How Your Office Space Impacts Employee Well-Being

Featured image by Jo_Johnston from Pixabay

Having a productive office space benefits your business more than just the well-being of your employees. Being productive is a by-product of your environment. So, if your workspace is lacking an efficient environment, your employees will not be efficient either. Your office design needs to be efficient for your employees to feel content and enjoy working for your business. You accomplish this by following these five simple steps:

1. Updated Equipment

It’s important to provide your employees with the correct tools for them to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Upgrade your technical equipment when it needs to be upgraded. A good indication is by checking to see how frustrated your team gets with their current equipment.

For example, efficient business scanners should be able to handle your office’s workload easily and without any issues. If your employees are struggling with your current setup then it’s time for you to consider investing in new equipment. Your employees will be much happier if you make their jobs easier, which will result in direct improvement to your employee’s well-being.

2. Thoughtful Layout

The layout of your office space is directly linked to the well-being of your employees. Eliminate unnecessary trips around the office by changing up your current layout or move your office. Consider different office space layouts that create and encourage a collaborative working environment rather than isolating your staff.

When team members have a space where they can share ideas and suggestions, they start to thrive within the company. Improving your employees’ workspace, from their resting areas to their work areas, even to their bathroom partitions, is a gentle nudge in the right direction, and having the right office flow can make a big difference.

3. Posture-Friendly Furniture

Office chairs, desks, and workspaces need to be ergonomically designed to avoid strain and repetitive stress injuries. Providing office furniture that takes care of your employee’s posture, prevents eye strain, and is comfortable to use will go a long way to ensuring your employees are happier people. This greatly improves the well-being of your employees long term.

Badly designed office furniture often leads to chronic pain issues which will end up costing you a lot more down the road. Invest in the right furniture sooner rather than later to avoid having miserable team members.

4. Natural Elements

Simply adding plants and natural light to your office space can greatly improve the well-being of your employees. A much-needed addition of greenery into the workspace can improve your employee’s moods as well as their overall health.

Studies have shown that adding natural features to the workspace environment can increase the overall happiness of your employees by over 15% as well as make them feel more creative and productive. Natural elements can be a cost-effective and calming addition to any office.

5. Work Meets Fun

Your employees spend over a third of their days, at least, in the workplace. You can improve their well-being by making that time feel more like fun and less like work by giving them the tools to enjoy their time spent doing work. For example, play music, take team-building breaks, and allow them to take the time to get their heads back in the game when they need it. Your employees are not robots and you will rarely find an employee who works every minute of every day.