I remember a feeling a few years ago, when a friend of mine posted pictures on Facebook of his new office.

He was a strategic planner at a large international organization, having been there about 6 months since finishing his master’s degree. He quite literally makes the world a better place. Not a bad gig. When he learned that he would be moving out of the office he shared with someone else and getting his own space, his thoughts turned to making this new place his own, and based on the pics I saw, he did exactly that. The tasteful artwork, the flowers and other amenities, the well-organized desk, all fit his personality. Nice.

Like my friend, I was a strategic planner in a large bureaucracy, but unlike my friend, I worked in an area reminiscent of a Dilbert cartoon, or a minimum-security prison. As I looked at his pictures I remember glancing around the three walls of my cubicle. Photos and mementos were propped up against the walls because there was no way to hang anything. I did not have room for all the books I needed, so most of them were stored at home and I had to make notes to myself to remember to bring them in as needed. I got to listen to all my neighbors: the guy in his 20s with ADD, the single father in his 30s who was pretty sure the world was supposed to revolve around his needs, and the new lady in her 40s who spent her days gossiping on the phone with people from her past jobs. It was not exactly an environment where I could do my best work. The only times in my career when I have had anything even come close to a proper office has been when I was teaching, and that was because we needed a space for sensitive conversations with students.

Your employees need a space where they can be their most productive. What that space will be will vary based on the needs of your organization and the personalities of your employees. Hair stylists don’t need individual offices, but they benefit from a well-designed salon. Creative teams might use individual work spaces but then need a communal area to come together when the team needs to function like a single individual. Truly creative people often like to surround themselves with a creative style, and will be more productive if they are working in a space to which they enjoy coming, rather than one which they cannot wait to leave.

Your own professional experience will help you understand what works well. Talking with your employees will help you understand what THEY think works well. The trick, of course, is to find the available space and make it happen.

You cannot always do that. If you are in an established space and cannot afford to move, then even if it is less than optimal you are probably stuck with it. Try to create the best environment you can in the space where you have to be. If you are just starting out, you may not be able to afford much, but at least give some thought to finding the right layout. If you cannot get what you need now, put it in your business plan that you will try to move to a better space by a certain point. You just need to do the best you can with what you have, but be sure to talk to your employees so you know how to define “the best.” If the physical layout is not that great, let your employees have some freedom when it comes to decorating and livening up the place.

If nothing else is possible, just bring in some fresh flowers every now and then. And maybe some cupcakes. Because everything seems nicer with flowers and cupcakes.