Office surroundings affect human responses.
Ever notice how some ministers’ offices make you feel tense and uninvited? The person behind the desk unconsciously says, “I am an important person so state your business and be quick about it.” Other offices are warm and inviting and make the visitor feel comfortable. What is the difference between the two rooms? How can a pastor’s office be designed so that it communicates cordiality?
First, we must realize that office surroundings do affect human responses. Several studies, the best known by Maslow and Mintz, support this.
They selected three rooms for study. One was an “ugly” room (designed to give the impression of a janitor’s storeroom in disheveled condition). One was a “beautiful” room (complete with carpeting, drapes, and so forth). And one was an “average” room (a professor’s office). Subjects were asked to rate a series of photographs of faces. The experimenters tried to keep all factors, such as time of day, odor, noise, type of seating, and experimenter, constant from room to room so that the results could be attributed to the type of room. Results showed that while in the beautiful room the subjects tended to rate the faces significantly higher than did participants in the ugly room. Experimenters and subjects alike tried to avoid the ugly room, which they described as producing monotony, fatigue, headache, discontent, sleep, irritability, and hostility. The beautiful room, however, produced feelings of pleasure, comfort, enjoyment, importance, energy, and desire to continue the activity.
Suppose your church has built a new structure in which your office is to be located. You want it to be warm and cordial but the budget does not allow for interior decorating. Here, then are some hints.
Neatness and simplicity in an office are helpful. When a member of your church comes to you for counsel, the first impression an orderly environment communicates is that you have everything under control. If a desk is clutterd with papers, unanswered letters from three weeks ago, and opened books, they may hesitate on revealing their disorder to you.
The size of the office is important. Many pastor’s offices are too small to produce desired effects. The room should be large enough to accomodate a sofa and/or a lounge chair or two. But an office can also be too spacious. An oversized office causes loss of contact with a counselee.
There are certain colors that tend to promote specific human moods. The warm colors—yellow, gold, brown—are apt to create an intimate setting. This may be accented with blue in drapes and upholstered furniture. Blue is associated with tenderness, serenity, and comfort. According to an experienced decorator, white is the worst choice to produce a warm atmosphere.
Paneling is attractive for an office but should be put on only three walls. The fourth wall needs to be varied to relieve the eyes. Walls with fabric are popular today. They are appealing and add visual softness, quietness, and texture.
Paintings can also contribute character to the office of a minister. There should be a few reflecting your own interest, as well as landscape scenes. Violent and tragic works should be avoided.
Centering a picture in a wall space or over a piece of furniture gives symmetry, while placing one off-center creates movement. Whatever suits an individual’s taste is proper. Keeping pictures at about eye level lets them be seen comfortably and relates them to furnishings.
Small pictures and diplomas should be grouped to avoid spottiness. Diplomas and awards are best placed on a side wall and not directly behind the desk, unless you want them to appear as your crowns.
Soft floor coverings give rooms a furnished, completed look, even with little furniture. They provide a friendly intimacy and explicitly relate the floor to upholstered furniture, draperies, and occupants. Carpet can also alter the apparent size and shape of a room. A good choice of texture is plush or velvet pile. The color should be subtle so as not to draw attention to itself.
Good artificial light can protect health by minimizing eyestrain, as well as contribute to the attractiveness of the office. There are two ways to light a room: incadescent or fluorescent. Most offices use fluorescent light located in ceiling panels. However, a decorator advised against the blue-white light they emit because they tend to give a room an “institutional” look and create shadows under the nose and chin. Perhaps another reason to avoid them is because of the annoying hum or flicker they sometimes produce. The ideal lighting is side lights, shaded table lamps with incandescent bulbs. With these, the light in a room is warm and full because of its orange cast. The room’s occupants look more attactive and rested.
Easy listening background music (FM stereo) is soothing and it reveals an attitude of caring and quality. Another advantage of music is that it masks distracting sounds of the environment—air conditioning, heating, hum from lights, and traffic.
The selection and arrangement of furnishings can communicate volumes to a visitor. Space can be arranged so that it encourages people to converse. People are most likely to speak when others are seated at right angles to them.
When arranging chairs, it is wise to remember that according to E. T. Hall, a pioneer in the study of proximics, social consultative distance (for personal business) ranges from four to twelve feet.
A desk is a fine place to study but it can be an obstruction when it comes to communication. An experiment conducted in a doctor’s office suggests that the presence or absence of a desk may significantly alter the patient’s at ease state. With the desk separating doctor and patient, only 10 per cent of the patients were perceived at ease. Removal of the desk brought the figure up to 55 per cent.
Generally, the minister should sit with his visitor in lounge-type chairs or sofa. However, there are times when a minister needs to maintain a business-like atmosphere. The desk can help achieve this, and the minister should remain at the desk. The chairs should be comfortable, especially if the counselee will be there long. The attitude “I can’t wait until I can stand up and get out of this uncomfortable chair” should be avoided. Upholstered chairs are preferred to vinyl, which are uninviting and can become hot. If you have a sofa, add a warm touch with a couple of throw pillows.
Interior decorators generally advise those who work with people to have personal effects in their office. A picture of the family, souvenirs, and humorous plaques are ways of showing the humanness of the person whose name is on the door.
You can design your office so that it shows cordiality and warmth. Remember that your surroundings preach volumes and have an effect upon interpersonal communication.—GREG HULLINGER, youth pastor, Prairie Creek Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas.
