Many offices tend to be a drab and uninteresting. While it’s important to create a professional and serious environment to ensure that work gets done, it can sometimes have the opposite effect. If employees aren’t comfortable in their workplace, they may become unmotivated and be less productive. These small improvements can make a big difference in employee morale.
Replace the Furniture
The appearance of an office can make all the difference. While an office can’t feel like a playground, there’s no harm in creating a more enjoyable environment. There is a movement for offices to have a more casual and appealing set up. A specialty furniture store is the best place to buy office furniture. Replace swivel chairs with more comfortable chairs or even couches. If your technology is outdated, replace computers, printers and phones with the latest models. It will reduce employee stress and increase productivity.
Host Outside Work Events
Team bonding has proven to have a powerful impact on office morale. If your staff gets along, then they will enjoy coming into work more and will be willing to get more work done. Host a monthly team bonding events doing a different activity each month such as bowling, roller skating or just drinking and hanging out at a bar. Host company retreats going camping, on a cruise or on an adventure in a new country. Retreats are informative, a great bonding experience and a nice change of pace for employees.
Add New Office Traditions
Office traditions can change the pace of a steady workplace. A common example is casual Friday. It is office appropriate but creates some variety in an otherwise stagnant work week. Some other fun theme days you can implement are crazy tie day, bring your pet to work day or cookie exchange.
While work is meant to be a serious place, once you make your office a little more easy going and focus on employee satisfaction, you’ll notice an increase in productivity.