The Internet's Top 10 Feng Shui Office Tips
[REVIEWED]
Having a Feng Shui office has many benefits. It can help people feel more calm and harmonious, which is essential if you work in a stressful field, which everyone seems to be in after 2020 and 2021.
With a peaceful office, you or your employees will get to accomplish tasks with a minimal amount of environmental distractions. If you want to foster a Feng Shui career, keep reading. We’ll get into all the internet’s top 10 tips about creating your Feng Shui workplace culture and find out which ones can work for you.
Here are the Internet’s top ten tips for creating good office Feng Shui that we'll be reviewing:
- Determine the Commanding Position.
- Organize and Declutter.
- Use plants to breathe life into the space.
- Inspire with the Right images.
- Use Natural Lighting.
- Make use of the 5 Elements.
- Bagua-fy your desk.
- Ergonomics to keep you productive.
- Open windows to let the fresh air in.
- Place your back against a solid wall.
Tip #1: Determine the Commanding Position
The internet says: “The commanding position is where you’ll spend most of your time, according to Feng Shui guidelines. Pick a spot furthest from the door and at a diagonal angle from it. In Feng Shui tradition, this is the commanding position. Place your desk here.”
Dean Says: I’ve mentioned this in previous articles, and it is worth mentioning again that the commanding position in Feng Shui is more like a “hard-wired” safety mechanism from our evolutionary fight or flight days. It is a real phenomena that does need to be respected. Employees that feel watched over will usually be less caring and efficient in the workplace.
The majority of office workers are in open plan situations like this picture, so there usually needs to be other Feng Shui cures, colors and placements to make up for the lack of commanding positions available for all employees.
If you work from home, or have the luxury of choosing where you sit at work, then the commanding position is a good place to start.
Tip #2: Organize and De-Clutter the Space
The internet says: “According to Feng Shui principles, the clutter weighs us down and prevents the energy from freely flowing in our space. While every office will have a bit of clutter now and then, you should keep it to a minimum. How do you avoid accumulating clutter? Implement a one-touch policy. When an item comes across your desk, touch it once and decide whether you want to keep it or throw it away. Don’t keep it unless you know you’ll need it later. “
Dean Says: Usually I am a little hard on the “de-cluttering is Feng Shui” crowd, but in an office or work environment, I believe it is very important. In an office, the filing and bookwork are the backbone of the business and any disorganization can lead to financial loss. This includes electronic filing as much as paperwork.
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Server rooms are some of the biggest culprits that I’ve found in many businesses.
In an industrial environment, lives can be at stake if a work site is cluttered, messy and disorganized. Many industrial accidents are a direct result of management and workers not caring about the state of their work site. While De-cluttering isn’t Feng Shui, it is still an important part of working efficiently and stress-free.
Tip #3: Incorporate Plants in the Decor
The internet says: “Do you have a green thumb? Have you always wanted to incorporate plants into your decor but never knew how? “If so, this is the perfect opportunity. A well-cared-for plant is great at promoting the Feng Shui of your space. In fact, plants strengthen the wood element (learn more about the elements below!) and encourage growth. So, whether you want to grow your career or your personal life, plants are a great addition! However, not all plants serve the same purpose. Plants with round leaves foster greater harmony, while ones with pointy edges emphasize protection. The plants you choose will influence the energy lingering in your space.”
Dean Says: The color green and being in nature has been shown to create a calming feeling. An office green space is like an oasis amongst the technology, especially considering that new research shows that humans can be very sensitive to variations in magnetic fields.
The shapes of the leaves is an interesting concept, however it isn’t the most important consideration for plants in Feng Shui. The color, shape and materials of the pot, the potting mix (Earth) supporting the plant as well as the Wood Element of the plant should be considered. Is the plant grown in water like the lucky bamboo you see everywhere? Work out the Flying Stars and 8 Mansions first, then decide where plants should be placed.
Tip #4: Choose Inspiring and Family-Related Images
The internet says: “Feng Shui principles inspire people to work on self-growth and connecting to their family members. As such, you should buy some wall hangings with motivational sayings on them. This will might give you the extra kick you need when your motivation lags. You should also have a few pictures of your family. When you can look at your desk and see your loved ones, you’ll be reminded of the good things you have in your life. This becomes a source of comfort to workers when they have stressful days.”
Dean Says: I sincerely hope that your workplace is not like Homer’s. Even though this Tip is more of a ‘Law of Attraction’ remedy than traditional Feng Shui, I feel that in this society’s competitive workplaces, working from home while schooling from home and the new gig economy, it is always good to remember why you are working so hard. I’ve personally found that this Tip helps to keep me focused on what’s important in my life.
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Tip #5: Use Natural Lighting
The internet says: “People benefit from the use of natural lighting. In Feng Shui teachings, lighting impacts your energy. Harsh, artificial lighting doesn’t take advantage of the body’s natural response to sunlight. When you open up a window to welcome in natural lighting, you’ll feel more energized to face the day. Exposure to natural light also causes you to absorb more vitamin D, which you get from the sun’s rays. Vitamin D can help you combat depression, especially in the winter months. So, welcoming in the light can improve your energy and your mental health.”
Dean Says: Common fluorescent tube lighting has now had many studies done showing that it increases eye disease and exposure to UV radiation. Even 6000K ‘natural light’ tubes will create a UV discharge but will be better for your eyes.
The new generation of LED lights have their own health problems – “The AMA says that life-long exposure of the retina and lens to blue peaks from LEDs can increase the risk of cataract and age-related macular degeneration.”
Since the majority of people’s work hours are during daylight, and in front of blue light emitting LED/LCD monitors, it is best to have blinds and curtains open as much as possible during the day. Shift workers should try to be in the sun at least a little every day.
Even though we always hear that we should stay out of the sun, getting sunshine on your body can positively affect your physical and mental wellbeing. If you are inside all day every day, then you may not be getting the full spectrum of light and color to stay healthy.
Tip #6: Incorporate the Colors of the Five Elements
The internet says: “The five elements play an important role in Feng Shui. The elements are water, fire, earth, wood, and metal. Water represents flow and is characterized by the color black and wavy shapes. Fire stands for passion, incorporates pointed shapes, and features red hues. You can bring earth into a room by incorporating yellow and focusing on decor that reminds you of self-care. Wood indicates upward growth. Its colors are green and blue. Finally, metal stands for both efficiency and beauty and is represented by round objects and metallic shades. By bringing each of the different colors into your office, you’ll achieve an energetic balance. You can also look at these items whenever you need to remind yourself to harness those energies.”
Dean Says: While this Tip is always technically correct, it really doesn’t tell you how to do it. If you are using the Flying Stars, you need to determine if you need to support the ‘mountain’ or ‘water’ star.
For example, an office with a 9 Fire ‘mountain’ star and a 7 Metal ‘water’ star would definitely like to see the 9 ‘future health’ supported and the 7 ‘legal/thieves/lose money’ weakened. In this case it can be done with Water and Wood colors, and with mountain forms (higher) rather than water forms (lower). You definitely wouldn’t place a water feature here according the Flying Stars.
Tip #7: Use the Bagua on Your Desk
The internet says: “According to the most popular websites on the internet, at the heart of a Feng Shui office, there’s the Bagua. What is the Bagua? In Chinese, “Ba” means “eight” and “gua” means “area.” In a Feng Shui building, the Bagua refers to the eight different areas of the space. At the center of every Bagua layout, there’s a space dedicated to health and unity. For your desk, this can refer to anything that promotes health and unity for you. For example, you could incorporate all the elements’ colors. The other elements of the Bagua are career, knowledge and self-cultivation, helpful people, creativity, relationships, reputation, wealth, and family. Nearest to you, place your computer (career). To your left, store some career growth books (knowledge and self-cultivation). On your right, place your phone (helpful people). Just above the phone, include any tools you need in your work, such as pencils or a stapler (creativity). In the top righthand corner, feature photos of your partner (relationships). Next to the photos, put items that inspire you to grow your reputation (reputation). The top lefthand corner can have green plants and an accounting calculator (wealth). Below it, organize some pictures of your family (family).”
Dean Says: The first and foremost thing you should do with your desk is make sure that it is both in one of the office’s good sectors and facing towards one of your personal good directions. Which school of Feng Shui and/or Chinese Astrology you use to calculate these is up to you, try to learn as many as you can if you are interested in being a practitioner.
The second thing is to ensure that your desk, screen and other work items are good for your posture.
Remember that the popular Feng Shui Bagua is based on the Lo Shu and 8 Trigrams, so if you do rearrange your desk, it is better to be in alignment with those than trying to fit all the paraphernalia given in the common tips listed above.
Tip #8: Choose the Right Chair
The internet says: “Did you know that the chair you use matters in Feng Shui? When you purchase an office chair, you should look for one with a high back. This helps you feel more supported. If possible, try the chair out before you purchase it and see if you think the way it supports your body would translate into feeling more supported while you work.”
Dean Says: I think this is more to do with OSHA and HR than Feng Shui 🙂 Could this be the ergonomic office chair of the future?
Tip #9: Get Good Airflow
The internet says: “Energy enters through your doors and windows and flows throughout the room. As such, you need to make sure your space has good airflow. Open up a window in the warmer months to let the energy in. If it’s cold outside, make sure your heating system makes minimal use of a fan, which can stir up bad energy.”
Dean Says: This tip is much like the natural lighting Tip – not really Feng Shui, apart from taking into account that we are living, breathing beings, not robots. As I’ve said in other articles where this Tip places highly, the airflow needs to come from and leave according to Form school as well as taking Compass schools like Flying Stars and 8 Mansions into account.
Tip #10: Place Your Back Against a Solid Wall
The internet says: “Being against a solid wall is important in Feng Shui, especially if you don’t like high-backed chairs. When you sit at your desk, try to make sure your back is against a wall. This will help you feel more supported.”
Dean Says: This Tip is based on the principle of ‘out to in’, or having your back to an external wall facing your desk towards the centre of the room/office/building so you can catch the good Chi as it comes in. This is a pretty good tip in conjunction with the commanding position.
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Having a good Feng Shui office is essential to the success of your career or business.
Most people spend at least eight hours a day working. If you want to grow as a person and pay your bills, you need to keep the right energies in your space.
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