Running a business will generally start with just you – you’ll do absolutely everything, from making the tea to negotiating with suppliers (and everything in between). Now while that’s expected, and usual, as time goes on that may not be how you want to run things anymore. If that’s the case and you intend to grow your business into something you can’t handle by yourself, you’re going to need employees, and if you’ve got employees, you’ll have to take good care of them. 

If you hadn’t thought about doing that before, now’s the time – ideally before you hire anyone. You need to know precisely how you’re going to make your employees happy, healthy, and ready to do their best for you because otherwise they might leave (which means you’ll need to start your expensive recruitment drive all over again) or your business might get a bad reputation for not treating its staff well, which will impact your profits. Although there are all kinds of different you can do to make sure you team want to stay with you and work as hard as possible for you, one thing that’s going to help in one hundred percent of situations is to make your office more comfortable for them. With that in mind, here are some of the things you need to do. 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Ergonomic Furniture And Work Stations

Assuming you have an office for people to come to, either full time or on a hybrid basis, you’re going to need to make sure they don’t get hurt while they’re doing their jobs. Now you might not think that office workers run too much of a risk when it comes to injury, but you’d be surprised; sitting at a desk for longer periods of time can cause various different ailments, including neck, back, hip, and shoulder pain and damage, as well as raising the potential for blood clots and obesity. Therefore, if you can do what you can to reduce those problems, that’s all to the good.

Of course, you can’t force your team to sit in the right way or get up and go for walks around the office on a regular basis (which they definitely should be doing), but you can provide them with ergonomic furniture and work stations to ensure they’re kept as safe as possible while they’re working. Ergonomic chairs, for example, provide the right support for the spine and help reduce the risk of back pain, and adjustable desks means that employees can have their work stations at the right height so they don’t have to bed over and sit hunched for hours at a time – you can even give them standing desks so they can choose whether to sit or stand. Then there are ergonomic keyboards, wrist rests, footrests, and more. The more you can give your staff to help them stay comfortable, and less prone to injury they’ll be, and even if they work remotely, it could be a good idea to give them a furniture budget to ensure they can stay comfortable at home. 

Adequate Lighting 

If you really want your team to be comfortable in the office, ergonomic furniture is a must, but so is adequate lighting, and one without the other isn’t going to help all that much at all. The fact is that, as you might expect, the right lighting is essential for comfort and productivity – if people can’t see or have to strain their eyes and get headaches, they’re not going to get their work done in a timely manner, so it makes sense to fix this issue if it’s a problem in your office. 

Natural lighting is a good place to start when it comes to dealing with the lighting in your office, and maximising how much the space gets is vital. Studies have shown that natural sunlight boosts the mood and even energy levels, so it’s ideal, but if your office can’t get natural light (or not much natural light) then it’s wise to invest in high-quality artificial lighting that does the same job – you can buy lighting that mimics daylight and helps people feel better. Whatever you do, make sure you avoid harsh overhead lighting at all costs because that’s going to make people feel awful and lead to headaches and eye strain, and if you really want to do the best thing for your team, give them all their own adjustable lamps so they can light their work station in the way they want and need to. 

Break Rooms

You’ll want your team to take breaks throughout the day – a longer one at lunch time, and then shorter ones on either side. Why? Because although they might technically be working less, they’ll be more productive when they’re rested, resulting in more work in less time – as long as everything else is comfortable for them as well, of course. 

If you want them to take breaks, and you expect them to take breaks, then you should give them someone to take that break – a designated break room, in other words. Set aside a room or create one if you need to where people can go to take a break away from their desk (a break at their desk isn’t much of a break, is it?), and include things they can use to relax like books, magazines, games, puzzles, and so on – you might even want to include a nap area (although for some employers that would be taking things too far). Something you’ll definitely want in the break room is the best filter coffee machine so your staff can make a great cup of coffee in the morning and whenever else they want to. Add a fridge, plates and utensils, and perhaps even provide lunch or at least healthy snacks – all of this can really make a difference to how someone feels about their workplace and how productive and engaged they are in their work. 

Wellness Programmes

If you’re in charge of employees, you can do as much or as little as you want to when it comes to making them comfortable, and one of the things you might consider if you want to take things further and do more than most employees would is to implement various wellness programmes – just think how much everyone would love their jobs and work hard if they had treats to look forward to that would not only make them feel good but also enhance their overall wellbeing! 

What do we mean? What kinds of things could you offer? Well, it’s a long list, but some things could include yoga classes, meditation sessions, onsite fitness facilities, massage, and so on. On top of this, you could try flexible working arrangements where people can work the hours that suit them as long as they do their required number per week, or perhaps home working (or even a combination of both). These new and improved working conditions could mean a much better work-life balance, leading to greater comfort and job satisfaction – it’s well worth looking into. 

Personalisation

If you allow workers to make their work spaces a lot more personalised, they’re going to feel more comfortable – they’ll be in a space they’ve designed (to some extent, at least) and where they’re surrounded by their favourite things and familiar belongings. You can encourage your team to decorate their desks with photos, plants, trinkets, and anything else that makes them feel good and shows who they really are. 

You might still need to implement some rules because you don’t want things to get out of hand, but if you can be fairly lenient, your staff will like their workplace a lot more, and be happier and more productive as a result. 

 

*This is a collaborative post.