The following infographic, “How the Office Environment Affects Productivity and Wellbeing in Workers” was produced by the commercial interior design team at Office Principles. This infographic has been designed to showcase how noise, lighting, and colour affect your working environment, and how you can potentially use this knowledge to improve your working conditions. Below is a summary of the key points as they relate to freelancers:
Lighting
The unfortunate reality of working in a poorly lit office environment is that this generally correlates with motivational levels dropping as a result of a reduction in circadian rhythm stimulation. Biological events such as these that repeat themselves at regular intervals can be devastating to motivation levels unless managed effectively.
With this in mind, another lighting factor you should also consider is dim light. As a result of working in dim light, eye strain often becomes a major consideration for many office workers. Dim light and eye strain, if not managed effectively long-term; can cause headaches, a feeling of tiredness, nausea and numerous other debilitating feelings which will lessen your ability to work at your highest concentration levels.
Air conditioning
Air conditioning, if used for long periods of time; creates a dry atmosphere which removes moisture from the air. This can effect can cause dry, itchy eyes, ears, throat and skin, which can be unpleasant and uncomfortable in most working environments. To avoid this scenario, keep in mind that the ideal air temperature you should be aiming for is between 16-24 degrees Celsius.
When using an air conditioner in your office, try not to run your air conditioner any longer than is required to regulate the temperature in your office. In a large office this can be more difficult to achieve as some people will want the room to be extra cold. As a freelancer, you should have more control over this, so try and take advantage of your working conditions.
Colour
The colours around us have emotional and subconscious affects on the way we go about doing things. This means that you should give some consideration to the colours used in your office.
As a freelancer, self-motivation is critical. When selecting colours, keep in mind that red is a very motivational colour. Yellow is energising. The colours blue and green are more often associated with relaxation and comfort. As a freelancer it is worth avoiding colours which may be considered “too relaxing” to ensure your highest levels of motivation.
Noise
A noisy office has a major impact on the level of concentration and quality of work you’re able to produce. When there’s too much background noise in an office environment, it becomes difficult to focus on what you’re doing. Because the human brain functions best when focusing on one thing at a time, the unfortunately reality is that it will naturally focus in on background noises first, or the most over-powering source.
Office noise levels should ideally be between 40-50 decibels, around the same noise level as a singing bird. Higher than this and you’ll be distracted from your work.
As a freelancer you should consider the background noises around you. If you work from home, try not to let appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers operate in the background where possible.
Summary
By taking note of a few key elements in your working environment, and managing these elements according to best practice recommendations, you’ll be surprised how you can improve your freelance working environment. Although these elements can often seem like small or trivial factors, you’ll be surprised how much of a difference to your productivity levels these changes can make.
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