5 Important Things a Productive Office Should Have

How's your office doing lately? Is it messy? Are people happy working there? Are you happy working where you are now?

When your workplace is uncomfortable and uninspiring, this often leads to unhappy workers, stress and low workplace productivity; however, all it takes to reverse the side-effects of an uncomfortable office are these 5 workplace improvements.

Nine out of ten people would prefer to work in an office that is both clean and balanced. No matter how heavy the work load, a clutter-free desk or office makes it easier for workers to cope with stress. When your mind is cluttered with all these important reports to submit and appointments to fulfill, the last thing you would want to see is an even messier office.

• Re-arrange and reorganize the table sand chairs in your office to minimize clutter.
• Install colorful IN and OUT filing boxes for important files.
• Replace old and dim light bulbs with new ones.
• Repaint your office.
• Consider minimalist interior designs for your office.

The human body was not built for sitting down but if your work entails you to sit and work on a computer 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, your entire body's rhythm gets in trouble. Uncomfortable desks and chairs, according to experts, heightens your stress levels and could wear you out mentally and physically. Repetitive stress injuries, knee and joint pains, sciatica, hand and wrist injuries, and back-aches are just a few body conditions which you will experience more often.

One way to combat all these aches and pains is to replace your uncomfortable seats and tables with ergonomics desks and chairs.

• Encourage your workers or c-workers to exercise before working, live a healthier lifestyle, hit the gym once in a while, do yoga, and eat full balanced meals instead of relying entirely on energy drinks. Also, tell them to cut down on their energy drink consumption and consider drinking water instead.
• Replace old and non-functional desk and chairs with ergonomic desks and ergonomic chairs depending on your line of work.

High ceilings and wide windows give you the illusion of (more) open space. Even if your office is small, floor-area wise, high ceilings and additional windows will make it feel wider and breezier-- and in wide, breezy workplace, workers tend to feel more comfortable, creative, and productive.

If renovating your office seems too costly for now, make your office seem wider by installing wide mirror; to make it breezier, don't rely entirely on air-conditioning units. From time to time, open the doors and windows to welcome natural breeze.

• Adding ornamental plants (natural ones, not plastic!) will give your office a bit of life.
• Another alternative to high ceilings and wide windows is to repaint your walls or tables with blue matte and orange hues or colors that appear in nature.
• On weekends, encourage your co-workers (or workers) to use eco-friendly means for light and ventilation. That means, simply turn off the lights when working in the morning and turning the air-con off and opening the windows.

A busy office often makes a noisy office, but a noisy office would also affect your productivity. A noisy atmosphere is not ideal for people who do more mentally-exhausting jobs like analyzing graphs and financial reports, writing, programming or designing, and planning marketing documents. Basically, people who work in offices are less likely to tolerate too much noise.

An excellent solution, according to experts and professionals, is to soundproof your home or office with the help of white noise machines. White noise machines create a repetitive stream of low-frequency sounds which can block unwanted noise effectively.

• Identify the sources of noise in your office. Either soundproof these area or install white noise machines wherever you see fit.
• If your work requires a level of privacy, install office privacy systems instead of white noise machines.

Sometimes, all that keeps a man happy is a refrigerator loaded with delicious goodies. Most corporations across the US today make sure that their employees can easily reach for a cup of yogurt, a bottle of energy or booster drinks whenever they need to recharge; and that is the reason why these corporations are well-loved by their employees. Take Google, Facebook, and Apple, for example. Aside from giving some of the best work benefits to their employees, they also provide some of the best food freebies.

• Stock your office refrigerator with healthy yet delicious food options like milk, all-natural yogurt and ice cream, and fruits.