Has your office turned into a poor workplace environment for your employees? This could have devastating effects on the productivity and happiness of your workforce.
Many employees in toxic workplaces don’t put in as much effort, deliver lower quality work and simply don’t show up.
You need to discover effective ways to improve your employee’s workplace environment. This can include anything from the design of the office to workplace culture.
Check out our tips for creating workplace environments that make your employees not want to ever leave.
1. Get the Sounds Right in Your Workplace
Some workers require absolute silence to concentrate. Other people prefer being surrounded by other people with some background noise.
The moderate level of ambient noise typical of a coffee shop has been shown to improve the productivity of workers. In particular, this atmosphere boosts creative thinking.
You can recreate this environment in your workplace. Install a coffee counter to allow workers to grab a cup of joe while getting down to work.
But, other employees simply want silence. Consider making one area of the office a “quiet zone” to accommodate them or provide noise-canceling headphones.
2. Include Plenty of Houseplants
Minimalism as a form of office design is all the rage. And yet, researchers say that this doesn’t necessarily bolster the productivity or happiness of your workers.
The conclusion is that “sometimes less is just less.” However, there are other ways to ensure that your workplace environment is a great place.
Even just a few houseplants can increase the productivity of your workers by more than 15 percent.
Do you want to raise the happiness of your employees? Don’t spend a fortune on designing your office with exposed ceilings—fill the place with greenery instead to improve your workplace environment for your employees.
3. Let the Natural Light Inside
Many workplaces promote various perks of the job. You may run “bring your dog to work” days or provide your team with free gym memberships.
And yet, there’s something even simpler that your employees want more than anything else. One study found that this is natural light with large windows.
Design your office so that your workers can look out of the windows during the day. This can avoid any experience of feeling trapped indoors.
The research backs up this employee demand. Natural light exposure is good for health, well-being, and productivity.
4. Encourage Regular Screen Breaks
More than half of the average American’s waking hours are spent looking at screens. This is often for extended periods without any breaks.
This can be harmful to your eyes, lead to exhaustion, and cause your productivity to decrease over time.
Encourage your employees to take regular screen breaks by going for a walk during the daytime. When a task can be achieved without a screen, encourage your employees to print off the document or conduct the meeting face-to-face.
5. Provide Snacks and Drinks
Saying “no” to cake and cookies in the workplace is a common challenge for workers. So even though you might want to have an in-office snack bar, you don’t want to make it worse by providing unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks.
Additionally, over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. This can cause even worse health problems, which can affect your company’s productivity as well.
But, you can improve the health of your workforce by providing a job perk that significantly bolsters the workplace experience. Give your staff a supply of fresh fruit and healthy snacks like blueberries, nuts, and kale chips.
You can also set up several water stations around the workplace. Over 80 percent of American workers don’t drink enough water, so this can remind your team to stay hydrated.
6. Give Your Employees Comfortable Seats
Low-quality seating can cause your employees to develop back and neck strains. This is especially important if people in your office spend a lot of time at desks or in front of computers.
You may want to provide a wide variety of chairs and seating for different tasks.
Bean bag chairs for meetings? Massage chairs during lunch breaks? This can help make spending time at work even better.
Do you want to check out which massage chairs could suit your workplace environment? You can browse selection of massage chairs here.
However, it’s not only about comfortable seats. Some employees may prefer standing or convertible desks at their workstations. Consider improving the office bathroom as well. The toilets might be old and ready for a refresh with newer, high quality bathroom partitions.
7. Smells and Scents in Your Office
You may be surprised to hear that the scents in your office environment can also significantly impact whether your employees are happy and productive.
If your office only ever smells of paper, drying paint and your smelly co-workers, you need to change something drastically.
Get your office to smell like cinnamon in the afternoons to combat fatigue and tiredness after lunchtime.
Are you having a stressful day in the office? The smell of citrus fruits, such as lemons and limes, is relaxing and soothing when you’re having a bad mental health day.
Lastly, if you want to bolster the memory of your employees, research suggests that the smell of rosemary can achieve this effect.
Start Improving Your Workplace Environment
If you want the best for your team, you’ll put effort into improving their workplace environment. There are many simple ways to upgrade your space, like providing comfortable chairs and adding greenery indoors. These small touches can add up and make the office a more pleasant place to be. Do you want to discover additional ways to improve your workplace environment? Check out our blog for more!
