A well-organized, fully utilized office can be a business owner’s best friend. It can whip the workflow of the team inside it into shape and be so much of a morale booster that it works as one of the reasons employees want to stay there. But a bad work environment can be a serious risk to your business.
Here are the ways it might be stopping you from getting the most out of your employees.
Find your feet
The risk of injury is the most obvious one when it comes to a workplace, and you might think you’ve got yourself covered because you’re tackling the fire and electrical risks. However, the most common kind of workplace injury is, in fact, the seemingly innocuous fall. It accounts for thousands upon thousands of preventable injuries and leads to 23% of serious claims against employers. Beyond hiring cleaners to regularly ensure that all walkways are safe, make it policy that the most traversed paths are off-bounds for any potential obstacles.
Cool down
The very air itself can be a risk to your workers. How you control the temperature can have a big impact on your workforce for one. If people are overheating or they’re getting too cold, it brings many risks and has a drastically negative impact on how productive they can be. Investing in proper insulation and changes like commercial tinting can serve as an easy and permanent solution to the problem. You shouldn’t ignore air quality, either. Check your ventilation and air conditioning units regularly to clear them of dust and debris. Otherwise, you may be putting your employees at risk of developing or worsening serious respiratory conditions.
Stop posturing
The workplace can be stressful enough without adding physical strain on top of it. Yet perhaps the most overlooked issue in the modern office is that of posture problems, back pain, and repetitive strain injury. It’s a good idea to encourage employees to move more often and take breaks from repetitive tasks. You can lessen the amount of potential harm caused to them by investing in ergonomic changes like lumbar-supportive chairs for those who sit at a desk or standing mats for those who spend their time on their feet in one place. Physical strain is a big contributor to mental stress, so if you want people at their most engaged and most motivated, you need to tackle the physical pressures they’re under, too.
Get in the zone
There’s a lot more you can do to help motivate and engage them, too. In particular, the visual style of the office can have a big impact. Brighter colours, natural light, and the freedom to personalise their desk some is much better for morale than drab surroundings, fluorescent bulbs, and strict rules on workspace decoration.
Whether it’s injury, fatigue, stress, or bad morale, it can all find its source in the very place that’s supposed to help your team do their work. Make sure you’re taking the time to look over the risks of the office and make it a constant mission to improve its impact on the business.