It’s of no surprise that workers who have a healthy morale reinforced by their office systems are going to be significantly more productive than workers in an office that breeds negativity. You may not think your office encourages a negative outlook, but try to think of how your employees experience their working life there. Try to identify the root of the unproductivity, whether it’s a general atmosphere or more specific interpersonal issues, and read this guide to bringing positivity into the workplace.
Community Spirit
Remember, you’re all on the same side, even if it’s sometimes tough. Do your employees feel like they’re competing for praise or recognition, or even for access to equipment to get the basics of their job done? A good idea, which will help to iron out employee concerns and air any issues, would be for you to arrange for a daily or a scheduled regular meeting for this purpose alone. Even if it’s a little informal, your employees need an opportunity to talk about any issues that are making it difficult to function. Solving these issues will improve your products directly, but it will certainly improve morale. Why not capitalize on the team atmosphere being created by following the morning meeting with a Power Hour, as most workers find flow easier to achieve in the mornings. Or, save the meeting and Power Hour for Fridays, and follow them up by letting all employees going home an hour early.
Open Ears
There may be concrete issues that your workers are having to find a way around every day which are physically lowering productivity – the fall in morale is only a side effect of lower productivity in this case. A daily or weekly meeting will be helpful to identify this type of issue, but not if you don’t act on the knowledge that you acquire. Many employees will have detailed and informed views about how the office systems could be better run – whether it’s an inefficient spreadsheet system, faulty equipment or poor scheduling – so listen to them and act.
Amenities
Hunger kills both morale and productivity, and if there’s anything you can do about hungry employees then you should. Microwaves and kettles will increase the variety of meals that they can prepare, but there’s more you can do without too much expense. You could search Office-Coffee.co.uk for the right coffee machine for your office, so workers don’t have to put up with instant or lose fifteen minutes out of their working time to put on a French press. You could also bulk buy some sachets of dried noodles or pasta to provide a backup in case workers forget to bring lunch one day.
Office Space
You only need to take one look around the office to know if it’s set up to crush morale. How much natural light gets in? How much space do workers have for themselves? Can you hear the buzzes and hums of cables? What colour are the walls? Turn your office space into somewhere that it’s pleasant to spend time in. Let your employees listen to music and choose it among themselves, and bring some plants into the room. These will all contribute to better morale and an increase in productivity.