Should you have scented candles in your workplace?

29 May 18
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It’s no secret that handmade scented candles are fantastic for setting an atmosphere in your home – especially if you’re choosing from the fantastic selection we stock here at our little shop on the farm! In addition to that, though, they can also be a pleasant addition to the workplace – as well as being useful in a whole host of other ways. This week on the blog here at Melt, we’re taking a look at just a few of them!

Scents can affect our productivity

No matter what industry you work in, this is always welcome news – whether we’re trying to motivate our employees or motivate ourselves! Bear with us for a moment as we touch on the science of it; essentially, when we detect a scent, it goes straight to our brain for processing. On the way there, our neurons send it to two separate locations – the olfactory bulb, which identifies the scent in question, and the thalamus, which is in charge of motor function. This is how certain scents can give us a burst of energy (for example, how some coffee aficionados can become energised before they’ve even taken a sip).

Rosemary, lemon and mint are all brilliant examples of scents that can help motivate us at work. We’ve got some amazing citrus scents among our own range of scented candles, and we’re not the only ones who love them – in fact, some Japanese offices have even been known to circulate lemon and rosemary through their air conditioning vents, giving their workers more mental and physical energy. (If you want our personal recommendations, Joy and Shine are ideal choices for luxury scented candles that will leave you feeling energised!)

You can cultivate your chosen atmosphere at work

Of course, optimum productivity is always an ideal atmosphere at work, but it’s more complex than that – you can cultivate specific moods for your space according to how you’re using it, the same way you can do at home. For example, if you want to get some ideas going in a morning meeting, the scents of peppermint and cinnamon are great for inspiring creativity. On the other hand, if you just need to power through on a specific task, rosemary is excellent for improving your focus. And if you’re just trying to relax with more of a lighter, cheerier atmosphere, lavender is perfect for helping everyone to chill out after a stressful project.

And they’re useful in other ways, too…

Smelly lunches are something of a bone of contention for any office, but scented candles can provide the perfect way to deal with them. If a colleague has just finished tucking into a curry, and you’ve got a client due in a few minutes, tactical use of scented candles can transform the room in almost no time at all! There’s a trick to it, though – first, open a window to clear the room of the initial smell. Once it’s had a chance to disperse, you can then light a scented candle like Dance or even Saddle to cover the rest, while making the entire office smell beautiful. Don’t just light the candle immediately before you’ve opened a window, though – otherwise all that happens is that the scents from the lunch and the candle merge in mid-air, and that’s far less pleasant!

Don’t forget, if you’re planning to introduce scented candles to your own office, it’s always a good plan to check with your colleagues, bosses and/or employees first. Workplaces are communal spaces, and if you want everyone to feel the benefits, you all have to be on the same page. Some people might dislike certain scents for their own reasons, so it’s great be mindful of how others feel. Whatever happens, you all have to work together, after all! (If you work for yourself on the other hand, or work in a small team, it’s far easier to bypass this hurdle!)

Once you’re all clear with your colleagues, we’ve got no shortage of options for you to choose from in our range of handmade candles at our little shop on the farm. Why not pay us a visit, and see what you discover?