It is a well-known fact that the work environment has a massive impact on the productivity and efficiency of employees, as well as their overall mood and wellbeing. If the workspace is dark and uninviting and unwelcoming, it can make everyone feel demoralised and demotivated, and most importantly, leaves your staff feeling like you do not care about their emotional wellbeing. This, in turn, can lead to a high turnover of staff which is not good news for your company.
The good thing is that making the work environment pleasant and comfortable is really simple to do and does not cost a great deal, especially when you compare it to the expense of continually recruiting and training new staff. Here, we look at a few simple ways to make it a place where everyone wants to be and perform at their very best.
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Weatherproof
Making sure that your staff have access to outdoor space is important – getting a little bit of fresh air and natural light during the day will help to keep them feeling good and on task. However, when it is cold and wet, they still need somewhere sheltered. Outdoor shelters, perhaps those made by bus shelter manufacturers, are a great way of providing somewhere covered for your staff to stand.
Downtime
Everyone needs some downtime. We seem to have acquired a workplace culture where the more time we spend at our desk, the better it is, and that is simply not true. Having regular breaks away from our desk, to eat and unwind, has been proven to improve productivity and efficiency. However, if you do not provide somewhere for your employees to go on their breaks, they will stay at their desk. A clean and comfortable break room, with somewhere to sit, somewhere to store food and somewhere to prepare food and a drink is essential.
Adequate workspace
There is nothing worse than sitting on an uncomfortable chair at a desk that is too small or too cluttered or just not fit for purpose. Talk to your staff and find out what the need from their workspace. Do they need a bigger desk? Do they need a chair that is more ergonomically designed? Do they need more storage space? Is the printer too far away? These are all issues which can be solved quickly and easily but can make the most difference.
A team that gets along
While no one expects everyone on your team to be best friends, a group of employees that work well together and compliment each other strengths and weaknesses is one of the most important things that you can do to help provide a pleasant and comfortable workspace. Have a system in place for dealing with conflict and encourage an open door policy. When recruiting new staff, spend some time considering whether they will fit in with your existing workforce.
By providing your staff with a comfortable and pleasant workspace, you will get a lot more out of them, which in turn will put more money in your pockets!