Attract top talent and clients
by renovating
Architecture evokes emotion. There’s a difference between architecture in the highest form (designed by well-known architects) and the day to day buildings we live in. But architecture, spaces, rooms, courtyards, cities, museums evoke emotion despite the designers intention.
When moving into a new house or a new office we decorate the place to how we feel comfortable in it. We’re designing our space with or without intention to evoke a certain emotion. In our homes we want to have a cosy space where we can unwind after a long day at work. In our offices we want to create an atmosphere of focus and vibrance.
For our house is our corner of the world. As has often been said, it is our first universe, a real cosmos in every sense of the word. If we look at it intimately, the humblest dwelling has beauty. - Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
With or without intention we can create those spaces in which these specific emotions (such as cosiness, focus, vibrance) arise. But without intention you can easily create the opposite effect. In public spaces creating negative emotions can have a huge impact on different areas of our lives.
The picture above shows the National Public Library in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s a beautiful library and when I was there I got the sense that the acoustics were not what you expect in a library. A rounded shaped space creates echoes and every little detail is amplified. But because of the round shape, you could see everyone and I think the social rules also don’t allow us to be noisy. When you would start talking or walk loudly, you’re getting very self conscious and reduce your impact on the environment immediately. There’s also this effect that architecture has: the huge round room with high ceiling overwhelms us and makes us go quiet.
Our emotions can be affected in a subtle way, in a way we don’t notice at all. And these are the things you have to pay attention to especially.
“It may not be your first instinct when entering a building to consider how it makes you feel, but architecture has always had a big impact on emotions. Different spaces are designed to make their inhabitants feel different things; offices can make you feel energised and productive, art galleries can make you feel thoughtful and curious, and museums can make you feel calm and intrigued. Each of these spaces is completely different from each other and are far more than just a building.” - Museum of emotions.
Offices can make you feel energized and productive, but when ill designed they can have the opposite effect, they can make you feel drained and ineffective. Imagine your employees feeling drained and ineffective, that eventually results in poor work.
Your workplace is a reflection of the quality of your product or service. A vibrant space enhances productivity, well-being, engagement and collaboration. A workplace which represents the current timeframe we’re in illustrates innovative thinking, growth and the guts to make decisions. And let that reflection be crucial to attract new talent or your dream client.
Your workplace should go hand in hand with your brand. How do you want your company to be perceived? Branding goes much further than a cute logo and a name. You really need to know what your company stands for and how you want to present it to the world. For instance Starbucks stands for cosy, delicious, quality and enjoying. Google stands for openness, innovation, ..
Your company’s brand has a personality and it needs to show in everything that your company does or doesn’t do. The same goes for your building and the way it is perceived when people walk in:
Does your company stand for innovation but you haven’t updated your office in 15 years?
Do you talk about well-being but the office has a stressful atmosphere?
Do you talk about friendliness and openness but do you walk into a dead quiet office with no interactions and no smiles?
It is important to pay attention to the details. So when thinking of renovating your place you should reconsider how you want your business to be perceived in the world. What are your core values, what do you want to stand for, be known for? How can you translate those values into work culture, work places, products,..
Not renovating your place also gives information to your clients and employees:
Not being innovative, no growth mindset
It speaks of how long the business owner tends to do business
No empathy for employee’s well-being
No psychology behind brand name
Of course those are the pieces of information we never want to be associated with.
Conclusion
When attracting top talent or top clients we need to pay attention to our working environment. Our workplace is a reflection of our brand, culture and our work ethics. But our workplace also evokes emotion and it’s important to induce the positive emotions. We want our businesses to be associated with positivity and growth. A person will want to work with you if that person has an emotional connection to the company/ place. People make decisions emotionally, don’t forget that.
Our environment has so much impact on our well-being, our way or working, productivity, collaboration, quality of work, work-life balance, emotions,.. It’s really interesting to dive deeper and deeper into the matter.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Thank you for reading.
Resources.
https://branadesigns.com/how-interior-design-affects-our-emotions/