Budgets are tight in small businesses – but there’s no room for cut corners when it comes to these…
Keeping on top of costs when you’re running an office can be tough. But there are a few key areas that you shouldn’t skimp on if you want to keep your workforce fit, healthy and happy…
Chairs
People probably spend more time in their office chair than on the expensive sofa they bought for their living room. Making sure it’s a high quality one that’s suited to their personal needs is vital.
An uncomfortable office chair can be distracting at the very least, and at worst can lead to long term problems and extended periods off work.
A study in the International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications found that 86% of productivity problems in an office come from the office furniture.
Toilets
Not only should office toilets be accessible and in full working order, they should obviously, be clean.
Toilets can spread illness among staff, whether it’s through poorly maintained sinks or a lack of adequate cleaning products. If people don’t have the proper kit, like anti-bacterial hand-wash, they can easily spread germs to the rest of your workplace.
A recent study also found that bacteria clings better to wet hands, so make sure that either the hand-dryer works or you’ve got a good supply of paper towels.
Snacks
It may sound like a frivolous area to worry about but getting the right kind of food into your employees can help boost their productivity. Healthy, balanced snack foods can give people sustained energy throughout the day, instead of quick sugar fixes.
And by providing snacks you not only have more control over what they’re eat but you also cut down on snack runs. Half of us regularly nip out of the office to grab some snacks, according to a Staples study. Some people make as many as five trips to the shop a day. These snack runs account for 2.4 billion hours in lost productivity in the US every year.
Lighting and heating
Getting the ambiance levels right in an office can be tough. One of the answers is to hand over the controls to your staff. While everyone has their own preferences, allowing employees to look after heating and lighting can help boost their mood and engagement levels.
A Steelcase survey found that 32% of workers were unhappy with the light intensity and 45% dissatisfied with the room temperature at work.
This unhappiness can come also come from poorly maintained systems that can lead to lights going out, temperature levels varying and generally a poor ambiance. Make sure to keep all systems in full working order.
Broadband
There are very few businesses these days that can work without the internet. And it’s not just a basic connection that’s needed. Even the simplest of jobs needs a strong and fast broadband connection.
Research from the Daisy Group Workers found a single worker can lose 38 hours a year due to slow internet access, while 10% of workers browse for other jobs during periods of IT downtime.
Poor internet connections are, in fact, costing the UK economy £11bn a year.
