This Week’s HRI “Lightbulb” – Office Art No-No
Question: Why is office art usually ugly and abstract? Fact: Anything else would be offensive to someone for some reason one could never predict. Take the two photos of artwork (below) I found in the lobby of an office (not to be named) that I visited yesterday. Cute they are, but they also potentially hide an offensive sexist message according to someone I was with, which is “boys play sports, and girls have hobbies”. Her/his first impression of the company was not positive. Unless there is a really good reason to display art conveying any political, religious or personal belief, stick with the ugly stuff. To date, HRInsights has not been able to prove a link between bad business skills and a bad taste in art.
