and decorated can have a big impact on levels of staff engagement and productivity, but if you’re a small businesses on a budget, decking the halls with giant beanbags and massage pods just isn’t possible.

However, you don’t need to break the bank to spruce up your space. Here, some small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and a freelancer, share free or low-cost ways in which they have improved their digs.

Going green

Growing office plants as a team has helped to create a collaborative, relaxing work environment at office space marketplace, Hubble, explains its head of PR and partnerships, Varun Bhanot.

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The team tapped into the biophilia concept, which suggests that people have an innate desire to connect with nature. For just a few pounds, the company's chief marketing officer bought each staff member some seeds – the idea being that growing plants as a group would bring the team closer together and form a more attractive workspace in the process.

“Plants don’t just look beautiful and add colour to the office; they also improve air quality, reduce stress levels and increase happiness,”
says Mr Bhanot, who adds that bringing the outside world indoors has created an environment of serenity and mindfulness, which helps when the team has had difficult, stressful projects to complete.

Stand4Socks team members at work - Credit: Stand4Socks
At Stand4Socks, leftover socks are reused for quirky, colourful decorations Credit: Stand4Socks

Recycling reinforces the brand message

Stand4Socks is an ethical sock maker. Its newest range of socks are made out of bamboo, where the raw material shredded down to make the fabric. The company is currently selling a limited edition batch delivered in bamboo tubes.

Any leftover bamboo that the manufacturers can’t use – due to knots or pieces that are difficult to shred – are turned into office decorations: pencil holders and vases, for example.

Even leftover socks are reused for quirky, colourful decorations, explains company founder, Josh Turner. Having bamboo-built items around the office isn’t just sustainable, but it helps tell the story of the brand when clients and partners come to visit, he says. “It adds a natural and raw feel to the place, which is what we’re about.”

Importantly, employees chose to improve the office in this way. It’s key that staff have a say on their work environment, he adds. “You can’t force on them an [office] culture that you have seen elsewhere. Google having slides, for example. It has to be a natural fit.”

It’s an approach that clean energy company, Perpetual V2G Systems, has also adopted. Staff members are allowed to customise their work areas by using leftover wooden pallets from the organic food business in the unit next door. It’s cost-effective but also fun, says chief executive, Andy Ling. Employees can stack them up to their ideal height and personalise them with paint or materials.

Pallets at Perpetual V2G Systems - Credit: Perpetual V2G Systems
At Perpetual V2G Systems, employees reuse wooden pallets to customise their workspaces Credit: Perpetual V2G Systems

With employees often working on different-sized products every day – from refrigerated vehicles to ambulances – it also makes practical sense, because people can reorganise where they work to suit specific projects, adds Mr Ling. Swapping pallets in and out quickly “makes everyone's lives easier and helps people work more efficiently, because they’re not restricted to a set space,” he says.

With the workspace changing at least once every three weeks, it’s refreshing, says Mr Ling.

Home improvements

When Kerri Walker decided not to return to work after going on maternity leave, she set up as a publicist and media coach from home, which meant decluttering her spare room to create a more professional environment.

She started by spending £30 on an ocean-themed wall tapestry that she pinned to the wall behind her desk. Not only did it add some of colour to the space, but it’s also what clients see behind her during video conference calls – more professional and interesting than a dull and uninspiring white wall.

She also invested in some picture frames. “I have my yearly financial goal in one on my desk, which keeps me motivated. I’ve put inspirational quotes in the others. With fresh flowers as well, altogether it puts me in a good head space to be productive.”