Dianne Pajo
Even though remote work has become a popular option for a large portion of the workforce these days, many people are choosing to go back to the office. However, since it’s been a couple of years since businesses have had to provide an in-office option, not all of them are ready for the return just yet. If you need to make some improvements to your company’s workspace that’ll help boost employee productivity upon their return, we have a few tips you might want to try out.
Increase the Amount of Natural Light
Many people already know that natural light is a great way to feel more productive. Standard indoor lighting has a tendency to increase anxiety and depression in people. While we might have already known about this, many people really got the chance to experience the effects of natural lighting while working from home.
Houses tend to let in more sunlight than older business buildings. Plus, a lot of people took this time to try working outside when they could. Even though you won’t be able to simulate the full outdoor experience in the office, you can increase the size of your current windows or try out natural light lamps.
Play Some Background Music
One would think that working at home would mean they could control the number of surrounding noises that occurred. Unfortunately, this was rarely the case. Because of that, many people have grown accustomed to listening to music while they work. This is something that you could bring into the office as well.
There’s probably already a stereo system set up, but if not, they’re not too difficult to install. Once you have speakers up, find some calming, lyric-free music to play over the sound system. We’re sure your employees will appreciate it. Just make sure you don’t play it too loudly.
Update the Furniture
Even before the pandemic, we’re willing to bet that the furniture in your office was a bit outdated. This is usually most noticeable with your desk chairs. When people started working at home, many had to buy new office supplies, one of them being an ergonomic desk chair. Now that they’ve gotten used to that, they will want the same thing for the office.
Even though ergonomics are mostly adjusted through chairs, quality desks and tables will also make a difference. While most desks are small enough to place anywhere, you’ll need to ensure you know how to pick a custom conference table that fits the space well. Updating any of these items will certainly help with overall efficiency.
Hold Fewer Meetings
Finally, the last way to improve the workplace in a way that’ll boost productivity is to hold fewer meetings. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that so many of our meetings could have actually just been emails. Now that many people are returning to the office, let’s try to keep things that way. Too many meetings absolutely stifle productivity, so not ramping them back up will be quite beneficial overall.
