The Startup Office EnvironmentToday, an office space needs to have a soul and speak for values it stands for.

Expensive art, over- the- top preachy phrases stuck onto walls is passé. Today, an office space needs to have a soul and speak for values it stands for. Offices across India are acknowledging that a work environment should inspire an employee rather than act like a pressure cooker. To ease off this pressure, they are ready to walk an extra mile for their employees to create that perfect space. After all, some of the best ideas germinate when the mind is free! Entrepreneur explores offices who are riding high on the cool quotient.

'Colors-piration'

It's a color fest at Posist! One cannot help notice the use of bold, vibrant colors enhancing the look and feel of the office space. Who would really think of yellow, pink walls and a blue ceiling? Employees can walk in their pyjamas, chill on the terrace while having hookah and a mug of coffee. This one has its heart in the right place.

Dhu Eppdi Irukku? (How's This?)

It's literally raining Rajinikanth at Freshdesk! For Founder, Girish Mathrubootham, superstar Rajinikanth
has been a constant source of inspiration throughout his entrepreneurial journey. He features off- the- wall art in the office, serving as an inspiration to everyone in the office.

Freshdesk uses vibrant colors, interesting hues, adding to the freshness quotient. The artwork, the messages spread across the walls using props (literally - a bicycle cut in half, and a ladder which are both attached to the wall) and the bio-wall (a living, organic wall which has greenery growing on top of it and water tubes going around it to keep it fresh all the time) are all out of the box elements.

"To break the cliché' that offices are boring and dull, we made sure that the colors we chose for our office were bright and quirky," says Vignesh Vijayakumar, Corporate Marketing, Freshdesk.

"The Informal Space'

An open design, public workstations, sans closed secretive cubicles, AdPushup has made the best possible used of the available floor space. Instead of hiring an interior decorator, they used software to build mock-ups of the office and voted on that design as the construction went on. Clever idea for a start-up!

The office color theme matches with all the communication channels they have - from website, ads, sales flyers, laptop stickers to even coasters, cupsand cutlery that are in the office. The most popular part of the office is the "bull pen' as all discussions, parties and town-halls are held there. Table Tennis has picked up in AdPushup with almost eight out of ten people playing it to blow off steam.

"Mumbai-yeah'

At Directi's Mumbai office, auto rickshaw and bus stop installations greet you as soon as you walk in through the lift, grabbing your attention immediately.

"Auto rickshaws are an important part of Mumbai lifestyle, and it was the perfect bold installation to achieve the Mumbai street theme look. It's fun, and represents the city and our open office culture aptly," says Umesh Agnani, Head - Infrastructure & Project, Directi.

Conceptualized by Architectural Firm Transitions, the office provides people a relaxed and informal atmosphere to work in.

The office has colorful bright work stations, bean bags, gaming consoles etc. Directi boasts of an open culture with seamless access to top management and an informal networking based approach to
conducting meetings.

Directi takes feedback from employees and incorporates it. Some of them are:
>>Sit – Stand Workstations
>>Movable furniture and sofas, between formal desks for random meets and get-togethers
>>Larger desks in managerial cabins for ease of discussions and meetings
>>Sound resistant work areas.

This article first appeared in the Indian edition of Entrepreneur magazine (July 2016 Issue).