How To Make Your Office Twice As Cool

From abstract-shaped windows to a running track, it seems companies are on the relentless search to break free of the monotony in the traditional office space. (You’ve seen the movie, right?)

Knowing cool colors are supposed to make us feel more relaxed, and that we can get more done when the office air conditioning isn’t on full blast, gives employers a few basic ideas for creating a happier environment for workers.

But there’s a lot more to creating an awesome workspace than just painting the walls and throwing in beanbag chairs. If you really want to re-design your workspace to inspire innovation and increase productivity, check out these 14 office hacks successful entrepreneurs have used to create a more positive, productive work environment:

1. Democratize "Culture"

Startups talk a lot about culture, so our office decided to make a game of it. Each month, one person on our team is appointed Culture Captain. He/she is given a dedicated budget to spend at his/her discretion on anything that makes our workplace more fun. From after hours drinks to surprise milk and cookie breaks, it's a great way to infuse a little bit of unexpected fun into long days. – Brittany Hodak, ZinePak

2. Add Some Recreation

Having a place to move around or just relax for a few minutes can make a big difference. Whether it’s a basketball court, a place where you can shoot darts, play a quick game or another type of outlet, sometimes just moving around gets the creative juices flowing. It's all a great way to just get people away from their desks and build camaraderie. – Phil Laboon, Eyeflow Internet Marketing

3. Celebrate Birthdays

Have birthday parties for your employees. No matter what their age is, everyone appreciates a birthday surprise. We started celebrating birthdays in our office, and it created a celebratory atmosphere. The birthday guy or girl wears a hat and gives out the treat that the company ordered. From sushi to ice cream and donuts, we've had it all! – Elliot Bohm, Cardcash.com

4. Encourage Individuality

Encourage your employees to make their work spaces their own and decorate to showcase their individuality. This can transform the atmosphere overnight and make employees happier at work. – Simon Casuto, eLearning Mind

5. Deploy Technology

We spent small dollars on mounted TVs, chromecasts, iPads (for conference room bookings,) a few beacons and a conference booking system by Robin. These are small purchases and easy to implement, but the general feeling for employees went from "regular creative office" to "working in the future." Was definitely worth the investment. – Brennan White, Cortex

6. Offer Lifestyle Benefits

Some company benefits for employees that I think are cool include: laundry on site, dry cleaning, massages, daycare, shipping/receiving of personal mail and packages, catered lunches, new paint and decor every 30-60 days and pets. These are just a few, but seem like a really great way to make your employee’s life that much easier. – Justin Boggs, OfferSavvy

7. Stock Up on Games

The best thing about stocking games is that they are not only an awesome perk, they create a feeling of teamwork and excitement as well. We have a foosball table, a Wii U with Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, and a set of board and card games. When someone comes through and the team is playing a high stakes game of foosball or driving in Mario Kart, the excitement can be infectious. – James Avery, Adzerk

8. Use The Walls as Whiteboards

We painted all of our interior walls with whiteboard paint so that our entire office is a place for creative experiment. Everyone writes on the windows and walls, and it makes the office feel full of creative energy and vibrancy. And our team loves it -- that's pretty cool to us! – Brewster Stanislaw, Inside Social

9. Hire For Both Talent and Chemistry

No matter how many free catered lunches, unlimited vacations, hip work lofts, and puppies you add to your office, at the end of the day, all that matters is great chemistry. To double your office cool quotient, hire talented people with the kind of chemistry that jives with you and your team members. It only takes one bad apple to spoil a cool office. – Mary Ray, MyHealthTeams

10. Host Friday BBQs and Happy Hours

After a busy week, it's nice to kick back with a little R&R, reflect on the week and chat about general happenings in the business. At Yeti, we frequently host BBQs on Fridays, where we invite friends, grill and have a drink. Buying some grillables and a few beers goes a long way to lighten the mood, reward hard work and allow the team to mingle and get to know each other. – Anthony Scherba, Yeti

11. Create a Fitness Room

Creating a fitness room in your office for individual workouts and team sports will offer you and your employees an outlet for stress, a fun space to grow interpersonally, and a way to stay fit and healthy. Plus, you’ll look cool when you show off the space to other people! – Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep

12. Add a Beverage Station

You can never underestimate the value of providing employees with free coffee and tea. If you're beyond the startup phase and can afford it, you could go so far as to install an espresso machine and hire a barista to provide coffee-shop-style service. – Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

13. Create Automated Mood Lighting

Productivity is mostly left up to the individual, but care should be given in modifying the environment of a startup to create happier and more productive employees. In my experience, utilizing products like Philips Hue makes this easy. Research Color Psychology to learn how colors affect us. A schedule not only increases productivity, but will help your employees recognize passing time. – Cody McLain, WireFuseMedia LLC

14. Get Rid of All The Doors

An easy way to make your office twice as cool is to get rid of all the doors (except for conference rooms.) As soon as a door is closed in a work environment, everyone's guard goes up. When you foster an open-door policy at your company, everything becomes more transparent. Office gossip is alleviated, and psychologically, it puts your employees at ease. – Dan Price, Gravity Payments

These are the top results from a survey of entrepreneurs on the topic of core company culture values, provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

About Ilya Pozin:

Serial entrepreneur, writer and investor. Founder of Pluto TV, Open Me, and Ciplex. Writer for Forbes and Inc. Husband 1x, father 2x, entrepreneur 3x. Follow Ilya below to stay up-to-date.