The best way to motivate employees to work hard and stay on-task is to ensure that they feel valued. Creating a more comfortable workplace can help. Read on to find out about four ways that any employer can provide a more comfortable environment for his or her employees.
Improve Climate Control
It can be difficult for office workers to concentrate when temperatures inside their offices are well outside a comfortable range. That’s why business owners need to keep their spaces carefully climate-controlled. If it’s been a while since the building’s HVAC system has been updated, it may be time to make some improvements.
Never put off necessary repairs. It’s always better to hire a technician to perform AC Repair Kennesaw business owners can trust to provide their employees with a comfortable work environment than it is to leave workers suffering in the heat. Fixing climate control problems as soon as they come up will avoid issues with lethargy and distraction.
Create a Better Break Room
Is the company’s current employee breakroom just a drab room with bare walls and an ageing coffee pot? If so, that’s bad news for worker morale.
Create a comfortable space for employees to mingle and relax during their breaks so they can take full advantage of those brief periods off to reflect and recuperate. Renovating a break room doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Start by adding some comfortable furniture, engaging artwork, and a kitchen area stocked with snacks and go from there.
Provide Some Privacy
There’s nothing wrong with open floor plans, although they’re better for some businesses than others. Whether the company has an open floor plan or traditional cubicles, though, employers need to provide employees with a sense of privacy. This makes them feel trusted.
Providing privacy is easy when every employee has his or her own office, but it’s rare for modern business owners to have that kind of space. Don’t just start erecting walls left and right. Instead, think smaller and start by installing locked drawers and filing cabinets and consider creating sound-proofed meeting rooms so that employees who work in open areas can collaborate on projects in private as needed.
Offer Flexible Scheduling
Not all aspects of improving workplace comfort revolve around altering floor plans and providing more physical comfort. This one pertains to scheduling.
Modern workers expect to have a better work-life balance than their predecessors, and smart employers will be more than happy to comply. Giving employees time off to take care of family and personal responsibilities will help them retain a healthy balance between the office and their home lives.
Some companies also offer employees the opportunity to work from home on a selective basis. It doesn’t make sense for most businesses to hire only remote workers or for most employees to work remotely all the time. Try letting employees work from home on a trial basis if they don’t have any meeting scheduled and see if they still feel comfortable with their work responsibilities.
The Bottom Line
Comfortable employees are happy employees. It doesn’t take all that much to create an environment that is conducive to both collaboration and private enterprise. Employers just need to make sure they’re going the extra mile to provide a comfortable environment and show their workers that they are valued members of the team.