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How can I make my employees happier?

How can I make my employees happier?
Panagiotis Koutoudis
by Panagiotis Koutoudis
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If you want a happy workforce, then you need to make sure your office is as welcoming and comfortable as possible. A good office design will help your employees work harder and more effectively, giving you better results. It can also help you attract and retain the best employees. The following pointers are helpful for any business, but particularly for those looking at small spaces of up to 3,000 square feet.

Light, light and more light

The more windows and skylights you can have in your office the better. Your employees may spend eight hours plus a day in your office and they don’t want to feel like they’re sat in a box all that time. There’s nothing worse than arriving in an office in the dark, not having any windows and it being dark when you leave at night. It makes people feel like they’ve missed the day completely.

Go open plan

Many firms go open plan and, instead of having managers in private offices off the main floor, sit them with their teams. This helps ensure they know what people are doing on a day-by-day basis and can mean they have a better relationship with the people they manage. Open plan layouts can represent an efficient use of space too. As office design experts K2 Space point out, effective planning can help ensure firms get maximum value for money from their commercial space.

Meeting rooms

There will be times when you need confidential chats with people, so it’s a good idea to have at least one meeting room. Alternatively,for brainstorming sessions and open discussions, it’s much better to go to a breakout area within the office itself as people will feel more relaxed. Your breakout area could be a sofa, some beanbags or a picnic bench… the world’s your oyster!

The big picture

At the end of the day, you will be judged by your clients, visitors and your employees. You want the people who step through your door to be impressed. Don’t be afraid to consult your employees to find out what they love and hate in the office. There will be things that you can fix pretty easily.

If you only have a small budget, then make sure that you give your staff comfortable seats and workstations. Employees want to work somewhere comfortable, clean and tidy. Invest in a cleaner if you don’t have one already and make sure that you have air conditioning for the summer and heating for the winter.

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