A comfortable office – wait for a second – is there a thing called a comfortable office? Well, the truth is, not many employers make their offices too comfortable for the employees, but they absolutely should! Providing employees with comfortable working conditions offers tremendous benefits to both employees and employers.
Most organizations focus on making their offices suitable for the type of work that the employees are supposed to do. However, many employers miss the point that the office should be designed keeping in consideration the needs of the employees because it's the employees that'll do the work. If the office design isn't employee-centric, the quality of work won't be as good as it should be, anyway!
If you want to understand how ensuring employee comfort at work can benefit you and your business and, most importantly, how you can make your workplace comfortable, we will start by congratulating you. You're on the right track that'll lead you to success – lots of it!
Continue reading this blog post to understand why is ensuring comfort at the office important and how you can make your office comfortable for your employees.
WHY Do You Need to Ensure Employee Comfort at the Office?
Designing a comfortable office isn't the easiest thing to do. It requires you to consider various aspects, including the furniture you use, the lighting in the office, the office temperature, and so on and so forth. It requires a lot of time, effort, and money. You may want to know why you should put so much of your valuable time, effort, and money into ensuring employee comfort when you can invest it all into growing your business. You'll be surprised to know that ensuring employee comfort will eventually boost your business!
Let's look at why you should ensure employee comfort at the office:
Ensures Health and Safety
You may not realize, but your employees are at risk of various health conditions and injuries when they're at work. From musculoskeletal disorders due to poor ergonomics to eye strain due to poor lighting to the risk of trip and fall accidents due to a slippery floor or sharp turns on the floor, your employees may get ill or injured due to poor office design. Ensuring comfort at the office starts with improving ergonomics that encompass office furniture, lighting, temperature, floor plan, and process flow.
Once you've designed an office that you can truly call safe, you ensure your employees' health and safety. Employees will be able to work more comfortably, knowing that they're absolutely safe at work!
Enhances Employee Retention
When employees are comfortable and feel that the employer is invested in ensuring their health and safety, they'll be more than willing to go the extra mile for the employer. They’ll be more than happy to give more back to the company than they receive. They'll enjoy a sense of safety and well-being and will see their employer and organization in high regard. Having said that, they'll stick around the organization for longer.
Enhances Productivity
Comfort at the office enhances employee productivity significantly. When an employee is comfortable, they're able to focus more on work since they're less distracted. With better focus comes higher efficiency, higher productivity, and better-quality results. A productive workforce is the backbone of a thriving business. So, when your employees are comfortable, they'll be more productive, and your business will perform better on the whole!
Reduces Healthcare Costs
Employee comfort is directly related to healthcare costs that your business has to bear. Discomfort at work is majorly due to poor office ergonomics and poor ergonomics put employees at a greater risk of musculoskeletal disorders. This means if your employees continue to work in uncomfortable conditions, they may need medical attention, and with that, your healthcare costs will skyrocket. However, if your workplace is comfortable and ergonomics-friendly, the risk of musculoskeletal disorders will reduce, and so will the healthcare costs.
HOW to Make Your Workplace Comfortable for the Employees?
All your effort, time, and money that goes into making your office comfortable won't go in vain. You'll get a return in the form of happy, healthy, and satisfied employees and a thriving business!
The more important question here is how can you ensure comfort at the office for your employees. Here are some of the best ways you can make your office a truly comfortable place to work.
Provide Comfortable Office Chairs
If most of your employees spend most of their day sitting in front of the computer, the chairs are the first thing you need to change. Chairs are the primary source of discomfort in offices because regular office chairs aren't designed to provide comfort to all employees. These chairs don't even promote a healthy posture, thereby putting the employees at a massive risk of posture-related musculoskeletal disorders.
Start with replacing your office chairs with ergonomic chairs that allow each employee to adjust the height, seat depth, and backrest according to their preferences so that they aren't seated uncomfortably in an incorrect posture.
Replace Work Desks
The next source of discomfort in offices is the incorrect height of work desks. If the work desk isn't the correct height for the user, they'll have to sit in an incorrect and uncomfortable posture. If the work desk is too high for the user, they'll have to sit with their shoulders awkwardly raised and back, and neck stretched. If the desk is too low, the user will have to sit with their head bent and back curved. Both these postures are uncomfortable and dangerous as they increase the risk of posture-related musculoskeletal disorders. Your best bet is to replace the regular work desks with ergonomic sit-stand workstations such as Motorized Aesthetic Sit Stand Workstation EM6M so that the employees aren't sitting or standing in the same posture for too long.
Set the Office Temperature Right
Employees will be uncomfortable at work if the office is too hot or too cold. You've got to set the office temperature right to ensure your employees are comfortable at work. If the office feels too hot, the employees will sweat and stay uncomfortable and distracted throughout the day. If the office is too cold, the employees will feel like they'll freeze, and they certainly won't be able to stay focused on work! Ideally, the office shouldn't feel too hot or too cold in every season.
Get the Office Lighting Right
Just like temperature can affect employee comfort, lighting can make too. If you want to ensure employee comfort at the office, you need to get the office lighting right. Your office shouldn't be too dark or too bright. Both conditions come under bad lighting. Poor lighting makes employees uncomfortable and results in eye strain and headaches.
Offer Flexibility in the Dress Code
There was a time when employees were strictly advised to come to work in formal attire. Although it looks professional, formal dresses tend to make employees feel uncomfortable. Formal dresses aren't the most comfortable dresses. One way to ensure your employees are comfortable at work is to offer them flexibility in the dress code. Business casual is the new normal. It's a more comfortable attire. You should encourage your employees to wear whatever they're comfortable in, whether it's formal shoes or sneakers, dress shirts, polo shirts, jeans, or formal pants (not PJs, of course!). The more comfortable they are, the better they'll perform at work.
Design a Break Room
Sitting in front of the computer sure is very exhausting. There will come a point when the employee gets too tired to continue working. This is where they can benefit from a break room. Design a break room where there are recliners where the employee can lie down for a few minutes between work to just relax before returning to their workstations. This will enhance their comfort levels, thereby improving their productivity.
Provide Free Access to Tea and Coffee
A lot of people can't function without caffeine. Coffee and tea are also comfort drinks for many. It would be great if you provided free and unlimited access to tea and coffee in your office. Your employees will be able to relax with a cup of their beloved hot beverage for a few minutes and return to work feeling refreshed and energized.
Final Word
Making a workplace comfortable for the employees is beneficial not only for the employees, but the employers get to benefit as well. Employee comfort is directly proportional to employee productivity, and the higher the productivity, the better it's for the business growth. If you have never thought about it all this way, now’s the time!
