Ways to Improve Your Office’s Work Environment and Boost Your Employee’s Productivity

by Groshan Fabiola I try to cover as many topics as I can

Creating a positive work environment can translate into more productive and happier employees, and even promote and sustain good relationships among employees. Learning how to create and reinforce a positive work environment will certainly bring you plenty of advantages. Below are some strategies that will help you create attain those in a matter of weeks.

Hire the right people, for the right job

Everybody knows that working with the right people has the potential to promote a positive work environment and boost productivity. You’re searching for real professionals and team players. Be sure that all the current employees meet the same requirements. Eliminate those toxic employees that seem to bring everybody’s mood down to historic levels. A single employee with a bad attitude towards work or other colleagues can bring everybody’s performance levels down and create anxiousness and anguish at all levels. Let toxic employees go. Their attitude does nothing more than creating unnecessary tension in your team or department.

Lighting plays a vital role in employee’s mood

People exposed to natural light have longer, more restful sleeping hours, various studies claim. Subsequently, good, natural light plays a great role in employee’s productivity and attitude. Exposure to natural light is a natural anti-depressant, contributing to a healthier attitude on life. When implemented in the workplace, lighting can turn your employees into more productive and healthier ones, in employees that don’t perceive their work as difficult and demanding as their counterparts that work in windowless offices. Architectural developments of new office spaces put a great emphasis on this because the increasing number of studies and research papers suggesting and proving the same outcome. Exposure to dark light will influence the circadian rhythm that dictates our biological clocks. Also, it dictates our mental and behavioural patterns, which may change how productive and happy we are. On the other hand, there is a category of individuals, introvert night-owls, that seen to work and feel better in darker work environments. Due to this reason, experts recommend installing window coverings in ajax in all office buildings. This will offer the opportunity for every employee to adjust and adapt the lighting level in each office.

Make your offices more comfortable

Clean and visually-appealing workspaces have the same impact on worker’s morale and mood like lighting does. It can also improve worker-manager relationships and promote a positive work atmosphere. If good natural light lacks in your building office, make an effort to promote comfort by improving artificial lighting an investing in a wide range of comfortable furniture options, that will accommodate each employee’s needs and preferences. From comfortable chairs, to standing desks, these all can bring all the comfort and happiness at the workplace needed for a more productive employee. A series of surveys showed that those employees that label their workplace furniture as “bad” are three times more likely to identify their work environment as unproductive and “depressing”. It’s always a positive aspect to invest in a relaxation room, with comfy furniture that ranges from comfy beanbags to comfy sofas, and even some entertainment means. A ping-pong table will allow your employees to take a break when feeling overly-stressed and unproductive. Small adjustments can, in fact, do wonders. Give your employees the opportunity to customize their desks and working areas.

Implement better communication practices

The way you interact with your employees also matters enormously. There should exist a fluent and effective communication flow between employees and all management levels, without letting those on lower hierarchical positions feeling stranded from effectively communicating with their superiors. Positive reinforcement makes employees feel valued and this also is a big motivating factor in their activity and productivity at the workplace. Make sure that you involve your employees in decision-making, just to create a more productive work environment. Show that you are open to feedback without making your employees feel threatened and under the spotlight. Make them feel valued and that they matter to you and your company. Always show gratitude for their hard work and try to reward their efforts with all the occasions that you have. This will boost their enthusiasm, build trust and it will also make them work harder to achieve the company’s goals and deadlines.

Provide flexible working hours

Of course, punctuality is a great attribute your employees should have, but too much strictness might spoil the mood and atmosphere. Some employees have solid reasons for running late or might feel demotivated by too much rigidity in this regard, which drives them to be less productive and happy at the workplace. Make a point of implementing a flexible work schedule. Some might be able to stick to the 9 to 5 working hours, while many might value their morning sleep more and prefer a 10 to 6 approach. As long as the employee is showing for work and achieves what they should during a working day, this should be an easy to implement approach. Also, some might prefer working from home. If this is a realistic expectation in your company’s case, try to accommodate it and see how the matter evolves. You may come to realize that when working from home, your employees are far more productive and even happier.

Keep the meetings on a minimum

If you want a good method to kill your employee’s mood and productivity, then schedule too many meetings. Not only these have proven to be big mood killers, but they also prove ineffective in many cases. Keep those at a minimum. If you need an agenda confirmation or a reminder of the previous tasks, use instant communication means. Emails, voice mails, instant messages, these all work wonderfully for this specific goal.

Creating a positive work environment is an intricate blend of attitude and communication, better furniture and good lighting, as well as plenty of personalization opportunities. And as a friendly reminder, a happy employee is a more productive employee. So, keep all communication channels open for them and make an effort to communicate in a more personal and open level.