Ever since the workers started to report to office on 8 hours per day basis, with fluorescent lights, low-quality furniture and lots of artificial props, productivity of the employees seems to have taken a hit in many workplaces. It might be because of the distraction, discomfort or disengagement. Also, the employees might have been forced to adapt to the workspaces even when they are not able to enhance their productivity.
So as a business owner, how can you ensure that the employees are not just comfortable, but are also productive when they are at work?
Here are a few tips that can help you in creating a productive office space.
Regulate Temperature: As we know, temperature is the most common complaint the employees will have. It’s obvious that, everybody will have a different body temperature and there will be employees who feel hot or cold, irrespective of the room temperature. So while renting or leasing the office space, make sure you know about the HVAC system, placement of vents and the location of temperature controls, so that you can control the office temperature.
Focus on Natural Lighting: It’s always good for employees to have access to natural light. Spending eight continuous hours under artificial lights is not really healthy. But, it’s not possible for all the employees to have access to natural light. So, make use of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs which closely mimic natural light. Allow your employees to light their space using indirect lighting, as overhead lighting can annoy the employees but indirect lighting is considered more soothing.
- Splash of Colour: It’s really amazing that how a little paint can do a lot to enhance productivity. Psychologists have analysed the effects of different colours on productivity of people and it’s been validated over several years. So while choosing the colour for office space, have these four colours in your mind.
Red: Associated with power, the colour gives an aura of warmth, strength and simulation. Red colour can also bring mind aggression and defiance.
Blue: It connotes the trust, communication, serenity and efficiency. Blue also brings to mind the lack of emotion and coldness.
Yellow: The colour associated with emotion can bring confidence, optimism, creativity and extroversion.
Green: Green colour gives you a feel of rest, peace, harmony and balance, and sometimes it can also bring boredom to mind.
Focus on Physical Comfort: You have no idea of how much time the employees spend just adjusting their seat, desk and computer screen. Physical comfort certainly plays a major role in keeping the employees healthy, happy and productive. Low quality furniture which is poorly designed leads to increase in compensation claims from employees for slipped discs and carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, the health issues kill productivity to a great extent. So, make sure you provide employees the physical comfort.
Bring Outdoors Inside: Bringing the outdoors inside doesn’t mean that you need to work in a rainforest. The studies on the office environment illustrate how the presence of plants can be beneficial to employee’s productivity. Just have a few living plants within the office; it also helps in filtering the air while removing the bacteria. Studies have also proved that having plants in the office environment can increase employees’ productivity.
Productivity of employees is really important for the success of any small business. So if you are working with a smaller group of employees, make sure that everybody is working at their optimum levels; this gets you the most out of your investment in a short time.