Feng Shui for your office

Millions of people around the world practice Feng Shui. By adopting some of the Feng Shui techniques many believe it will improve the office environment and harmony.

You can try Feng Shui in your office by reading our guide from a leading expert, who has extensive experience in implementing these techniques in businesses.

Feng Shui for your Office by John Sandifer FSSA

1. Face the future
In an ideal world your desk should face out towards the centre of the office or indeed the door. The worst case scenario is that if you have your back to the door or face out to the window or even worse, face a blank wall. Facing a wall means that your future is blocked!

2. The entrance – Who are you?
The entrance of any building and especially an office can be seen from a Feng Shui perspective in the same light as a mouth would be to a body. It needs to be open enough and large enough to receive the opportunities. A small badly lit entrance is not a clever idea. You should also have clearly visible your logo, which in a modern context represents your mission statement. All of this bodes well for the future of the company.

3. Bringing nature into the office
The work environment nowadays is inevitably fast, quick, alert, active and what the Chinese call Yang. Precision and accuracy are the watch words of any successful business. The opposite however, is known as Yin. This is the quiet, dreamy, more creative side that should go hand in hand with the Yang. To bring this aspect into the workplace I encourage you to use healthy vibrant plants to remind you of the Yin aspect of nature and to bring freshness and vitality into the office. The best plants to use are Peace Lilys- which in addition help to ionise the atmosphere.

4. Avoid the distractions
If your desk happens to be in a direct line between the window and the door, you will always feel distracted. The ideal position is that you can see the door clearly from where you sit and that you do not have a door behind you, or worse than that, distractions that can come from behind. You need to see clearly the way ahead and to notice where the Chi is coming from as these are potentially sources of luck but also possible danger.

5. What is clutter?
A good definition of clutter is to describe it as things we no longer need, find useful or indeed love. Clutter is often associated with the past. Good practice is to de-clutter your desk at least once a month. I would remove all files from the floor and put into storage using Avery Filing Labels to clearly label any files that you do not currently use as these can start to become clutter.

6. Your chair is your Mountain and your support
In Feng Shui what lies behind you is known as the 'Mountain'. In your home, in your office and in the environment the 'Mountain' provides stability and strength. Therefore look carefully at the chair you use at work. It should ideally be high backed and have arms on either side to give additional support. It needs to be comfortable and functional. Look at any chair used by a successful person or individual or indeed the Queen or an Emperor of China!

7. Your desk
Your desk is a mirror of how your work can be seen or noticed by others but more importantly it can reflect you. The top left hand corner as you look away from your desk represents wealth and money. Keep an object here that you regard as valuable or represents an aspiration of yours in the area of success and money. Straight ahead of you is an area of your desk associated with fire and is known as 'Fame' in Feng Shui. Put an image or a reminder here of any awards you may have received. The most obvious thing to place here is your name so that people know who you are, use an Avery Removable Label so it doesn't mark the surface and can be easily removed if you move desks. The top right hand corner of your desk in Feng Shui represents relationship. Here I encourage you to keep a photo of the one you love, or your family or in a strictly business sense your most important client's logo.

8. Uplifting images
Artwork on the walls in the office are continual reminders on a subliminal level. Therefore make sure that the images you can see on a daily basis are inspiring and uplifting. If it is possible, have an image ahead of you on the wall that reminds you of your goal in life or indeed your life journey or purpose. It should not be seen as a struggle but a joy!