The way we have worked has drastically changed due to the pandemic and as a result, many employees now split their time between remote and office working. As offices look to attract teams back to the office and put more of an emphasis on employee wellbeing, art can prove a valuable tool to do so.
It’s becoming more common for workplaces to focus on art, as they look to their art collections to help communicate their values, spark conversation, and improve wellbeing. When strategically executed in the workplace, a curated art collection can provide benefits to employees and clients. In fact, studies have found that art has enormous benefits for employees, increasing their productivity by 35% and wellbeing by 42%.
An art collection plays an important role in making the right impression. It will be the first visual interaction between a client and potential partner, proving the importance of curating the right collection. People increasingly want their spaces to reflect the cultural landscape and want to feel inspired by their surroundings.
Equally, businesses want to use art collections to demonstrate their shared values. Increasingly, commitments to sustainability and diversity are becoming more prominent in company requests. Where larger companies are focussing on the tools they can use to attract talent and ensure their employees are engaged, they are looking to lease art collections which are regularly rotated.
By renting art pieces, a regular income is generated for the artists of the chosen work. Where these collections are local focussed, there is the additional benefit of putting money back into the local cultural economy.
Where there has been an overall shift in corporate clients opting for artwork, we can also track this down to individual industries. We are seeing more law firms making representation and diversity a focus. For example, law firm Mayer Brown has an internal women’s association which opted for a collection from mostly female and non-binary artists as a subsequent trend, we are now seeing a demand for more environmentally conscious artwork across both the financial and tech sectors with an increasing desire for tech-enabled art. Art is a contributing factor to employee wellbeing which should be a priority in every workplace. In our own office, as a business we offer a variation of team initiatives to our employees. For example, we offer culture days, charity days and a day of paid leave when moving house to help alleviate extra stress. Sabbaticals are offered at intervals of someone’s career, as well as hybrid working on offer.
Supporting employee mental health is a driving factor in retention and attraction. It also makes the workplace a more positive, enjoyable environment. In ever changing times, art has the potential to communicate values on a mass scale, as well as support the creative community in a sustained way.
Courtesy BDaily. By Lucie Hayes. Article available here.
