As a business owner or manager, you know that the success of your business relies heavily on the productivity of your employees. Finding new ways to enhance productivity is probably always on your to-do list. However, you should also be assessing potential things that can sap the productivity right out of your employees. This way, you can remedy the source quickly.
Poor Lighting
Lighting is one of those areas that really surprises people when it comes to their mood and productivity levels. Poor lighting can be a big problem for an office environment. You should opt for installing artificial daylight or cool white lighting as they tend to be the most comfortable for individuals to work in. These lighting tones allow employees to be more alert throughout the day and they will spend less time straining their eyes when it comes to working. This leads to overall more productivity.
Temperature
It can become obvious to anyone that when it’s freezing outside, they don’t want to do anything because they’re too worried about being cold. When it’s extremely hot outside, the same thing happens as the energy seems to be sapped right out of people. When it comes to the office environment, it’s important to assess the air temperature. Just because the temperature is not at an extreme doesn’t mean it’s at a comfortable level for your employees. Consider having commercial HVAC installation performed at your office location so your employees can more easily alter the indoor temperature to a more comfortable level.
Lack of Background Noise
Music has been studied time and time again when it comes to productivity in the office. It’s been shown that music highly affects a person’s mood. When the right background music is played, it can enhance the mood of your employees. This mood enhancement can lead to more productivity during the workday. Avoid popular music with lyrics as that can be distracting. Rather, opt for lyric-less music such as classical and ambient tones.
Inadequate Equipment
Imagine being given an old typewriter to type up your weekly report. You would find yourself frustrated, to say the least. When your employees are working with outdated technology, it can lead to much frustration. When your employees are frustrated, their productivity levels go down. Do a quick assessment of your office to see what technology could be upgraded.
As a business owner or manager, your job is to ensure that your employees are given the best so they can perform at their best. Sometimes there are some unlikely culprits that could be sapping away the productivity of your staff. The above four are ones that most businesses can easily address and fix.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
