Simple Tricks for a Happier Office
A lot of film and television media likes to paint the office as a miserable kind of place full of dowdy depressed stuffed shirts shuffling around with dead-eyed stares. But is that really the case? The fact is that it’s true for some offices but completely false for others. Of course there are plenty of great places to work, but what can other places do to make their offices “happy places”?
If you’re wanting to make your office happier, boost morale and hopefully productivity along with it, here are some great ideas:
1. Start with Good Furniture
An employee with a nice desk and chair to sit at is instantly a much happier one. Those without these things dread having to come to the office each day and may end up seeking any way they can to get out of it. So, if you’re looking to purchase office desks in Brisbane, for instance, always remember that the more quality you invest in, the better response and likely more productivity you can expect from those who use them.
Chairs matter a great deal, too. They need to be comfortable and supportive, and adjustable enough to allow workers to sit properly and promote good circulation in their legs and feet. It can seem expensive to invest in these things, but if the payoff is infinitely happier staff, then it’s worth it.
2. Organise Team-Building Events
Another source of happiness among colleagues is a greater sense of belonging, cohesion, and togetherness. You can do this by organising some simple camaraderie and team-building activities. That might sound hard at first because you imagine it means hiring an outside company to come in and do them, but it can actually be very simple and entirely in-house.
Simple ideas include office quizzes, group puzzle- and problem-solving, group discussions on a central problem that then brings together all departments to share their ideas at the end…there’s no limit, really. Of course, if you have the budget, you can also look to outside providers for away-days, training days, and special events to boost team spirit and collaboration between co-workers.
3. Recognise Achievements
According to a Gartner survey, many office workers feel “overworked, disrespected, stressed and anxious.” There’s one simple thing that management can do to start turning that around, and that’s providing genuine recognition for achievement and for diligence. Some of the more hard-nosed managers see no need for this because they think there should be no additional recognition for one doing “what one is supposed to do, anyway.” This is wrong-headed.
Recognising that a certain employee has never been off sick in 2 years, or has never been late by even a second the whole time they’ve been there, or has volunteered to stay late on multiple occasions, or has brought up constructive suggestions during meetings is not a useless thing, nor is it “rewarding mediocrity.” When pressure is rising and businesses everywhere are suffering, that people can continue to deliver is nothing short of amazing.
4. Enhance the Office Environment
Another simple fix for bruised morale might be a quick look at the office space and where you can enhance it with some new art, some extra plants of small trees, perhaps a coat of paint? Are you blocking natural light from the office? Let it in! In addition, you could bring in a more serious cleaning crew to do deep carpet cleaning and other office cleaning to make the place feel fresh and new.
5. Create Development Opportunities
Finally, one more thing you can do is to create opportunities for your team to better themselves professionally. Look at professional development (PD) programs you could offer, as well as added training, skills learning and more. Perhaps your receptionist is an aspiring coder or software engineer, did you know that? Did you consider that if you invest in them, offer them classes and chances to learn these skills, they’ll bring them to your own software department? There’s nothing like faith in your team to inspire loyalty and fantastic payback.
