We spend a lot of time at work and thus, how our work environment greatly shapes how we live our lives.
Our work affects our mental health, emotional stability, physical conditions, and confidence. Thus, if you are a manager, supervisor, or even a business owner, working well with your subordinates is a great way to boost productivity, and here is how.
Focus more on hiring compatible people
Success in any business lies in hiring the right people. But I man not just talking about the right people in terms of qualifications.
Hire people based on their attitude and ability to get along with others. A toxic employee with a poor attitude will likely make the workplace difficult for others, thus lowering productivity. When hiring, or when setting up a team, ensure that you have people who are professional and team players.
Improve communication
Toxic workplaces develop due to a lack of communication. If an employee feels they aren’t heard, they will stop putting in the work and could even turn on their co-workers. Meanwhile, a leader who cannot communicate effectively ends up losing the trust and confidence of their team.
Proper communication should be two-way. As an employer, you should first create channels for employees to express themselves and ensure that the leaders listen to them. This gives your employees confidence and enthusiasm to work better and improves the work environment for everyone.
Improve the office lighting
This might seem like such a fuss, but according to studies such as this, exposure to natural lighting improves our moods, energy, and mental health, which in turn drives up our focus.
Many offices often have very little natural lighting. If your office is one of them, this could be a contributing factor to low productivity. You can have blue-enriched light bulbs which mimic the sun if the office is not well lit.
Make the office comfortable
Aside from lighting, ensure that the office, in general, is a pleasant place for the employees to sit and spend 8 hours a day in. There would be no use in having the best lighting but then, have the employees sit in awkward postures because the sits and desks are uncomfortable.
One could, for example, provide flexibility for employees. You could give them options to work either when seated or standing. One could have comfy chairs around the office. The chairs should be well-cushioned and should support the back well.
These are little things that go a long way in improving any work environment.
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