Five ways to boost your happiness at work

By Jerilyn Covert

The 9-5 can be a bit of drag. But one of the easiest ways to be happier and more productive at the office is to take ownership of your work space.

Workers who have artistic license with their offices experience greater job satisfaction and productivity than those whose offices are decorated for them, says a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. What’s more, people who work in a highly decorated environment also experience mood-boosting effects, although not to the same extent as those who control their own space.

In the study, each participant was taken into an office space that was either bare or adorned with potted plants and artwork. Then they were given an assignment. After the task was finished, the researchers found that participants in the decorated room were able to complete tasks faster and felt more satisfied with their performance than those who were in the bare room.

However, the highest results were achieved among participants who were told to rearrange the plants and pictures however they pleased. In fact, simply empowering people to have input into the design of their work space made them up to 40 per cent happier and 32 per cent more productive.

“When people are able to decorate space, they are able to identify with it and feel more comfortable, respected, and at home,” says study co-author Dr Alexander Haslam. “In this sense, being empowered to change one’s space can be an important source of self-expression and self-enhancement.”

“What happens all too often,” adds fellow study co-author Dr Craig Knight “is that management tends to realise its identity in workers’ space at the expense of the people in that space. Management decides, for example, whether a space should be a Spartan environment with a harsh work focus, or even an environment where people are expected to make use of ‘break out’ zones and relaxation areas—often whether they like it or not. Allowing individuals or teams to decorate their own space allows them to realise something of their own identity in their own space, and that boosts feelings of ownership, comfort, and well-being.”

No decorating committee at your workplace just yet? You can still take advantage of some quick and cost-free ways to take ownership of your office space today. Here’s five easy ways:

1. Reorganise the stuff that’s already there. You don’t have to invest in monogrammed stationary and a Darth Vader paperweight to make the space your own (although that would be pretty cool). Simply rearranging your books, papers, pens, and folders can help you feel like you have some control over your space, says Haslam.

2. Post a funny cartoon. Your space is an important part of who you are, not just as an individual, but as a member of a group, says Knight. Displaying something in your office that co-workers can enjoy too—a comic strip about your profession, say, or that novelty giveaway item you all got a kick out of at last year’s tradeshow conference—can help reinforce your connection with the group. But check yourself: “Funny” does not mean offensive. In fact, an offensive or insensitive display can actually undermine your connection with the group, says Haslam.

3. Ask for an extra partition. Maintaining some degree of privacy may also be important in reinforcing your sense of autonomy because “it gives you greater freedom to get on with things on your own,” says Haslam. Better yet, if you work in a shared open space, talk to your co-workers first about changing its layout. “If you and your colleagues need to partition aspects of it to help you work,” says Knight, “then this should be a decision for you and your group. Managers dividing space may risk alienating their staff, but if staff members divide their own space, it can form group bonds and develop their social identity.” Along these lines, collectively agreeing on plants, pictures, or wall colours for a common space can reinforce group identity as well.

4. Bring in some artwork. Displaying artwork—particularly images from nature—has been shown to alleviate stress in the workplace. But that effect is amplified when you choose the art and the place to hang it. “When people choose their own pictures, they tend to feel much more positive about them and the space they are in,” says Haslam.

5. Express yourself. If management is okay with it (and if they’re smart, they will be), find some way to mark your desk as your own. Are you an adventurer? Bring in some postcards from your favourite trips. Film buff? Decorate with some movie memorabilia. “I know a very successful magazine editor who has the world’s largest collection of windup robots in her office,” says Haslam.