It's proved that the working atmosphere affects the work efficiency and the mood of employees. In creating a positive attitude among employees to their duties performing, the correct office work organization plays an important role, which lies entirely on the shoulders of the boss, as well as his deputies.
Content:
1. Green the room and add more natural elements
2. Time for rest: the use of a quiet hour in the office
3. Implement time tracking and earnings calculating with Checkiant app
4. Allow time for physical activity of the work team
5. Add time for complete relaxation
7. It's all about the interior
8. The honor roll at the office
Is it normal to say " have no strength, so tired after work". Such feelling appears in the vast majority of office hard workers. If in the first two days of the working week they can still turn on at full capacity to perform their tasks, then by Wednesday-Thursday their energy gradually decreases. Against this background, labor productivity falls, indignation begins among the working team, and the manager can not understand what happened.
Competent organization of modern offices is the key to high efficiency of employees, their sincere desire to work for the benefit of the company, as well as a positive atmosphere in the workplace. Therefore, the boss faces a difficult task, which consists in creating such conditions in which it would be possible to overcome the fatigue of subordinates working in the office, to maintain their enthusiasm and productivity. Let's see what we can do about it.
1. Green the room and add more natural elements
Let's start with research on the effect of greenery on the brain activity and performance of people. In 2013, scientists from the University of Exeter conducted a series of studies, taking part in an exhibition of fresh flowers. They managed to find out that the plants:
- increased the mood and general well-being of people by 47%;
- improved creativity by 44%;
- increased labor productivity by 39%.
Similar studies were conducted at the Texas Institute. There, scientists were able to find out that surrounded by greenery, people have 15% more creative ideas.
There is no need to argue about the benefits of meditation with pleasant music, complemented by the singing of birds, the sound of the sea or rain. It's proved that such contact with nature has a beneficial effect on a person, namely:
- prevents headaches;
- increases brain activity;
- improves mood;
- calms and relaxes.
In order for the organization the office staff to be effective, the manager shouldn't skimp on equipping the office space with a nature corner with turtles, fish or birds. An excellent solution will be to arrange an exit to the roof, where you can sit on chairs or ottomans and enjoy the view of the city. Plus, you should regularly arrange corporate picnics by the river, in the woods outside the city, or at least in a park. And don't forget about the greenery in the office. There should be a lot of plants!
2. Time for rest: the use of a quiet hour in the office
Сonsidering that the office worker is in four walls throughout the entire working day, it's not surprising that as a result, the boss gets an tired and irritable subordinate who constantly complains of headaches and lack of sleep. If you, as a manager, still think that a work break for sleep is a child's whim, then you are completely mistaken. In Latin America, Southern Europe, China, Korea, and Japan, companies have long practiced a quiet hour, which helps team members work more productively. This type of recreation:
- increases the concentration;
- improves memory;
- stimulates the creativity.
- reduces the risk of developing migraines, diabetes, heart and vascular diseases;
- improves mood, and this is good for psychological health and excellent prevention of depression.
This is especially true for office workers who spend hours working on documents, which makes their brain and eyes quickly tired. Just 30 minutes of daytime sleep or a nap and productivity increases almost twice. The result is obvious – a happy, healthy and highly effective employee who helps to save the company money.
Someone may object: how is it possible to spend time sleeping instead of working?! But it's proven that a rested employee performs his duties much faster and more efficiently than his sleepy and tired colleague.
3. Implement time tracking and earnings calculating with Checkiant app
During the pandemic, many employees had to switch to remote work. In this case, the manager doesn't need to worry about the atmosphere in the workplace. His subordinate arranges his own "labor nest", equips it with live plants, selects a comfortable table and chair, turns on quiet pleasant music. And no one will give him a decree in this case. He can also take a break from work as he pleases. Sleep, take a walk on the street, walk the dog, order food delivered or even go to the gym – this is an incomplete list of what remote workers indulge themselves with.
The only thing that concerns the manager in such a situation is how exactly his employee distributes his time and how effectively he performs work at home. But the subordinate also has a counter question: how will his salary be calculated? For the authorities, the issue is resolved quickly enough, since the effective organization of the remote office involves the using of time tracker. The program will help you:
- monitor the work of each employee;
- track the total number of hours that the team spent on the project;
- track the completion of tasks for each day, week, month;
- calculate payments to each subordinate;
- increase employee productivity.
One of the most user-friendly and reliable is a simple time tracker Checkiant.
4. Allow time for physical activity of the work team
In addition to bad mood and apathy, passive office work for a long time leads to many other health problems. Among them are:
- migraines;
- lower back, back and neck pain;
- absent-mindedness;
- pain in the eyes;
- obesity.
How long do you think your subordinates will be able to work with such a list of problems? Definitely not. And even more – with poor health, they will not be able to effectively perform their work duties.
Equipping the working space with sports areas or creating an isolated room for active recreation is not an additional cost, as many managers believe, but, on the contrary, saving financial resources. The employee, being healthy, charged and efficient, will be able to solve production tasks all day at their maximum possible level.
The organization of the working process in the office includes the creation of a healthy atmosphere and the opportunity for subordinates to monitor their psychoemotional and physical condition. To do this, you can take the following steps:
- put a billiard or tennis table;
- equip a mini-gym;
- organize a dart board area;
- install table football or hockey.
Allow employees to take pilates and yoga mats with them, and devote their lunch break to this activity.
In some companies, employees gather for 10-20 minutes in a specially designated place to perform gymnastic exercises together.
5. Add time for complete relaxation
It's time to think about the psychological component. This is especially true for employees who are engaged in mental work. The brain is in tension for several hours in a row. He needs periodic timeouts during the working day of 5 minutes every hour, 15 minutes twice a day, or 30-50 minutes during a full lunch break.
To take care of their subordinates, some companies install massage chairs. In others, large aquariums with fish are placed and recreation areas are set up opposite them. There is another interesting idea — the creation of a corner with a musical device, where you can choose relaxation melodies to lie down, relax, dream about something pleasant.
6. Staff safety is paramount
During a pandemic, some may switch to remote work, while others may not be able to do so. It's important to create all the conditions for a safe working process so that employees don't start leaving under the pretext that their work may now pose a threat to their health. At the same time, innovations shouldn't have a negative impact on the comfort and mood of the staff.
In this difficult time, one of the key tasks of each manager is to organize work in the office during quarantine. There is a set of standard rules that are put forward for all public places without exception. This includes equipping the room with antiseptics, detergents and paper towels, as well as the presence of face masks and a thermometer for quickly measuring body temperature, as well as organizing regular cleaning in offices.
Just a little creative approach and now the paper towels are not plain, but colored with interesting patterns, and the liquid soap is not neutral, but with a strong aroma of orange and cinnamon. Masks are not white pharmacy masks, but with funny faces or a company logo to raise the spirit. These are small things that allow employees to understand what company takes care about them. At the same time, their productivity increases.
7. It's all about the interior
Many managers are genuinely surprised when they learn that their subordinates visit psychologists or sit on sedatives. Of course, but how else, if the boss's office is made in a cool English style, decorated with various accessories and leather goods, while their workplace can be gloomy! A week in such conditions — and you can say goodbye to a strong psyche.
The interior of the office should be warm, pleasant to the eyes, charging with positive energy. And this can be achieved very simply. You need:
allow office workers to decorate their workplaces with paintings, photos of relatives, accessories, favorite plants and so on;
add more nice colors to the design. For example, blue can increase productivity and concentration by more than 35%, and sunny yellow can lift your mood;
more light – it's important that the office has access to natural light. So the windows need to be washed and the curtains removed.
Bright accents can be introduced into the interior. It can be green living walls covered with moss, colorful paintings, plants in red, green and orange pots.
8. The honor roll at the office
If the office worker will see his face on the honor roll, his mood will involuntarily increase, and the desire to work only become stronger, so that the photo will not remove. It applyes to office hard workers, whose pride in their achievements will motivate and encourage them to perform their duties more insistently.
This is a program for organizing work in the office, and office manager can take any methods that he think are most effective. The main thing is to take into account not only his own interests, but also the preferences of subordinates. And then they will be motivated to work effectively and complete the tasks assigned to them ahead of time.
9. Free access to water
Dehydration, in addition to having a negative effect on all body systems, also reduces performance, blunts the brain. If the employee drinks little water, he feels drowsy and irritated. And it doesn't even occur to him to go for a drink of water.
So the water should always be in full view of the team. The organization and maintenance of the office is primarily concerned with the physical and psychological health of subordinates in order to increase the productivity of their work. Place the cooler or water bottles in a prominent place.
10. Rubber duck to help you
In the US, programmers keep rubber ducks on their desks. When they feel that there is a stupor in the work, then their toy is used. They take the duck and tell it about every step of their work. In the course of the dialogue, although strange at first glance, they themselves find the made mistakes.
Whoever works with you, the method will be useful to everyone. Replace the rubber duck with a creative, funny soft toy or a large doll that will become an integral participant and interlocutor of the office team.
See also:
How to control employees’ work. Checkiant – a simple time tracking program