When you think about it – a lot of people actually spend more time in their office (when awake) than their own home. As a result of this, it is important that you treat this as such. Some office managers go way out and include PS4’s to allow their team to get motivated during lunch hours but there are more simple things you can do that will improve morale and make it feel a much more enjoyable place to be in. Here are some of those suggestions.
Office Furniture
It is crucial that the people that work for you have the appropriate furniture not only to do their job but to make themselves feel comfortable. You will find that there is a lot of health and safety regulations around this that you need to comply with as if you do not and an employee gets injured or strained, you could be held liable. Office furniture doesn’t need to be expensive and you can get it online from a site like Winc which offers reasonable prices (as well as introductory offers) for not only furniture but for office supplies also. A simple investment in some modern furniture will definitely not only go a long way with your employee’s morale but will look more impressionable if you have clients coming into your working area.
Break Out Area
If employees are sitting in an office all day, then it is important that they have an area to relax and break out. Sitting at a desk all day can be extremely tedious and if employees know that they have an area where they can break out to then clearly that will help with motivation and morale. Depending on the space you have available to you may determine what the options are here. Some companies invest a lot of money in this and you will find comfortable sofas and sometimes even TVs and computers. Some other companies may even include things such as table tennis or snooker. These are the little things that show your employees that you have some thoughts for them and have a level of appreciation.
Office Layout
It may even be a consideration for you to start again and make a major project over your office layout. This could include purchasing new furniture from somewhere like Office Monster and updating the flooring, walls, and layout too. Depending on the size of your office, this could well become quite a major project and even quite costly. Have a think in advance also about the potential disruption that this would cause and ensure that you have alternative areas for you to ensure business continuity (ensuring your customers are not adversely affected by your refurbishment program). If this is the path you decide to go down, it would be advantageous for you to maybe consider consulting the employees first to get their input on what they would maybe like to see in the project. This will help engage them in the process and ensure that everyone is happier with the outcome.
IT Equipment
Sometimes this is the make or break of a company as the capability of your IT in today’s world is so essential. Depending on what it is your business actually does will depend on how you rely on this. Computers are not as expensive as they used to be however their capability of them is much greater than what they were a decade ago. This is in terms of capability, speed and storage. If people are expected to be working at a computer all day then it would be a good idea to then give them the IT that is capable for then doing the task effectively. If they have a malfunctioning computer then you will get a lot of moans in the office but also potentially some very disgruntled customers. Make sure that there is virus protection on all your computers that is fit for purpose as this is also a real threat to companies nowadays.
Walls
What is on the walls in terms of pictures and colouring could directly affect the mood of the employees. If it is plain and dull then you can expect the mood to potentially replicate that. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on this but there are simple things you can do here to make a change and potentially improve the office mood and energy just by splashing a coat of paint on the wall. Clearly, this will need to remain professional as if customers (or potential customers) are going into this area, you want to ensure the correct impression is given out. Also, have a consideration of different pictures you could hang. This could be ones relative to your company (including your logos) or it could be something completely different and add some colours to specific areas in the room.