Assuming you use an office for more than just paying your taxes and ‘Googling’ yourself, it’s likely you spend most of your day in one. If you work in a huge corporate office then there’s not much you can do, similarly there is little you can change in a small company but if you own a small company or work freelance have a home office, there is all sorts of fun you can have.
An office usually revolves around a computer so your first priority is to make sure you and your employees have modern, good quality computers. Some people i.e. creative designers require specific. No matter what computer you need, have a large, quality monitor which will make sitting in front of it all day much easier and prevents squinting. Twin monitors are very convenient and will help speed up your work and assist multitasking. Decent computers are less likely to crash or lose all your data which is something that every small business could do without.
On the topic of data, invest in some quality data storage systems, large sized hard drives that back up all data once an hour and another off-site to keep everything safe. This is vital in case of a virus or hack that threatens your data and software and can be set up relatively easily. When setting up the office, label each end of every wire with a simple tag or label so when you need to fix/remove/swap anything it is stress free.
Buy some mobile filing cabinets to store any files or paperwork, these are ideal as they can be moved around when needed and you can store them in rows if need be. Having enough storage space will ensure organisation and keep your office tidy.
Make sure you have somewhere comfy to sit, a nice executive office chair is ideal so you aren’t tempted to leave your desk for the sake of a numb backside. If you have the space, try and squeeze in a fold out sofa to chill out/brainstorm on. If it folds out to a bed then you can always sleep there if you have to.
Decorate the office with personal things, memorabilia or old photos, something that breaks up the white walls but doesn’t cause you to stare at them all day. Pick out some funky lighting so in those long winter nights you’re not zombified by incandescent strip lighting.
Place a small beer fridge in the office, it will cure hunger, save trips to a kitchen and occasional snacks and breaks are motivational. Its good to have ways of relaxing but you don’t want to affect productivity so stock the latest magazines or newspapers rather than books which are more time consuming.
Some people think the ultimate office has the biggest fish tank possible, a very 80′s frame of mind and these are costly and time consuming. You could even end up looking like a dentist waiting room. Instead, invest in a large, flat screen TV which you can use for all sorts of things from having the news on in the background to presentations and slideshows.
The perfect office requires the perefct cordless phone and the perfect gaming system.