Creating a happy and healthy work environment is vital for enhancing productivity among employees in the workspace. Interestingly, most business owners and employers don’t know how to keep their work environment healthy.
So, what is a healthy work environment? It is a workspace where employees feel safe both mentally and physically. Physical and mental health play a crucial role in employee performance and productivity.
Such a work environment brings along a wide range of benefits, including:
- Higher employee performance and productivity.
- Lower risk of fines and healthcare costs.
- Reduced cases of absenteeism and turnover.
- Increase in employee morale and motivation.
- Higher employee retention.
- Better corporate image.
If you’re struggling to create a happy and healthy workplace for your employees, you aren’t alone. There are millions of business owners across the world facing the same challenge. This article is about some practical ways you can apply to improve your workplace.
Invest in Standing Desks
Sitting for long periods has proven to be a threat to human health. It is one of the major causes of increased cases of back pain among most employees today. Investing in standing desks as an addition to office seating furniture is one of the most effective ways to create productive breaks between the extended sitting hours. These desks allow employees to work as they please: either while sitting or standing.
As a business owner, you can choose between a unit that sits on top of the employees’ working desks or a full standing desk. As you encourage your staff to work while standing in between their working hours, always remember that being on feet all day long is also risky for their health. Ensure that they find a balance between the two options as long as they don’t compromise their comfort.
Besides, they should also regularly move around the office to stretch a little before getting back to work. These walks may include a visit to the washroom, tea, and lunch breaks.
Make the Workspace Comfortable
An ideal workspace that promotes teamwork should be small enough for team members to work together but adequate to allow comfortable working at the same time. Creating such a space requires ensuring that every employee has their independent space with all the necessary tools and equipment accessible. They should also see both sides and work with the other team members without any stress or strain.
Recognize and Reward Great Employees
Employees perform exemplarily when in high spirits. Your obligation as their employer is to keep their spirits high, which you can achieve by recognizing employees for their good deeds, no matter how small. Besides the recognition, you can also reward your employees for any milestones they achieve, especially on ongoing projects. Projects are initially exciting but tend to become tedious and challenging as they progress.
Setting achievable milestones and rewarding employees anytime they achieve these goals motivate them to work harder and smarter. The reward can either be monetary or nonmonetary. It doesn’t have to be much as well.
For instance, you can send an email to the team members appreciating them for achieving the previously set milestones. That way, you encourage them to work tirelessly to achieve more until they complete the project. Asking them out for tea, coffee, or dinner may also seem like a small gesture of appreciation, but it works magic when it comes to boosting team morale.
Keep the Team Connected
Connected teams are crucial in ensuring organizational success. It doesn’t matter whether the employees work remotely or at the company offices. Staying connected allows the team members to establish a highly productive working relationship.
They also learn more about each other, resulting in stronger personal connections and higher productivity.
Incorporate Some Plants around the Office
Plants are a significant way of making your office place healthier and more comfortable. By including plants around your office, you can significantly improve the air quality around the premises, which makes it vital, especially when struggling with dry and stuffy air.
Besides, plants can also improve the mood around your workspace by making it appear cheerier. Always consider leafy and greener when looking for office plants. Also, avoid the thorny ones, such as cacti, which can easily prick people. As you invest in office plants, avoid using more than what you need as it tends to be overwhelming. Ensure you strategically position your plants on shelves and tables to achieve the desired effect.
Ensure Proper Quality of Air around the Premises
Besides interrupting concentration, poor air quality can also lead to severe physical harm. For example, some employees may develop occupational allergies. Some of the triggers for these allergies include sensitivities to chemicals in furniture, carpets, rugs and paint. In the end, they may suffer rashes, sinuses, eye irritation, and headaches.
While you may not be in control of some things around the company, there are a few that you can do to make the environment better. One of these things includes installing air purifiers around the office to improve the quality of air in the office. When choosing the air purifiers, you should invest in those with HEPA filters as they are effective and efficient in trapping and filtering different types of air particles.
Paint the Workspace Green
The color green has been proven to enhance creativity and innovativeness. Creative and innovative employees are great performers and productive at their jobs. Painting the workspace green is an effective way of creating some motivation and inspiration around the premises.
If you can’t paint your office walls, why don’t you hang some backdrops or use green wall art decorations?
As you paint and decorate your company’s interior and exterior, consider calming shades of green over the bright ones as they help relax the mind and keep the employees in a creative state. Sage and sea-foam green are some of the best options.
Encourage Productive Conflicts among Employees
While it may sound counterproductive, a few healthy and respectful conflicts among employees can be useful in creating some new and unique ideas. These conflicts offer a platform for employees to give their opinion about some out-of-the-box ideas. Such moments are the birth of some new amazing ideas resulting in organizational growth and success.
