How to Be Less Wasteful at Work

The global pandemic has led to an unprecedented amount of unemployment, all over the world. If you are still lucky enough to have a job, it’s important to consider the ways in which you might be able to boost your productivity levels and reduce waste, to help your employer save money during this challenging time for the economy. Being less wasteful will also give you an opportunity to consider how you can be kinder to the environment. Read on for some advice. 

Do you leave your computer in stand-by mode at the end of the day or shut it down properly? If it’s the former, you have already found yourself a really simple way to help reduce electricity bills. The same applies to leaving your laptop plugged in to charge overnight or forgetting to switch off the office printer.

Speaking of the printer, this is one area where waste is fairly problematic. Oftentimes, employees will print documents unnecessarily, when they could have emailed it or looked at it on the desktop. Many a time, people will print off lots of copies of the same document, only to notice that there was a typo, and they have to start all over again. These types of careless actions are a complete waste of printer and ink. Before you go to hit the print button, ask yourself if you truly need to and if you have thoroughly checked the document first. You may also want to consider reducing your font size so that the words on the page take up less space. 

Generally speaking, the trick is to become more mindful of your decisions in the office. Do you use scraps of paper for your notes as opposed to using company notepads? Do you bring a refillable bottle in so that you don’t have to use the plastic cups at the dispenser? 

It would certainly be worth chatting to your supervisor about your plans to be less wasteful at work, as they will most likely appreciate your support and get some of your colleagues on board. 

*This is a collaborative post.