Every employer wants the best for his employees.

There are a number of ways you can improve office productivity through refining their office workspace. This post explains how:

Do you suffer from poor office productivity?

The first thing you need to do is to realise what state your offices are in.

Part of having a happy workforce is to ensure the environment they work in is up to standard. If they have inferior furniture, this can make them also feel inferior.

Take a good look at what you have provided your staff to work on. Is it up to scratch? Could it be improved? Do you think it could make a difference to your office productivity?

Office layout

Depending upon the size of your premises, it is the layout of your office furniture that makes the most impact on your workforce.

Generally open plan desks allow for better communication between colleagues. Providing screens or other forms of barrier hinders any reactionary connections. This even includes eye contact and the ability to read facial expressions, necessary if one person is on the phone.

Opening up your office space allows your staff to have a better connection with each other, creating better teamwork and collaboration. Any closed areas should be kept for personal meeting areas and provision for time out.

Storage solutions

There is always the need for adequate storage solutions. Clutter is a serious detriment towards office productivity, as it contributes towards frustration of not being able to find what is needed quickly.

A well organised filing system avoids wasted time searching for content, and allows tasks to be completed quickly and efficiently. Your staff will be better prepared and will be able to meet their deadlines more effectively.

This means robust and adaptable storage furniture, preferably associated with each workspace for easy access, and an easy to use format anyone can understand.

Ergonomics and comfort

Office conditions should always be geared towards minimising health risks and enhancing welfare. Each piece of office furniture should be totally adaptable to suit the member of staff that is using them.

This includes desks positioned at the correct height to help preserve the health of posture, backs, hands, wrists and other joints. Computer monitors should be raised to eye level to avoid neck and and eye strain. This will help reduce tiredness, stress and headaches, which are common reasons for absence.

Office productivity is also enhanced through providing suitable office chairs for each member of staff. Most office workers will benefit from increased comfort, essential for avoiding distraction, lack of focus and ultimately loss of production.

Environmental issues

Preserving health and wellbeing in the workplace is also essential to promote better office productivity. You should be aware of poor ventilation, ineffective air conditioning and inadequate heating systems. Noise levels should also be checked, as this makes it difficult for workers to concentrate or even talk to their colleagues.

Lighting should be very high on your list. Not only for internal lights, which should provide the correct level to avoid eye strain and headaches, but also for access to external light. Windows are vital for wellbeing, as keeping staff indoors without being aware of life outside can be detrimental to their body clocks and life cycles.

And a sedentary working life is not good for general health. Invite regular breaks away from their desk area. Offer bike parking, showers and other facilities to encourage cycling to work. Organise breaks away for further exercise and team building activities.

Decor and ambience

A clean and clinical office space may look efficient and hygienic, but it does nothing for your workforce. If you want to Improve Office Productivity, you need to place your staff in more pleasant surroundings.

The colours you use on the walls will go far in improving mood and alleviating stress. Bright, happy colours such as yellow, orange, blue and green have the best effect. You could even reflect the company’s branding at the same time.

Consider when you last redecorated your office space.Ideally this should be done on a regular basis, as a new fresh feel will also enhance the wellbeing of your workforce and make them want to come into work each day.

Bringing the outside in

And last but not least, greenery in the office has a profound effect on your staff. Green is a relaxing and calming colour with helps reduce stress, which increases office productivity.

Plants also clean the air in the office. They produce oxygen, reduce carbon dioxide, and remove harmful chemicals produced by photocopiers and other moving machinery.

Plants also help reduce noise levels by absorbing this into their leaves. However, it’s best to use plants that don’t need a lot of care, and can cope with being forgotten for a while. There’s nothing more sole destroying than a dead plant in the corner of the room.

Has your office productivity now improved?

The best thing to do is to make an effort to accommodate all the elements outlined in this post and see if they can be implemented in your office. Even some of them will make a difference towards your office productivity. 

If cash flow is tight, make small changes in dribs and drabs. Start with adding a few nice green plants. Change a few office chairs. Install a better filing system. Adjust the computer monitor heights and provide keyboard and mouse rests to reduce work strain.

Your staff will certainly welcome any changes made for the better. And you will soon start to see the dividends from your endeavours.

The post How the correct furniture can improve office productivity appeared first on Fairy Blog Mother.