How can we ensure that the office smells well and why is that important?
Aroma design – modern office arrangement
Despite what one might think, office arrangement should not be limited only to designing the interiors or its practical equipment. An important factor that is frequently overlooked is the scent that fills the office. Not everybody is aware that the fact that the office smells of lavender and not lunch has a major impact on the company. What will a customer think entering an office that smells of must? Despite appearances, that smell can be found quite often, also in conference halls and directors offices. Is that a good impression for a modern, professional service? Rather for a lack of hygiene and an old-fashioned way of running a business that does not inspire trust – explains Anita Romanowska, Scent Image Expert of Aroma Design company.
Aromatherapy for employees
Aroma design, meaning the right selection of scents for an office, may assist with building a professional image of a company. However, in case of office spaces the aim of spraying them with specific fragrances should be not only masking bad odours, but mainly using the appropriate scents to motivate the workers. How is that possible? The right selection of scent themes is enough to effectively prompt an employee to work or to positively impact on their concentration. Scents in the form of professional office perfumes are capable of effectively shaping the moods of the people staying at the premises filled with the aromas. The choice of the appropriate fragrance can successfully increase the productivity of the workers and improve their moods. A joyful mood may be created in an office using a composition of smells with citrus notes: lime, orange and mandarin. These scents boost energy levels and can make workers more awake more efficiently than coffee – argues Anita Romanowska. In the autumn, to prevent the grey, rainy climate from influencing us, we can easily change our mood and increase the willingness to work by spraying the mentioned citrus scents around. Some scent compositions can create an enthusiastic attitude. Another benefit of citrus notes is that they can assist our concentration – she adds.
Office perfumes can also cancel the negative impact of stress. The aroma of white tea, lavender or white water lily help relieve general tension and replace it with a feeling of relief and relaxation.
| Employee's mood | Recommended scent notes |
|---|---|
| Irritation | Oils: orange, rose, sandalwood, rosemary |
| Dejection, apathy | Oils: lemon, mint, lime |
| General tension, exhaustion | Oils: lavender, bergamot, eucalyptus |
While selecting the right aroma for the office space it may be recommendable to listen to advice of a specialist in aroma design. A random smell may not only be inappropriate for the character of the business, but also influence the employees negatively. Persons undecided about a specific scent notes can test different fragrance variations using spray testers. They help to make sure which of the smells works best in a given office.
How to use them?
The function of the right smell in the office is understood. But how should other scent notes be used to effectively influence the workers? How to spread the aroma so that it does not evaporate within twenty minutes, or does not become overwhelming?
Office owners have a few options. It depends on the financial input and the effects one wants to achieve through using specific scent notes.
If aromatherapy is meant to be an occasional effort, directed at a specific worker (for example in case of their sleepiness or concentration problems), we may decide to buy a scented oil warmer. Because of its small size and cost it will not put a strain on the budget or take up the office space. However, this kind of scent distribution is not the perfect solution. The source of flame inside the warmer, as well as greasy oils in its base may create a serious risk for the adjacent documents. Moreover, warmed up oil may lose some of its scent notes. Apart from that, the oil warmer will affect a small area, proportionally to its size - explains the Aroma Design expert.
In case of big office spaces aromatic humidifiers are also not effective. In addition, the increasing air humidity is another risk created by these devices. Because of that, humidifier usage is only recommended in rooms with good air-conditioning, which on the other hand may undermine the desired effect, which scented oils are supposed to achieve.
So how should we make sure that the level of scent in the office is right and safe? We just have to acquire a professional aromatiser. The device is equipped in an operation programmer, because of which it does not require manual control. In addition, various models with differing reach of operation are available (from a few to around a dozen metres), which helps adjust the device to the individual office space.
Aromatisers use interior perfumes with a neutraliser, which cancel out unwanted smells, which may be found in an office – stresses Anita Romanowska. Smaller devices can be placed on a chest of drawers, bigger ones on the floor or they can be installed on the wall. There are also models that can be connected to the building's ventilation system.
Electric aromatisers can be purchased from only 260 Zloty.
Deciding on the specific smells for the office it is important to also remember about the right intensity. A delicate, discrete scent is most desired. It was also confirmed by the results of the research published by Wroclaw School of Social Psychology. A test conducted on a group of 80 people proved that a delicate, subtle scent had the best influence on the participants' mood.