Unless you’re in our profession, chances are you and your employees spend a lot of time indoors while at work. All day at a desk, staring at the computer, stressing about project deadline, and spending 9-to-5 in a cubicle farm, sometimes you and your workers need to unwind. Utilize the outdoor space on your property to provide a beneficial place for your employees to destress, brainstorm, and even work in. Today we look at the basics of landscaping outdoor spaces for your employees to use.
Making Your Places Private
You want employees to feel like they own this space: that it’s for them and not the public or clients. Make sure to separate it from your public facing, screening out foot traffic and vehicle ways from this area. Picking areas such as courtyards, rear-facing spaces, and other places not exposed to the public allow your employees to be comfortable using it. Including stonework fences, retaining walls, trees, and shrubbery in your design allows for screening out the area and providing natural and therapeutic plant life in its place. Placing walking paths on larger properties allows employees to jumpstart themselves with a little physical activity.
Making the Space Flexible
Your area should be multi-purpose and be designed to match it. Include both fixed and movable features in your area. Ideally, most tables and chairs can be moved around, into, and out of the space to allow you to use it for multiple purposes, from casual use at lunch time to a space for team-building exercises. Invest in solid furniture that can withstand the elements, but is also easy to move and comfortable. Make sure to include lighting options for uses during different times of the day.
Encourage Employees to Use It
Have a plan for how to use your newly landscaped place and encourage your employees to use the area. Below are a few ways to jumpstart its popularity.
Get Stressed Employees to Unplug
Every office has the employees who are overstressed. Everyone needs to step outside the current project and unplug before stepping back in. Having an aesthetically pleasing place to do so allow employees to come back in with new perspectives and ways to tackle problems.
Set Up an Office Garden
Gardening provides health benefits, particularly mental health when it comes to the office. Having a garden project for your staff not only provides a team-building project, but also just the therapy of lush, verdant surrounds and the smells of growing things. Plus, tomatoes for the office!
Conduct a Meeting Outdoors
A change of venue can also do wonders for a meeting. Help combat drowsiness and boredom by taking the meeting outside. Looking to cut down on meeting times? Try performing a stand-up meeting outside to reduce meeting length while getting a little sunshine.
Greener Horizon has a history of providing commercial landscaping and landscape management in New England. If you’re interested in design, landscaping, and hardscaping for outdoor spaces for your employees, contact us today to learn more about your options. Or jump right into a complimentary consultation!
