Corporate Office Paint Colors: Top 5 Morale-Boosting Colors for Businesses

 

Office jobs are the most common type of employment in the country. We can all picture the scene in our heads: dozens of workers lined up, cubicle to cubicle, typing away in a gray, depressing room. With the rising concern of mental health, creating a pleasant work environment has never been more important. This begins with the physical work space. We get it, painting a wall won’t cure depression, but there is plenty of scientific evidence to support that it sure is a good place to start. Here are the top 5 corporate office paint colors that will improve morale and productivity in the workplace.

1. Blue

When trying to select a color to improve mental health, blue may seem like an odd first choice. Despite its association with sadness, blue is the perfect color for a work environment. Blue creates a sense of security and calmness while also encouraging order and productivity. Just look at the branding and marketing for businesses like home security. Almost all of them include blue. You will find that blue is the most used color in corporate offices, as research shows people are most productive in blue rooms. Does this mean people are unproductive in other rooms? Not necessarily, but it’s hard to ignore how impressionable our minds can be, especially when research supports the psychology.

It is worth mentioning that there are a few negative feelings connected to the color blue. We have already mentioned sadness, but blue is also considered to be a very unnatural color. When it is found in nature it is often a sign of poison or mold. This means our brains are hardwired to find blue less appetizing and make us less hungry around the color. I guess this could be a good thing for those office snackers!

 

2. Green

The next best color to paint your office is green. Green is tied to feelings of optimism and motivation. Not a bad state of mind for the work place! Of course this varies person to person, but it’s hard to disagree that green makes people GO. Think about it, when something is correct, it’s green. When something is lucky, it’s green. Green is safe! Not to mention that green is the opposite of the color red, which is typically associated with danger, aggression and power. Green appears everywhere in nature, unlike the color blue. This causes feelings of refreshment and tranquility. Adding some green to your work space should yield some positive results.

On the flip side, green tends to be a tell tale sign of sickness and is often associated with envy. How much does this affect office morale, I don’t know, but if we are going to discuss the positive feelings, we might as well mention the negatives as well.

 

3. Yellow

This is the most complex color on the list. This is because yellow is perceived very differently depending on the person looking at it. While many see this color as cheerful and energetic, others would describe it as obnoxious and maybe even aggressive. However, I think everyone can agree, yellow is not dull in the slightest. If your office is lacking energy, a yellow paint job will definitely liven the place up. Yellow is often tied to sunshine and energy which are opposite symptoms of depression, so it probably wouldn’t hurt to brighten up the space with a pop of color! Honestly, this color probably has more to do with design preference than psychological consequence, so don’t think about it too much. If yellow works for your office, have at it!

4. Brown

This may be an unexpected addition to our list, but surprisingly, brown is not a bad corporate office paint color! Browns and tans generate feelings of reliability and trust. Along with these come a sense of security and nurturing. These may not scream “productivity”, but these are definitely positive! A secure and nurturing environment is one that promotes growth, so before you dismiss brown from your considerations, decide if this type of space could encourage productivity among employees! Another positive quality of brown us that it goes with just about anything. A neutral color like this is a safe choice as far as design.

While a little brown can make a big difference, a lot of brown can too. Research shows that too much brown can create a sense of isolation and emptiness, kind of like a desert. If you decide to paint your office brown, use the color sparingly.

 

5. Pink

“Pink is for girls!” Maybe you’ve heard this before. While this statement isn’t totally wrong as pink has a connection to femininity, its applications go much deeper than that. A study performed in the late 1960’s by a man named Alexander Schauss found pink to be the most calming color on the color wheel. This discovery led the main prison of Santa Clara, California to paint their walls pink. After doing this, the results showed that violence and aggression had gone down tremendously. Hopefully you aren’t working with violent and aggressive criminals, but in a high-stress environment like a corporate office, pink may just be the way to go.

(At the end of the day, it’s still pink. This is number 5 on the list for a reason)

Choosing Your Corporate Office Paint Colors

While these are not bad places to start as far as corporate office paint colors, at the end of the day, just do what’s best for your workplace. Sure, there have been studies about how these colors affect our moods, but everyone is different. This will vary across cultures and individuals. If you happen to be in the Indianapolis area and want more help with color selection, contact us at Elite Pro Painting and we will give you a hand!