St. Valentine’s Day is coming. This is a relatively new holiday in Poland and it could, on the one hand, annoy some of us because of its commercialisation, but, on the other hand, it is a perfect reminder of the power of feelings. And it doesn’t only concern the power of love. It’s about emotions as such that matter. Olga Tokarczuk, a Polish writer, when collecting the Nobel Prize in Literature spoke about the importance of being attentive and sensitive to other people – especially to their feelings and their needs. It is also true when it comes to places in which we spend our time.

Well, the comfort and health of furniture users have already been taken good care of by introducing constant improvements in furniture ergonomics – but there’s more to it. Now, it’s essential to create an interior which will make us feel good. That interior should motivate and inspire us, but it should also calm us down and aid the process of regeneration, when necessary. Those designers who can fully understand the needs of the modern world, see all of that as one of their priorities.

In order to ensure good office design, various needs of the users have to be met; even the smallest ones, which may seem insignificant at first. The needs should never be overlooked by designers or company managers. Nowadays, workers should be allowed to work on their own terms. Otherwise, you may start experiencing staff shortages - the research shows that inadequate or unsatisfying working conditions can account for even 15% cases of leaving a job. This figure is only a little lower than the percentage of workers leaving their job because of a toxic boss.

More and more managers across organisations agree to grant the freedom to their workers to choose where they will do their work.. Those managers accept the fact that their employees, instead of working at their desks, will perform their duties, for example, in a canteen overlooking a busy street.

”Let them work the way they like”– that’s the idea behind designing a modern office. Some employees may prefer to have their own, classic, methodologically arranged and static places to work, whereas others will need to be permanently moving – the persistent change of the place will give them the energy they need to be creative and productive. But these two contrary working styles can be combined by adjusting the type of the actual place of work not only to the personalities of the given employees, but also to the demands and expectations encountered right there and right then. Balma office furniture can best illustrate that – while maintaining the top quality, fine style and strong cohesion – it also guarantees great flexibility, thus making it possible to adjust any kind of interior to the current needs.

Thanks to Balma furniture, the office interior design can break off the seriousness of a traditional office. And that’s absolutely necessary. After all, since we spend so many hours at work it’s a must to devote some of that time to a short rest and to recharge our batteries. The trend that has originated in America (to mention the famous Google offices) has become everyday life also in Poland. Balma can offer in its wide product range not only comfortable armchairs and poufs which can help relaxation and regeneration, but it also creates places where you can play computer games or creates areas with indoor swings suspended from the ceiling.

Does that sound funny? Well, if you look at that in a conventional way, it may seem not serious enough. But it enormously increases work efficiency and productivity. Any Excel spreadsheet will confirm that – the bar charts representing the continuous growth should convince even the most sceptical ones.

Playing with colours is vital, too. Designers don’t get limited to a simple, strictly artistic colour match of walls, floors or furniture anymore. Instead, colours are selected on the basis of the function of a given area or room. The knowledge of the effect of colours on people (e.g. blue, thanks to the associations with openness and peace, can motivate and encourage creativity) is combined with the results of the research on communication. The colours marking particular zones will become something like a code allowing to effectively function within an office area. That ordering arrangement, imposed on the subconscious, can positively influence the mood of employees. It will simply give them a feeling of safety.

The research has also been done on the presence of plants in the office. It has been discovered that thanks to plants, the productivity of workers can increase by 15%. That increase is possible due to the aesthetic experience and the nice and friendly atmosphere coming as a result, but also because of the beneficial impact on employees’ eyes and lungs.

Balma has been following that path and makes sure that plants, often neglected by others, will always be appreciated and properly displayed. Balma has created FLOO – a special system of compatible modules which can be used to make hangers and to build plant stands and shelves for office green plants. Of course, these modules are compatible with all the other products offered by the brand.

Polish designers often get an inspiration from a Scandinavian model, which is an example of a perfect balance between one’s work and one’s private life. The model relies on simple and straightforward elegance of the interior being accompanied with some elements that add to the cosy atmosphere of that particular interior.

The “Falling in love with one’s office” should not, obviously, be understood literally. But we can admit we care about our work environment as it can positively affect the way we feel and can trigger positive emotions. ... Not only on St. Valentine’s Day ...