Feng Shui for Your Workplace

Workplace stress and the resulting poor employee performance have gained increasing media attention lately. And for good reason. Business in Vancouver recently published a Health Canada estimate that workplace depression costs $1.4 billion in lost productivity to Canadian companies. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, work-related pressures are contributing to higher levels of depression, anxiety and burnout. Workplace-related depression is expected to be the leading source of workdays lost within the next 20 years.

Since healthy and efficient employees are a company's best asset human resources specialists need to be armed with substantial and diverse ways to improve workers' well-being, morale and productivity.
Being the biggest constant in people’s daily lives, the work environment is a crucial factor in employee retention. When space is tight and many employees are working in cubicles, it is even more important to focus on creating a welcoming and healthy workplace.

The ancient art and science of feng shui can help some of these problems and, therefore, is experiencing increasing popularity. A complex body of knowledge with over 5,000 years of history, feng shui teaches ways to improve the quality of people’s lives by balancing their environment. Feng shui is employed by many organizations in North America and around the world to harmonize their environments and achieve higher levels of productivity.

One of the main concepts of feng shui is the flow of chi, or universal energy, in any given environment. How much chi — or vital energy — does your workplace have? How vibrant, attractive and healthy is your space? Everything counts towards creating an environment where people can thrive. This includes basics like the oxygen level, amount of sunlight and negative ions in the air to the not-so-obvious, such as the level of electromagnetic pollution, hidden messages and health threats. When you remedy all safety hazards (both conscious and subconscious), a big portion of your employees’ stress will be removed.

Here are some points to follow in creating healthier workplaces:

Allow employees to personalize the workplace by giving them freedom of expression in their work area, within reason, of course.

Introduce water features, plants and vibrant artwork.
Install full-spectrum lighting instead of fluorescent lights.

Avoid sharp angles pointing at people as they create attacking energy. Spike-leaved plants may also appear sharp and knife-like.

Be aware of what the subconscious might consider threatening. For example, floor-to-ceiling windows in a high-rise building might make people feel unprotected or unsupported.

Pay attention to your environment’s sensory experience, particularly the smells. Are you welcomed by comforting food smells, such as coffee or cinnamon or the aroma of energizing essential oils? Or is it a stagnant, dusty or musty smell that you would rather not inhale? Do not overlook this detail, as proper breathing lies at the basis of our well-being.

Reading the subconscious messages your environment is sending you may become a crucial tool in your quest for creating vibrant and healthy workspaces. For example, if your organization has recently downsized and there are many empty cubicles, the environment is saying, "Business is not good. We do not have enough work to fill our space or money to keep enough workers" Whereas, if you took that same space and gave the remaining employees double cubicles, the environment would be saying, "Business is so good, now we can afford some luxuries, like a more spacious environment."

The work environment should also support and reflect the hopes, dreams, goals and intentions of the business. The name and logo of your company should be in a high, well lit, auspicious place. Having your company’s name or logo on a doormat encourages disrespect and attracts the energy of failure.

I believe the use of feng shui principles will become an integral part of the knowledge of every human resources specialist who is dedicated to helping employees achieve maximum productivity, while maintaining, if not even improving, their well-being.

Creating an environment where people are happy to come to work and reluctant to leave should not be hard. Once you start applying feng shui basics to your workspace you will see how easy it is to transform it into a high-energy space where people feel safe, secure, valuable and respected.