Though women make up nearly 52 percent of the professional-level job positions in the U.S., according to the Center for American Progress, the average workplace often lacks any feminine energy. In fact, the cold, stark walls and angular desks and equipment hardly offer owners and employees any positive energy at all. But businesses do not have to be lifeless and soulless. The modern working woman can bring vivacity and panache into the workplace while maintaining an appropriate and professional demeanor. The right attitude, look and office decor can transform the workplace from a drab and uncultivated space into a positive, productive one.
The Right Attitude
Never underestimate the power of positivism. One method of giving you attitude at work a a healthy boost is self-awareness. Become familiar with tasks, people, and circumstances that tend to sap your energy throughout your workday. Identifying these will allow you to limit them, or at least space them out each day instead of trying to barrel through them in one sitting.
In addition, allow yourself a designated amount of time to focus on your work without distraction. Studies conducted by positive psychology expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that individuals that experience a feeling of engagement in their work activities, a phenomenon he calls “flow,” do not note the passage of time, which contributed to their productivity and work satisfaction. And a positive employee works more efficiently and mentally processes more efficiently than those with a negative outlook.
The Right Look
In an ideal business world, no one would be judged on their appearance, but in this imperfect setting, how people look affects how they are treated in the workplace. But that doesn’t mean that women have to dress like men to get the respect they deserve. The key aspects of female attire in the workplace are clean, neat, tailored clothes. Unironed suits, or suits that fit too tightly or too loosely, suggest a lack of concern for, or a lack of pride in one’s work.
Standard professional attire for women in the workplace include button up shirts that do not gap when worn and skirts longer than the tips of one’s fingers when standing with arms down at the sides. Though these standards do promote professionalism, they lack style. Adding a pop of color, either with jewelry, a handbag, or elegant broach, can give a woman’s wardrobe an appropriate charge of positive, feminine energy.
The Right Decor
An environment of positive energy requires natural lighting, as opposed to the aggressive, lifeless glare of florescent indoor lighting. Attractive custom draperies and blinds that allow ample light in but can be adjusted for comfort, are a workplace essential. Even the colors displayed in a workplace can drain the positive energy from the space. Stark, white walls can strain the eye and the brain, while cooler colors often work well in creating a calm and efficient atmosphere in the office, and shades like olive green have been found to encourage concentration. But for the professional woman looking to generate some appropriate energy, warmer combinations of colors, like orange and red can stimulate productivity and innovation. Just be careful not to overdo it. Bold colors can be overwhelming to the eye.
Also, adding some literal life to your office or work space is a genius way to pull in positive, feminine energy. Flowers, commonly associated with femininity, can not only bring a touch of softer professional flare to an office, but can benefit both men and women. A Texas A&M University study found that incorporating plants and flowers into an office increased creative performance and innovative thinking in both women and men. Men experienced a 15 percent increase in work ideas and women generated more creative solutions to potential problems.
Even in the modern world, where society has made leaps and bounds in creating workplaces of equality, women still only hold 14 percent of executive positions in business, according to the Center for American Progress. But women are still climbing that corporate ladder at a steady pace and bringing a little positive feminine energy into the office can increase the quality of work produced by all employees as well as soften the harsh landscape of the traditional business environment.
