Stress Relief for the Workplace

Recently, Turnstone wrote a blog (which included a very cool inforgraphic) on stress in the workplace. According to their research, 80% of employees say they are stressed. This isn't something that comes as a particular surpise, sadly, but that does mean that there are a whole lot of people out there not exactly happy.

Turnstone's research offers suggestions with creating a perfect office anatomy to help improve conditions. Fixing the temperature, better light, and allowing for plants are proven to help reduce stress. Additionally, the color of the room can be a big impact as well (please check out their article for more info).

I thought it would be beneficial to find a few more tips and tricks from the web that could help ease some of your stress. Some are easier than others, but it's good to have a few options. Plus, if you're like me, you don't have control over the temperature or the color of your office (or cube), so having these to fall back on can't hurt.

Ririan Project (which is a personal development blog) has 19 Suggestions for stress relief (which you can check out here). They recommend having stress balls at your desk,  reducing distractions, taking breaks and walking away - which doubles as being good for your overall health! - and eating fish? "Australian researchers have discovered that eating oily fish such as salmon and sardines can help lower stress levels. This is because oily fish are jam-packed full of omega-3 fatty acids which help your nervous system to function properly and reduce the affects of hostility and aggression".

Natural Bloom offers some additional tips (which you can find all of here). Taking a few minutes to listen to your favorite music can reenergize you (and calm you down...the Beatles do that for me). Deep breathing and herbal teas to calm and sooth. Also, take a few moments to massage your forehead and temples, as well as standing up and stretching. 

Sound simple enough? Stress is going to happen, but once you realize it's coming head on you can take a few moments to relax before it completely overwhelms you. Do you have any tricks you use for stress? Maybe a mid-day kickboxing class or a particular routine you use? Let us know!

~ Kendal

Does your workspace work?

One of my favorite Steelcase videos showcases all the misfortunes that may haunt your office space - from lack of proper technology, to poor lighting, all the way back to lack of collaborative areas (rock paper scissors, anyone?). Take 2 minutes and get a good laugh as you start to empathize with possibly some areas of the short. Personally, the poor technology reminds me of my old office, as well as hitting my head more than a time or two to reach the desk top. Have anything in particular you're nodding your head to? Let us know! What's worse - lack of meeting spaces or having a lack of tech support?

Sustainable Solutions - A Success Story

In October of last year, a company from Olympia came to B&OI with a cool project in a somewhat small space. The budget was set at around $25K and they had a few unique requests they wanted fulfilled.  

The original furniture they were hoping for, completely new, was very much out of their price range. However, the fun thing about B&OI is that we have a warehouse full of pre-owned furniture that we can reupholster and paint to make it look like new! A mix of new and pre-owned allowed them to get the solution they wanted at an amazing price in the color scheme they were hoping for.

Additional enhancements were added, such as the glass window at the top of the panels and whiteboards on the exterior of the panels. Their original offices were more of an open space style - so the addition of panels to cut back on noise was a hot button issue, as well as a sliding door feature to allow even further reduction of noise and interruptions.

The group was very happy with the results of the project. B&OI provided design, delivery and installation, refurbishment, and project management with a fast turnaround of  less than 2 months. The project officially started in October with a signing in mid-November with installation completed the last week of December.  

Beyond our amazing customer service, this is a great example of how you can use pre-owned furniture to create a successful and practical office space. Their budget was maintained because they were willing to take the old and the new - but you can achieve your ideal space with used furniture. 

Check out a few shots taken by the sales rep, Alonzo! He did such a great job!



Glass panels, white boards on the wall!





Steelcase Answer with sliding door

Tight spaces made it tricky, but they now have the privacy they wanted



Office Apparel

Good Morning!

Here at Bank & Office Interiors, we have what most people would call a more formal, professional dress at our locations in Seattle. As a working showroom, it is necessary that we all look presentable and fancy - like our awesome furniture! In one respect, I like dressing up and wearing neat clothing. The phrase, "she looks smart" makes me smile (because I hear it in a British accent). On the other side, who wouldn't want to wear a pair of jeans to work with a nice sweater or cardigan (or blazer)?

Below, our Project Manager is showcasing the latest in B&OI fashion that our guys wear while on job sites. It actually looks really sharp (smart :-) to have everyone looking uniformed while at a different location. The warehouse employees have it a little more laid back than we do up at the showroom. But since they receive very few visitors, they are given a little more leeway in what they wear.

What do you think? Does your company have uniforms? What's the tone in the office? Semi-professional? Casual? Suits and ties?

Thanks! Kendal