Does offering employees a pleasing work environment make a 
difference? Or is it just another excuse to spend money? 

Read on...

Essentially it is all about enriching the work environment, 
and if you are wondering why you need to bother then I'd like 
to offer you three reasons:

o It create better attitudes
o It improves morale
o It enhances the employees commitment to the organization


There is a fair bit of research in this area looking at the 
concept of improving employee motivation from different angles. 
For example during March 2002 Arts & Business released the 
results of a MORI commissioned survey. The research investigated 
attitudes towards the Art's and their effect on the working 
behaviors among business leaders and the general public.

The results revealed that 53% of the workers surveyed felt 
that if their employer were to provide opportunities to enjoy 
artistic activities they would be motivated in their work. 95% 
of business owners surveyed said they felt that motivation is 
'essential' or 'very important' in directly driving company 
performance.

Employees can participate in community related art projects or 
the employer could sponsor an initiative, and I'll cover that 
in a future articles but for now I'd like to focus on why art 
should be used to enhance the working space, or put another way 
using art to break up plain walls, and relieve the potential 
visual boredom for the employee. 

Open place offices are very commonplace nowadays, and to some 
extent have diminished the employee's sense of having a private 
space of their own that reflects their personality. Thus the 
art in their view becomes more important especially if they 
don't have a window nearby.

I even heard of a company that has produced space dividers for 
open plan workplaces that are limited edition prints on mesh 
by British contemporary artists.

Studies by BOSTI a US based workplace design consultancy make 
it clear there is a relationship between how people experience 
the offices they work in and their productivity levels on job 
including job performance, job satisfaction and their ability 
to communicate with each other. 

We all react both consciously and unconsciously to the area in 
which we live and work, our environment has a profound effect 
on feelings, behaviors, general health issues and productivity. 
Using art in the office is only one aspect of workplace design, 
but it is one that should not be overlooked.

Having art in the workplace is also a way of encouraging 
creative thinking and of course there is the potential of a 
Public Relations spin off. A survey carried out by ICM and 
Art & Business found that 73% of employees wanted more art in 
the workplace, claiming it made them feel more 'motivated' and 
'inspired.' 

Further research carried out by International Art Consultants 
Ltd “indicates that companies regard art as an integral part of 
a motivating and productive working environment, and that more 
organisations are actively seeking to maximise the benefits of 
art within the context of their broader business philosophy.”

So it makes sense to create a pleasing ambiance for everyone who 
uses the work space, after all there are enough other variables 
in business life. Let's do something about the ones we can 
control! 

About the author: Sue Kennedy, LRPS & LBIPP   

Sue Kennedy is an UK based photographer specialising in outdoor 
photography and works on commission for companies & individuals 
as well as shooting for picture libraries. To purchase from 
Sue’s current print and card selection visit her Website: 
http://www.blueeyesphoto.com. Don't forget to sign up for 
her monthly ezine too!