Being productive in an office isn’t always a straightforward affair. Even if the employees themselves are highly motivated as persons, there are cases when the ambiance of the office itself isn’t stimulating enough to make full use of the every employee’s motivation. An office should have different things to offer stimulation for the employees – both material and not, so arranging your office in such a manner that allows every employee to work as efficiently as possible, without having a negative impact on their health and wellbeing, is a must.
There is a fine line between having motivated employees because of a proper ambiance, and employees who’d rather simply enjoy themselves in the office, and because of that every single thing that improves workplace productivity should be considered carefully.
A proper breakroom
Having a place where employees can unwind during a stressful day is practically a must. A room with modern amenities for food, drinks, and a comfortable seating area are all requirements for increasing productivity. Every person that works in the office should have a place where they can readily rest, because stress and a constant feeling of discomfort are real productivity killers. But an excellent breakroom can be a double-edged sword, however, because there’s always a risk that the employees will prefer to spend more time there than instead of working, so good consideration is required for having the best implementation of the breakroom.
Comfortable furniture
The well-being and comfort of the employees should always come first. Having good office furniture can help your office feel like a much better place to work, and that in itself increases productivity like few other things. Being able to comfortably work is something every employee cherishes, and if everything is pleasantly put into place so as not to provide unnecessary discomfort, then productivity is practically guaranteed.
Having the best possible technology
This one might seem a bit counterintuitive to even mention, but if part of the office equipment is technology that requires constant updates and maintenance, then cutting corners is never the way to go. Having old and outdated computers, for example, will only increase the time it takes the workers to accomplish their tasks, and even if the employees don’t lose focus or become frustrated, the computers might become unreliable. If that happens then you might lose progress, and any progress lost is the absolute opposite of productivity. Having to redo something significantly reduces employee productivity, and can be actively harmful for the office.
Clear channels of communication
Oftentimes a lot of office fail to function productively because there is a clear lack of communication. That might be due to technology in some cases, because instead of being able to send and receive information digitally, employees are tasked to relay every piece of information personally or in other ineffective ways. Having a system in place that can allow employees to communicate between one another, or with the managers, can dramatically increase productivity because everyone will be always kept in the loop, which significantly decreases the chance of making an error due to a miscommunication.
A good meeting room
If there is no dedicated space to hold meetings then you’re practically not having meetings. In some cases there are offices that prefer to have meetings in an informant style, or go to different places to hold meetings, but if your office is the area where you hold meetings, a dedicated room is always a good option. There you can step away from regular work, and simply discuss which way should you proceed, and the breakroom is rarely a good option because that’s a place to relax and unwind, not to make decisions that could effectively change the office’s future.
Proper Management Software
There’s a reason why most people prefer to write down important information rather than try to remember every single detail. A workplace’s productivity rises and falls with its managements effectiveness, and if there’s no good way to keep everything organized then staying productive will be a challenge in and of itself. A software for keeping tabs on projects, and for organizing everything neatly is absolutely a must, because there’s only so much information that any person can remember. And if any one member of the team forgets something, it’s much better to have a piece of software remember it for them, so that there won’t be any unnecessary mistakes made.
Good lighting
A properly lit office might be the main difference between an effective and ineffective team. Having good lighting does wonders for the productivity of anyone, let alone a professional team in an office. Utilizing the type of lights called task lighting is imperative in making your employees feel like they’re in a professional place where work needs to be done, rather than a place they simply need to survive. Good lighting also improves workplace morale, as well as well-being, so implementing lighting in such a way where everything is properly lit, without it being an active distraction, is a must in any office.
Proper heating and cooling
One thing that no office should ever cut corners on is properly regulating room temperature. While there’s almost no way to perfectly satisfy every single person in the office when it comes to temperature, maintaining heating and cooling in their respective seasons is an absolute must. Air conditioning in hot days should be something that’s actively encouraged, as well as heating in the cold day, because if there’s one thing that every person cares about is their health. And it doesn’t matter the season people can get sick at any time, so with proper temperature control employees wouldn’t have to focus on keeping warm or cool, and can just focus of doing their job properly and productively.
Keeping an office balanced and productive is not an easy task. There are plenty of tips for improving productivity, because in the end, a happy employee is a productive one, and that leads to overall effective which is always healthy for an office.
