As a business owner, you recognise the important role your employees perform every day. They ensure your products ship on time. They meet with many of your clients and provide down-to-earth customer service. Without your employees, you wouldn’t have a successful company.
Naturally, you want to create a good environment where your team can work safely and efficiently. And when you make the following changes around your office, you’ll soon see a significant improvement in your staff’s health, reduced absenteeism and higher productivity.
1. Clear the Air With Air Purifiers
When you work in a large office, you may have to face a lot of airborne contaminants on a day-to-day basis. Every breath you take could contain any number of cleaning chemicals, deodorising products, mould spores and dust mites.
These air-borne contaminants can trigger sneezing, sniffling, watery eyes and headaches. Individuals sensitive to these compounds may also experience asthma attacks and other respiratory conditions. Odours can also be a problem.
To counter the pollutants in your building, invest in a high-end office purifier. A high performance filter (not less than 0.1 micron efficiency) with granulated carbon will trap harmful particles, chemicals and odours in the air so your employees can enjoy a safer environment.
2. Minimise Eye Strain With Natural Lighting
Many office buildings and warehouses rely on fluorescent lights to illuminate their workspace. Fluorescent bulbs offer an affordable, long-lasting solution, and they require less energy to run.
But these fluorescent bulbs emit a limited spectrum of light, and even if you don’t notice it directly, fluorescent light flickers constantly. Many experts agree that working long hours under flickering fluorescent lighting contributes to migraines, eye strain, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and depression.
Whenever possible, light your building with natural lighting. Open window shades, install skylights and use reflective surfaces to bounce sunlight around the room. For windowless areas, opt for full-spectrum bulbs that mimic the sun’s natural light.
3. Boost Morale With Desk Customisation
You want your office to convey an air of professionalism. Uniform desks, tidy filing cabinets and conservative paint colours all work together to create a solid, stable image to impress your clients.
But keep in mind that many employees perform better when they feel in control of their environment. Research shows that when workers have a say in when, where and how they work, they tend to have higher levels of job satisfaction and focus.
So let your staff decorate their desks a little. A family photo here or a desk plant there can liven your office and boost morale among your staff.
4. Reduce Stress With Frequent Breaks
When you have a deadline to meet, you may need your team to pull together and work late-night shifts to finish the job in time. Your staff understands the importance of satisfying the client, and they know that the current project could make or break the company.
However, these long hours and intense situations create a lot of stress. And the longer your employees stay in front of the computer screen, the less productive they become over time.
In fact, observational studies show that employees who work for 52 minutes and then take a break for another 17 minutes throughout the day tend to be more productive, alert and accurate than those who work the same amount of time consecutively.
Of course, the timing will vary from person to person. But if you give your team the chance to take a break every hour or so, you’ll see they’ll manage their tasks more efficiently and creatively.
See the Difference in Productivity and Absenteeism
Though these changes seem small, they can make a big difference in your employees’ health and happiness. The above techniques can help your team know that you care about what they do and that you appreciate their hard work.
Feel free to exercise a little creativity and find even more healthy ways to improve your office environment.
