Keeping yourself, and more importantly your employees, comfortable at work is hugely important to your business. By being in a comfortable environment, we feel more relaxed, happier and ultimately more motivated.
As we all know, improved motivation means improved productivity – an invaluable asset for any business. So what to do if you think your office or workplace is looking a bit tired, or is perhaps not the most inspiring on the inside? What follows are some of the ways and means you can adopt to improve its physical and emotional comfort for you and your employees:
Sitting Comfortably
For offices, comfortable seating is particularly important. Those working at desks will spend many hours sitting down and need to be comfy when doing so. Further to this, their chairs should encourage correct posture and positioning to safeguard your staff against causing back injuries and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) from typing.
The Right Climate
If you’ve ever been in a car without heating or air conditioning you’ll appreciate how unbearable this can be. The same applies to your work environment; last year was the warmest in the UK on record and you shouldn’t have to battle the elements when you are working. Invest in reliable climate control systems from a specialist retailer like Pure Air Conditioning and provide the right temperature in your workplace.
Improving Aesthetics
On top of these physical improvements, another aspect you can work on is the aesthetics. Needless to say, beige, dull and uninteresting interiors are not going to stimulate the creativity of your workforce. Introduce some plant-life, paint the walls with brighter colours, or simply place motivational posters and quotes around your buildings. These little touches can help make your business more aesthetically pleasing for staff, visitors and customers alike.
Staff Support
Aside from the physical comforts, the emotional support you provide is very important. Allow staff to air any issues and grievances and deal with them in a fair and sympathetic manner. This all forms a part of employee comfort as they need to feel appreciated and like their opinion matters. In turn this can reward you with a more determined work ethic from them.
Healthy Living
Again, for offices where you spend a large amount of time sitting down, encourage healthy living by providing pre or post-work running and exercise classes. Equally, you can set up schemes that encourage staff to cycle or walk to work; whatever you decide you may find that a healthier staff is a much happier one.
Fun Activities
Finally, having charity events like fancy dress and bake sales, as well as themed work days, can also really show your employees you care about their well-being. Such team building events can be very motivational and something fun for them to work towards.