5 Tips for Creating a More Comfortable Working Environment for Your Employees

Keeping employees happy is important. Businesses compete not just for customers, but also for the best talent. It makes sense to provide a comfortable working environment to encourage people to join the company and eventually become a long-term employee too.

Here are 5 tips to help create a pleasing environment to work in for employees.

1. Easy Access to Snacks or Drinks

For companies that don’t want to see staff get a bit peckish and have nothing to satisfy their hunger, being able to grab a snack or a hot drink is a real lifesaver. While it may seem self-indulgent, low sugar levels or a lack of proper hydration will take a toll on the cognitive abilities and may also negatively impact mood management for staff. It can also have unintended consequences such as irritability which makes maintaining good relations more difficult.

Companies that provide vending machines for their staff offer a convenient self-service option. It saves waiting or seeing staff pop out of the office to the local newsagent. Also, when the office is located on an industrial estate, there may not be a convenient place to make small purchases. In which case, it becomes even more vital to provide an option for it within the office.

2. Encourage Positivity

It’s sometimes easy for certain staff members to get into a negative funk. When they do that, they may speak poorly about different people or work situations. This can then filter through to other members of the team. Even new recruits can quickly get in sync with this attitude when it has become pervasive in the team or across the business.

To prevent this, encourage a positive outlook toward business problems. Look at them as a way to learn new things, find different solutions and succeed. Encourage the team to brainstorm through business difficulties rather than let them detract from their performance by getting stuck.

3. Ensure the Office is Set Up Correctly

The office should be a brightly lit space without dim spots. The walls and other décor should have a pastel shade that helps to reflect light. Also, put effort into ensuring that the office chairs are comfortable to sit on for a period and that there’s adequate neck and/or lumber support.

Where possible, use some degree of open planning to avoid the office looking like a cubicle jungle. Staff will feel less comfortable when hemmed into a corner or sectioned off. Even when dividers are used between desks for productivity purposes and better sound management, provide open areas nearby to offset it.

4. Make Staff Feel Safer

Safety is provided via several different methods. Physical safety includes security at the building and not leaving exterior doors open or closed but unlocked. Log every person into and out of the building, plus give them a personal escort to avoid their wandering into areas where they shouldn’t be unaccompanied. Go beyond just guests being asked to wear an ID badge with no other precautions in place.

Adding CCTV surveillance in common areas, corridors and other places where there are not always witnesses helps to allay any fears.

Also, verify that procedures within the human resources department are sufficient to handle improper conduct or questionable behavior so that it can be reported, properly investigated and handled correctly.

5. Be Consistent

It’s also helpful for management to respond consistently to different situations. Policies must be in place and communicated through an appropriate culture that lets employees know what to expect.

Inconsistency creates confusion, aggravation, and uncertainty of how to respond. Staff need to trust the company to respond to different situations appropriately.

Different approaches combine to create a situation where employees feel comfortable to do their best work. It’s something that no business can afford to neglect.

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Interesting related article: “What is Motivation?“