Simple Ways To Improve Your Office For Your Employees

A happy workforce means a happy workplace and higher levels of productivity. Long gone are the days when an office workspace was a cold, miserable and impersonal place to work. But trying to find the right balance between professional and personal can be tricky. You want your employees to do their best but to be happy and comfortable in their workplace too. If you’re struggling with how to achieve this I have a few ideas that may help below.

Update workstations

Office workers spend a long time sitting at their desks which can be very bad for their health. You might consider changing office chairs and desks to standing desks. Standing desks are relatively new in the workplace but so far they are proving to be beneficial to workers as research has shown that they have helped decrease backache, lower the risk of weight gain and even improve productivity.

Provide a safe place for personal belongings

If your office space doesn’t provide somewhere for your employees to safely store their belongings whilst at work you may find that things get lost or go missing on a regular basis (that’s not to say that your workplace is full of thieves; it’s just easy for things to get mixed up, misplaced or mistakenly taken if there’s no order) Consider installing some office lockers so that everyone has their own secure space to put their things whilst they are in work. This also means you can implement simple rules, such as no personal tablets or phones to be used in work time.

Lots of light

Natural light is a must to help keep your workforce motivated. If you have small windows, you could replace them and make them bigger to allow more light in. If this isn’t possible, consider using lighting that has natural tones instead of bright whites. Be wary of directional light, as you don’t want your workforce subjected to glare on their screens or work areas. You could also install lights on each workstation so that the workers can control their own level of lighting.

Keep it clean

Another important factor to consider is the organisation of the office, and how it is maintained. Employees do not like working in crowded, cluttered, or dirty areas, so you need to make sure the office is as clean as possible at all times. Encourage your staff to carry out good hygiene practices and tidy up wherever they can, and look into hiring services for commercial cleaning in Austin, TX or wherever you’re based to ensure that the office is professionally cleaned each night, or at least week.

Keep the temperate comfortable

I don’t know about you but when I’m warm and comfy, I don’t work at my best. I get sleepy and idle and just want to curl up with a book or a rom-com movie – not ideal at all when I have deadlines due. With this in mind, I try to keep my working space around 18 -20°C Although there is no minimum or maximum temperature for working conditions here in the UK there is legislation in place so that employers must provide a reasonable temperature in the workplace. They say that the best temperature for a productive workforce is between 16 – 24°c.

Provide quiet areas

If you have space, provide areas where employees can go work on their own – maybe provide comfy chairs, long tables if they need lots of space for paperwork or an area that overlooks a quiet place such as a garden (if you have one nearby), rather than a busy road. This could help

Choose your colours wisely

If your office is due a makeover in the decorating department, choose your colours carefully, sticking to neutral light colours is probably a wise decision. You can always add colour in other ways – adding colourful chairs, small indoor plants and tasteful artwork to both working spaces and communal areas will make the workplace look and feel both professional and welcoming in equal measures.

*This is a collaborative post*