As an employer, one of the things that you can always invest in is the improvement of your office space. A report by the Fellowes Workplace Wellness Trend Report found that 87 percent of workers would like their employers to offer services that lead to health benefits. These include fitness centers, standing desks, etc. Moreover, the study found that 93 percent of workers would settle down in a company that offers such benefits and more.
So always think of improving your office’s environment. After all, studies have proven many times that the environment can influence an employee’s work. These are the office improvements that you should always invest in.
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
When it comes to the comfort of your employees, the first things that come to mind are heating, ventilation, and air conditioning or HVAC. The comfort of their office chairs and other furniture that they use won’t have much impact on their comfort if they’re freezing from the cold or sweating from the heat.
Always make sure that your HVAC system is always in top shape. Before wintertime comes, have your heating system checked. If it’s damaged or inefficient, never hesitate to hire a professional who does furnace repair.
If your employees are not subjected to extreme cold or hot temperatures inside the office, then they can properly focus on doing their tasks, produce quality output, and keep you, the boss, always happy, much like them.
Restrooms
This might be unusual, but it’s very much crucial to make sure that the restrooms in your office are clean and accommodating. You might not always consider this, but for many prospective employees, an unsanitary office restroom is a deal-breaker. It suggests that the company doesn’t have much care for the comfort of its employees.
So if you feel that the restrooms in your office need much work, then don’t hesitate to invest in their improvement. Make sure that they have the right amenities. They can be little things such as hand sanitizers, air fresheners, and toilet seat covers. But they would go a long way in ensuring that your employees are comfortable whenever they need to use the restroom.
Dining and Recreation
Unfortunately, it’s fairly common to forget about the comfort that employees need whenever they’re on a break. Breakrooms and other recreational spaces in the office are theirs, after all. It’s their space. It’s where they go to have a chat with each other in between their tasks. So it’s important for you to always invest in improving their dining and recreational experiences in the office.
Create a comfortable lounge area for them where they can take their coffee breaks. Make sure that the pantry is always well-stocked. Never, ever, run out of coffee and other sources of caffeine. Having such a space in the office will encourage your employees to take a break when needed. This is because studies have proven time and time again how beneficial break times are to the quality of work that employees produce.
Office Furniture and Equipment
The most important thing that you should always invest in is, of course, the actual workspace of your employees. Make sure that they have ample desk space. It’s important that they have properly working computers and other technological equipment.
Invest as well in the best office chair that you can find. Having the right office chair would have a positive impact on their health, especially on their posture. Another thing that you should never forget about is their storage space. Having much storage space would encourage them to bring in some of their personal things. Photos, displays, and other knickknacks don’t have anything to do with their work. But it’s their way of nesting and owning the space. And if they feel at home at their workspace, then they’ll be more encouraged to go to work every day.
As an employer, you’re constantly juggling a long list of priorities as you manage your business. You’re constantly hard-pressed to produce results, bring in more revenue, and innovate our products and services. You’re always thinking of client presentations, marketing, and even the economy’s impact on your business. But there’s one thing that you always have to keep an eye on. Unfortunately, many of you fail at it. And that is keeping the morale of your employees up.
But there are tried and true ways to make sure that your employees are constantly happy to do their jobs. And these require investments in money and time. But these are expenses that you should never feel sorry for. Because they truly are investments that you can benefit from in the long run.
