If everyone appears cheerful and smiling in your office, you might assume your team is happy to work for you. What might shock you is that, in some cases, the opposite could be true! Now, it’s easy to assume the reasons might be down to you being a “bad boss” for example. Or that you aren’t paying them enough money.
But, what if I told you that the thing your staff hates about working for you the most is your office? Despite getting along with their co-workers, your employees might dislike their working environment. As a business leader, it’s crucial that your staff are happy and productive. If they aren’t, it can affect your bottom line and lead to high staff turnover.
Here are some of the things your staff might hate about your office but are too afraid to flag up:
It looks like an unfinished project
These days, it seems more companies are adopting the open, contemporary office look. Usually, that means ceilings that expose electrical wires and air conditioning ducts. Another telltale sign might include bland color schemes (i.e. black, white and gray). And the most common thing of all is the lack of internal walls, offices, and cubicles.
Some employers feel the open contemporary look is just what they need for a dynamic company. However, it can have a harmful effect on employees! Most people prefer to work in traditional offices and have some degree of privacy.
People are too loud
Imagine if you’re trying to concentrate on your work and all you can hear is someone’s loud voice! You’ll end up getting to a point where you wish they go work somewhere else!
I don’t need to cite research papers to tell you that noisy offices can hamper concentration at work! If you’re in the middle of an important project with a looming deadline, you need to focus. You can’t do that if you hear someone cracking jokes or bellowing down the phone!
Noise levels are one of the biggest complaints people have about working in an office. Sure, you can’t demand everyone work in silence – even in a library! But, you can try to find the right balance to keep everyone happy. For instance, you could build some “quiet rooms” in your office space for people to use.
The level of cleanliness is zero
Your staff will make a mess during their working days. Sometimes, that mess can even happen without them noticing. As a responsible employer, you must ensure their working environment is clean and safe.
Yes, there are some steps they can take to keep their workstations clean and safe. Ultimately, the responsibility falls down to the employer – you!
The good news is that resolving such problems is quite simple. All you need to do is hire a commercial cleaning firm that offers a regular service. You can learn more here about the types of services they could provide for your office.
Workers feel like they’re always watched by their colleagues
One of the distinct points to note about open-plan offices is the lack of privacy. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) can see what you’re doing at your desk. Even if your boss is some distance away and facing you, everyone else can look at what you’re up to on your computer.
There may be times where your staff needs privacy to carry out some of their tasks. For instance, your payroll team doesn’t want everyone to know what each person gets paid at your firm!
Rather than have an open office approach to all teams, it’s important to offer some privacy. Even a simple thing like dividing walls between different departments can help.
There isn’t much natural daylight
Let’s face it: not everyone can have a desk next to a window! There will be employees that have to sit away from natural light sources. The trouble is, if you don’t have enough natural daylight flooding in, it can have a negative impact.
There are some ways around that problem. For a start, you could ensure window blinds remain open during the day. The windows themselves could get tinted to prevent UV rays from entering and to offer privacy. Another option is to invest in daylight bulbs if artificial lighting is the only choice.
If your office is at the top of a building, you could consider investing in some sun pipes that let in natural light.
People feel forced to listen to music
In some places like warehouses or outdoors areas, putting the radio on is a good motivator. Some bosses allow people to listen to music indoors in their offices. The thing is, not everyone will have the same taste in music!
As a result, they will feel forced to listen to R&B or pop music when they’re a fan of country and western! To solve that problem, the simple answer is to stop people listening to music aloud. Instead, they could use headphones connected to portable radios or MP3 players. Just so long as they keep the volume low, so others don’t hear the music, of course.
Lack of places to relax when taking a break
A recreation or lunchroom is a good place for staff to relax when they’re on a break. It also gives them the chance to catch up socially with their co-workers.
Standing outside in the car park isn’t the best of places to help one relax during a break. Think about creating a recreational room in your office space. As you can imagine, it needs to have some cooking facilities and seating. You may also want to install some entertainment like TVs, games consoles, and so forth.
Nothing is inspirational in your office
Last, but not least, it’s important to nurture each person’s creativity at your office; even if they have a non-creative job! Sometimes when we are working, we look around us to try and get some inspiration for our projects.
Think about ways you could make your office space more motivational and inspirational. Even walls painted in vibrant colors can inspire creativity in your staff.
Good luck!
