23 Nov Wall Murals and Employee Satisfaction
Last month, Sandbox Signs + Graphics published a blog article about wall murals as emotional branding. That article discussed wall murals as an excellent medium for increasing a customer’s emotional connection to brand and product — a tried and true means of enhancing brand visibility and sales.
While wall murals for a Vancouver or BC business will have a positive impact on brand visibility, they also contribute to employee job satisfaction, enhanced sense of pride in the workplace, stimulate positive emotions, and contribute to positive behavioral outcomes such as increased energy, productivity, and more harmonious interpersonal relationships.
A business wall mural for your Vancouver office is very economical, considering that it is serving double duty — used both as a marketing tool and employee relations tool.
Office Environment and
Employee Job Satisfaction
While many marketers can point to studies about the performance of emotional advertising, not all HR departments and employers know that there is scientific data that demonstrates a correlation between enhanced work environment and employee satisfaction.
In 2009, Journal of Public Affairs and Administration Management published the outcomes of one such study entitled “Impact of Office Design on Employees’ Productivity” (PDF). The study concluded that “Analysis of the collected data revealed that office design has a substantial impact on the employees’ productivity.
In a another study, “The Interior Design of Workplace and its Impact on Employees’ Performance“, published in 2011 by Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia, researcher came to similar conclusions.
While these studies weren’t about wall murals specifically, they do suggest that much more attention must be paid to the office interior design — from workstation design, to privacy screens, and wall murals.
Wall Murals – More than Pretty Pictures
Improved mood and productivity
A recent article at Entrepreneur.com discusses a University of Texas study by Nancy Kwallek, Kokyung Soon, and Carol M. Lewis, which found that bland grey, beige, and white offices “induce feelings of sadness and depression.” The U of T study divided study participants into groups defined by their ability to screen out distraction. Regardless of their ability to screen out distraction, all made more errors when the interior was painted white.
Variety may also be key. Nancy Kwallek, in her article “Color in Office Environments” states that “Alternatively, interiors could be designed with maximum flexibility to allow for variations within the same general space according to each individual’s characteristics”.
Wall murals could be used to provide the needed variety. While too much variation in colours may prove distracting, some variation may improve mood, concentration and productivity. Employers should consider the use of the room before designing a business wall mural. A break room mural, for example, should be calming and soothing, allowing employees to more fully relax and recharge their batteries. It might incorporate less saturated blues and greens which tend to be relaxing. A sales meeting room might incorporate more invigorating colours (though not overdone) that stimulate the senses: touches of red, orange and warmer colours which tend to be stimulating.
Read more information about colour psychology.
Improved workplace behaviour
Bare, dreary, walls have an emotional domino effect. Employees may feel tired, bored and unstimulated. These feelings can create negative behaviour toward work, colleagues and customers. Anything a business can do to enhance the work environment will win a battle on several fronts. Your employees will be more contented and relationships to colleagues and customers will be improved. While wall murals won’t solve all employee satisfaction problems, their strong visual and emotional impact is immediate.
Wall murals and workplace pride
If you’ve ever worked in a shabby office environment with lackluster décor and drab, uniform wall colour, you probably didn’t take much pride in the environment. You may have been slightly embarrassed doing business in such an office, perhaps making excuses for the surroundings or wondering what your visitors must think about your business.
Wall murals are one way to really liven up a space. A wall mural can use emotionally impactful colour, high resolution images, and contain positive messages and scenes. Each space may use a different theme specific to the use of the space. Beyond the subconscious impact of appealing colour, imagery and text, Vancouver businesses that use wall murals to improve surroundings will probably be perceived as more professional and more attentive to the needs of customers and employees.
Receive a Wall Mural Consultation for your Vancouver, BC Business
If you are considering an office redesign or are designing a new office, contact Sandbox Signs to discuss how wall murals can increase employee satisfaction, improve productivity, and increase brand visibility.