Creative space is much more than simply decorating your desk with toys and distractions (like Michael Scott from The Office). We spend a large portion of our lives working, so creating a work environment that promotes collaborative work, natural light, optional standing, and an aesthetically pleasing layout encourages us to enjoy the work we do—which tends to produce better work. On top of enticement to come into work, a creative workspace provides many physical, emotional, and professional benefits.

Increases Productivity

Rather than an area where workers are quarantined by the restricting walls of a cubicle, a creative workspace is open, encouraging collaboration. While the creative space emphasizes the individual, the best work is done through creative abrasion. Creative abrasion occurs when individual ideas are productively challenged in an environment that encourages the clashing of ideas and processes, in order to create the best possible results. Motivation is also a key component when it comes to productivity. With motivational artwork lying around the office, inspiration is likely to spark, and work will get done with more ease.

Enhances Imagination

Imagination and creativity benefit from open, uncluttered spaces. When someone is focused, they are more likely to think outside the box and stray from conventional ideas. The incorporation of comfortable office furniture is not to encourage office naps, but to allow workers to feel comfortable in their environment and cultivate creative ideas. Additionally, having games around the office has more net benefits within a creative space. Whether it’s a ping pong table, foosball, darts, etc., games have the ability to relieve stress and keep the creative mind functioning. It is easy to fall victim to a daunting task by just staring at a computer screen until something hopefully pops into your mind. However, the phrase “work hard, play hard” holds true, as being active can get creative juices flowing and imagination to take over as ideas fall into place.

Reflects Your Work

Your office should reflect your work and your work ethic. An aesthetically pleasing office space not only has benefits for your workers, but as clients or potential employees come to view your office, the layout and its ability to produce creativity speaks volumes to your company’s values. Consistency in what you portray helps establish your company’s credibility as a thoroughly creative environment that produces high-quality work.

Benefits Overall Well-being

The new word on the street is that “sitting is the new smoking,” and while that is a clear exaggeration, immobile sitting for all hours of the day does produce negative health effects. More and more, companies are incorporating desks with optional standing settings to increase blood flow and promote creative thinking, by mixing up work positions. Not only does a creative work environment have physical health benefits, but also emotional. Your mood is guaranteed to increase when you’re in an environment that exhibits positivity and creativity. Things as minuscule as the wall color or desk orientation have the capability of affecting people’s moods. With the right office feng shui, workers will be more happy to be at work, and thus more able to challenge their creativity.

In this new era of innovative businesses, the creative workspace has produced countless benefits and enticing features. Since we spend many hours of our days at work, it makes sense that we would want to make it an enjoyable experience. What creative feature would you include in your dream office? Let us know in the comments!