By Gary Hendrickson
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11 Feb, 2020
Today more than ever, corporations worldwide are turning to the ancient art and science of feng shui to increase their bottom line. International banking institutions, restaurants around the globe, accounting firms, realty firms, architecture and interior design firms and even developers including Donald Trump use feng shui to add extra benefit to client’s projects and increase revenue. Interestingly enough, that’s not the only benefit for companies integrating this 6000-year-old practice to their operations and space development. From higher occupancy rates, lower tenant turnover, lower maintenance & infrastructure repairs, Feng shui works on many levels of a business’ set up and daily activities. Besides increased profits and larger client bases, employees often have lower absenteeism and increased productivity. The office environment commonly gets an “A+” rating by employees enjoying a more pleasant work place atmosphere when feng shui is used. Utilizing these old principles of design set in a contemporary context, office layout and space planning takes on a new, deeper meaning and more specific application. By analyzing an existing building based on its original year of construction and the direction in compass degrees that the building faces, a skilled designer can track, understand and lay over the floor plan an “energy map” of the space which allows a very accurate plan of the best color schemes throughout the spaces which, when implemented into the paint colors, flooring and furniture choices, creates an environment that can literally be felt by almost anyone in terms of how comfortable, attractive and stimulating it feels. Workers enjoy coming to work more due to the improved ambiance, and higher productivity, and, increased revenues are commonly reported following implementation of feng shui principles. On a more detailed level, one of the most powerful aspects of feng shui to an employer is having a work force that is motivated to higher achievement and is prone to lower absenteeism. An experienced feng shui designer can accomplish this 100% of the time if starting at the beginning stages of a company development, expansion plan or a relocation operation. The feng shui designer can create the ideal space plan with each employee being designated a specific desk/chair direction for them to be facing, placing them into their most productive direction orientation. Each person has a set of directions that make them focused, energized, happy and productive to face when sitting at a well-oriented workstation, and conversely, some directions which when facing would drain their energy levels, and make them irritable, unhealthy, bored, unproductive and much less efficient. Even within existing layouts workstations can sometimes be swapped between employees who both face unproductive directions, or rotated in place to accommodate better productivity for workers, while still maintaining good circulation within the existing space plan. Finally, one additional valuable Feng Shui benefit to an employer is available when analyzing each employee and their contribution, or lack thereof to the corporate culture. Valuable insight can be gained into employee personality conflicts, which can derail team cooperation and delay any projected project timeline when gossip and disputes are ringing through the halls. Fortunately, this can be perceived easily by the feng shui practitioner and can be dealt with through various means chosen by the employer, assisted by the practitioner. Feng Shui Design International is such a firm that works on all levels of consultation, design and employer/employee orientation discussions or presentations. With my over 44 years of architectural, development and interior design/space planning experience with contract interiors and feng shui, I am highly suited to assisting corporations in any of their design, relocation or efficiency and bottom-line-increasing consultations. See our Corporate Design Section or call (720) 936-6009 for more information.