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17 Workplace Upgrades That Will Boost Employee Productivity
In Human Resources — by Dave Anderson
If your employees work the standard 40-hour week, each person spends almost a quarter of their time in the office. That’s not only a significant chunk of everyone’s life. The hours spent at work are always seem to be the most strenuous part of the day.
Work by its very nature is taxing but creating a positive environment for your staff can make the entire experience more enjoyable. Each employee will be comfortable, content and ready to do their job to the best of their ability. It’s a win-win for both the company and staff.
Here are 17 upgrades you can bring to your workplace that will boost employee productivity:
- Offer fitness equipment or classes
Everyone knows exercise is good for body and mind. Providing your staff access to fitness equipment or classes gives them the opportunity to work up a sweat and come back recharged. You can even offer a wellness program to promote employee health.
- Encourage employees to form social groups
People like to help their friends succeed. Social groups, like books clubs and sports teams, are great ways for colleagues to bond over something other than work. These relationships will pay off during working hours when employees are communicating better and looking out for each other.
- Let in more natural light
Have you ever met someone who enjoys working under fluorescent lights? Try to position your work area next to windows so your employees can enjoy the daylight. If you can’t, encourage employees to take a break outside during the workday.
- Help managers become effective leaders
Ineffective managers stifle productivity. People don’t know what to do or how to do it without the proper direction.
Additional training and constructive feedback can help your leaders grow. They’ll encourage their teams to do the highest-standard of work and will pass on the lessons they learned to the next generation of leaders.
- Provide each employee with a comfortable work setup
An ergonomic setup reduces work-related injuries and makes your employee’s days more comfortable. And it’s of course easy to focus and be productive when you’re settled in and feeling good.
- Stock the kitchen with healthy snacks and beverages
It’s hard to work on an empty stomach but junk food and sugar don’t stimulate productivity. Consider providing your staff with some healthy yet tasty food and beverage options. It will help them stayed energized throughout the day and is a nice little perk to offer your employees.
- Keep your staff caffeinated
While caffeine isn’t always considered healthy, it’s definitely a great way to get energized to work. Making sure there is always a pot of coffee on and hot water for tea can help your tired employees power through the day.
- Get the number of meetings in check
Meetings followed by more meetings is common in many offices. But a meeting that is necessary for one person can be a complete waste of time for another.
Let your staff know that formal 30 or 60 minute meetings should only be called when necessary and to be considerate of who they invite. Also, make it known that employees aren’t obliged to attend unnecessary meetings.
- Offer a favorable time-off policy
The only cure for burnout is a break. Make it easy and even encourage your employees to take the occasional vacation. They’ll come back motivated and appreciate the fact that they have a job that is cool with them getting away every so often.
- Give your entire office time to take a break and socialize
Individual vacations and days off are nice but don’t benefit your entire team. Halting your company’s operations for team building activities, like an offsite retreat or community service day, is a great way to boost morale and give your team a break from the grind.
- Set goals and measure results
People like to know what they’re working toward. Otherwise they can end up spinning their wheels all day long.
Setting and measuring organizational, departmental and individual goals for your business can ensure everyone is doing their best work everyday.
- Reward progress
And once you’ve set targets for each employees, you can reward the ones who excel at achieving their goals. Hard work shouldn’t go unnoticed and recognition inspires other to do great work.
- Redesign your office to be more open and inclusive
Most traditional offices isolate the general staff from the leadership team. It not only creates an awkward work environment. It also hinders collaboration.
In recent years, open workplaces and open-door policies have become more popular. Think about how your company can make the workplace more inclusive.
- Bring in plants, art and soft lighting
No one wants to stare at a white wall while they work. Try to bring some life to your workplace with plants, art, lighting and other features that stimulate creativity. We decorate our homes to our liking but spend almost as much time in the office.
- Offer alternative areas to work
Sometimes a change of scenery can be just what we need to get motivated. Setting aside an area of your office to be common space allows your employees to stray away from their work area when they need to.
- Allow your employees to wear headphones
Music helps many people get into the zone while working. But there is no way your entire office is going to agree on what to put on so allowing employees to wear headphones prevents any conflict.
Happy and comfortable employees do great work
Making these changes to your workplace will boost employee productivity and morale. But your employees won’t just be doing great work as a way to show their appreciation. There will be an uptick in production because everyone will be set up for success.
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