Feng Shui Gives Businesses a Boost in the Modern Office Environment

The modern British office is about as calm as a tent in a thunderstorm. The fast-paced winds of corporate life whip everything into an all-consuming froth of clutter through which we try to conduct our working lives. Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement, is now being employed to counter the endemic culture of corporate disorder with supporters including Richard Branson and Donald Trump. Liza Evans, the in-house Interior Designer and Feng Shui consultant for Executive Offices Group, creates harmonious working spaces by translating the discipline into an effective corporate instrument that helps businesses succeed in their market place.

Feng Shui is a discipline that explores the relationship between the natural and built environment. When Liza designs an office every detail of a building is taken into consideration including its location, direction and surroundings, as well as the positioning of its entrances, public spaces, and the office layout itself. In practical terms the main changes she effects involve a wholesale removal of clutter and the careful and subtle placement of objects in conjunction with complementary colour and texture combinations. The offices she creates have a sleek and contemporary interior design quality but are born of an art that has been honed by its practitioners over thousands of years.

The overall design must encourage the flow of the positive energy known as chi. Business centre entrances are particularly important because they are the threshold that unites the outside world with the activities inside; freely flowing chi at an entrance creates energy and harmony in everything that enters, leaves and occurs within the building. As well as harnessing chi, Feng Shui seeks to strike a balance between yin and yang, the receptive and active forces of the universe. This can be done by establishing an interaction between light and dark colours, soft and hard surfaces, smooth and rough textures in treatments furniture and flooring.

While there may be some misplaced scepticism surrounding a practice as elusive and unquantifiable as Feng Shui, few would be unimpressed by the results Liza has seen her work produce. Her Feng Shui offices have increased productivity, reduced staff turnover, improved staff relations and, perhaps most importantly, created tangible increases in profit. Recently, Liza was called in to help a City company who were having problems with turnover; money was flowing into their company, but flowing out twice as quickly. With a few adjustments to enable their staff to be more focused, which included re-seating the MD, looking at their company literature and clearing the clutter, the company’s fortunes changed dramatically and they eventually went on to float on the stock exchange.

However, if a comprehensive redesign of the office is not possible, Liza’s top ten tips can bring harmony to any office:

Keep the office anddeskclutter free, including removing mess from the drawers If you don’t use it, lose it! Get rid of any unused or unwanted itemsStore archive filing off site but treat files with respect as they represent past and future business Keep the office clean and tidyto keep the energy in the space light and fresh Regularly open windows to let fresh air/energy in and raise the blinds to allow natural daylight into the space Fresh flowers or healthy plants will help bring a touch of nature into the office helping tokeep the energy fresh Put up colourful and inspiring artwork to helpstimulatecreativity Use mirrors to help open up, energise and enlarge spaces Ideally position your desk so you have a clear view of the door. If space permits sit with your back to the wall to give you additionalsupportArrange the office sopeople canmove aroundand function easily.This will help the energy (chi) to flow around the space

The modern British office is about as calm as a tent in a thunderstorm. The fast-paced winds of corporate life whip everything into an all-consuming froth of clutter through which we try to conduct our working lives. Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement, is now being employed to counter the endemic culture of corporate disorder with supporters including Richard Branson and Donald Trump. Liza Evans, the in-house Interior Designer and feng shui consultant for Executive Offices Group, creates harmonious working spaces by translating the discipline into an effective corporate instrument that helps businesses succeed in their market place. Feng Shui is a discipline that explores the relationship between the natural and built environment. When Liza designs an office every detail of a building is taken into consideration including its location, direction and surroundings, as well as the positioning of its entrances, public spaces, and the office layout itself. In practical terms the main changes she effects involve a wholesale removal of clutter and the careful and subtle placement of objects in conjunction with complementary colour and texture combinations. The offices she creates have a sleek and contemporary interior design quality but are born of an art that has been honed by its practitioners over thousands of years. The overall design must encourage the flow of the positive energy known as chi. Business centre entrances are particularly important because they are the threshold that unites the outside world with the activities inside; freely flowing chi at an entrance creates energy and harmony in everything that enters, leaves and occurs within the building. As well as harnessing chi, Feng Shui seeks to strike a balance between yin and yang, the receptive and active forces of the universe. This can be done by establishing an interaction between light and dark colours, soft and hard surfaces, smooth and rough textures in treatments furniture and flooring. While there may be some misplaced scepticism surrounding a practice as elusive and unquantifiable as Feng Shui, few would be unimpressed by the results Liza has seen her work produce. Her Feng Shui offices have increased productivity, reduced staff turnover, improved staff relations and, perhaps most importantly, created tangible increases in profit. Recently, Liza was called in to help a City company who were having problems with turnover; money was flowing into their company, but flowing out twice as quickly. With a few adjustments to enable their staff to be more focused, which included re-seating the MD, looking at their company literature and clearing the clutter, the company’s fortunes changed dramatically and they eventually went on to float on the stock exchange. However, if a comprehensive redesign of the office is not possible, Liza’s top ten tips can bring harmony to any office: Keep the office anddeskclutter free, including removing mess from the drawers If you don’t use it, lose it! Get rid of any unused or unwanted itemsStore archive filing off site but treat files with respect as they represent past and future business Keep the office clean and tidyto keep the energy in the space light and fresh Regularly open windows to let fresh air/energy in and raise the blinds to allow natural daylight into the space Fresh flowers or healthy plants will help bring a touch of nature into the office helping tokeep the energy fresh Put up colourful and inspiring artwork to helpstimulatecreativity Use mirrors to help open up, energise and enlarge spaces Ideally position your desk so you have a clear view of the door. If space permits sit with your back to the wall to give you additionalsupportArrange the office sopeople canmove aroundand function easily.This will help the energy (chi) to flow around the space

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