Ever think about your company as an environment? Part of a holistic world in which your employees spend a third of their lives?

Think of your employees as a part of the environment in which they work. How they interact with their workplace, and how it interacts with them, can play a big part in increasing efficiency, and employee morale.

Workers are happier if they like their workplace. They perform better; they treat their coworkers better; and they like their jobs better.

The hottest thing in commercial interior design right now is what's known as "sensory" or "holistic" layout, taking stock of the five senses -- sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell -- and making sure they all work together to create a comfortable work place.

"The key to a successful work environment is to tie the way people work to the company's objectives," says Jane Devine, Director of Design Services at Forrer Business Interiors of Milwaukee. "Every company is different, with different cultures, different personalities. How you use a space, the type of work you do, and how you interact with your coworkers, all play a part."

Using lighting, color and music of a certain tempo, you can create an atmosphere that encourages employees to linger, or to leave. Fast food restaurants, for instance, want customers to buy, eat and leave quickly to make room for more customers. But a book store or clothing store may want customers to relax and explore at a more leisurely pace.

Review your workplace for the five senses and how your employees respond to them:

1. Sight
   Does your office look like good clean fun? Adequate lighting is a minimum. Small dark rooms inhibit performance, make us feel claustrophobic.

   Clean up. Remove the clutter. It makes you look disorganized, and may make your people disorganized, too.

   Colors should be bright and cheery, but not too busy. Try using colors in a color scheme. Browns and olive greens, for example, with an accent of dark red for contrast. Blues and deep greens create a sense of calm and tranquillity.

   A few decorative pieces in keeping with the nature of your business can help inspire teamwork, or serve as a reminder of why you're in business.

   An acquaintance who manufactures airplanes has the propeller from the World War II vintage P-40 in which he was shot down over Holland. [It was discovered by Dutch excavation workers several decades after the war and returned to him.] It hangs in the reception area of his plant and serves as both an inspiration and a conversation piece.

2. Sound
   Music playing in the workplace can be soothing and help employees perform better. It can also mask conversations, so workers in open offices or cubicles maintain a level of privacy.

   A word of caution: the best background music is just that, music that stays in the background. Stay away from music with vocals. No hard rock 'n roll. Smooth jazz or classical music often work best.

3. Touch
   Tactile images give a sense of warmth and security to your work environment. Done smartly, they can be combined with design elements to create a mood, delineate work areas or separate work stations. Displays, counters, and plants all play a role in creating a comfortable, "touchable" workplace.

   At Forrer Business Interiors in Milwaukee, Devine, used seven different carpets in the company's new reception area. The design immediately offers traffic flow options, and the varying textures create a sense of warmth and welcome for new arrivals.

4. Smell
   Aroma is receiving increasing attention among interior designers. Your real estate agent recommends you bake bread before showing your house. This same principle works in your office, too. Our olfactory senses can create a mood, a sense of "home" in our work place. Even the smell of fresh-brewed coffee can create a sense of warmth and hospitality.

   Retailers use this method effectively. A local shoe store emphasizing outdoor boots and hiking equipment used a working waterfall, the sound of crickets chirping and pine scent in the air to create an ambience consistent with the sale items.

5. Taste
   You might think the sense of taste would be difficult to apply in the workplace, unless you operate a restaurant or bakery. But it can be featured even in environments that do not serve food.

   A good cup of coffee, for example, can brighten an early-morning meeting. Every training session at Ameritech features some form of food, candy, gum or beverage. The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency has a bowl of apples on every reception desk in every office throughout the world. Breaking bread together creates a bond between coworkers. It's why so many deals are done over lunch or dinner.

Using this holistic approach in your work place can make your employees more productive, too. It can improve their sense of camaraderie. Happy employees are more likely to stick with you longer and more likely to make your customers happy, too

It's amazing what a little fresh coffee, new carpeting and chirping crickets can d