In any type of building, window shading can affect the wellbeing of the occupants. When it comes to offices, blinds are crucial to creating a productive workplace where employees are happy. In this article, we’ll explore the relationship between blinds and employee productivity and wellbeing.

Can office blinds improve productivity?

When employers talk about ways to improve the productivity of their staff, installing blinds probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But premium office blinds can make a big difference in a workplace in a number of ways, helping to improve productivity and employee satisfaction.

Brighten up the workplace

Since a large number of office spaces are rented, they generally have a bland colour scheme of white or grey. Blinds come in a huge range of colours, which helps to breathe life into a room.

There is a shared philosophy amongst many business leaders that a happy workforce is a productive one. Recent colour psychology studies indicate that colours can impact individuals’ emotions. Warm colours such as orange, red and yellow can provide feelings of warmth and comfort. On the other hand, cool colours like blue and green are generally seen as calming colours.

Introducing a colourful set of commercial blinds can really transform a space and help employees feel happier in the office. Blinds can even be customised to match a brand’s colours. One of the services we offer is printed blinds, where we print a brand's logo or image of their choice onto the blinds we produce. This helps to reinforce the brand throughout the office and motivate employees.

Limit sun glare

Modern offices often reside in fully glazed buildings, meaning sunlight can be a real problem. The sun’s glare can make computer screens harder to see. Depending on the position of the windows in relation to desks, the sunlight can also shine in employees’ eyes, causing discomfort.

Luckily, a wide range of blinds are available to combat glare. Blinds can be made to measure with special fabrics which provide different levels of screening. Blinds with various mechanisms can also help control the amount of light entering a room.  

Our Roe fabric is designed for environments where reducing solar glare is needed, without blocking out natural light completely. This blind fabric allows occupants to prevent solar glare from adversely affecting them, while also ensuring that they are not solely dependent on artificial lighting.

Better heat distribution

The temperature in the workplace is often a topic of serious debate, distracting employees from their jobs. If an office is too hot, or too cold, employees may feel uncomfortable. One study found that 22% of workers agreed that a hot workplace makes it more challenging to concentrate.

During the summer, the sun can cause serious discomfort in workplaces, especially if the building doesn’t have a good air conditioning system. South-facing offices will get the highest level of sunlight each day, and so, have an even greater need for blinds.

Blinds help to block the sunlight and prevent the solar energy from heating the office to temperatures that employees may feel uncomfortable in. Preventing the sun from heating a room using blinds can also help to reduce the amount of air conditioning needed, reducing a company’s carbon footprint.

White back fabric blinds

We offer a range of fabrics with a white backing which naturally attracts less heat from the sun when compared with darker colours. White is the only colour that reflects visible wavelengths of light, meaning much less heat is absorbed. This can make a big difference to office employees on those hot days.

The side of the blind that is seen by building occupants can be any colour, while the side seen from the exterior of the building is white. This is highly beneficial in multi-floor buildings with different tenants on each floor who want different blind colours. With white back blinds, each floor can have its own colour scheme while maintaining exterior uniformity.

Summary

With summer fast approaching, orders for office blinds are picking up. Commercial architects and employers know that blinds help create a comfortable workplace that improves productivity. We’ve been producing made to measure blinds for decades, developing a huge range of blinds, mechanisms and fabrics.

Our commercial office blinds are ideal to help you prevent glare and solar heating, whilst brightening up a workplace. Most of our blinds come with a lifetime warranty and offer years of trouble-free service, even under intense use. We also offer printed blinds for companies that need branded blinds for their offices. 

If you’re specifying blinds for an office block, or have a commercial blind installation project coming up, one of our experts will happily advise you on the best solution, just get in touch.