Equipping Your Workplace for Productivity

News flash: the workplace is somewhere work needs to get done. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as this. There are plenty of factors that can influence an employee’s productivity. You can make things easier for them by creating a productive environment. Here’s how you might go about doing so.

Have a Place for Gadgets to Be Out of Sight (and Out of Mind)

Mobile devices might be helpful in the workplace under the right circumstances, but it can be easy to fall into the pattern of refreshing your social media feeds over and over again. You can improve productivity by keeping these devices and other distractions put away. It might not be the ideal solution to procrastination, but reducing the temptation to waste time on mobile devices can bring out the true potential in your employees. Encourage them to pick a desk drawer and put away their phone, at least until they get some of their daily tasks accomplished.

Invest in the Right Peripherals

On a similar note, ensuring your team has access to the appropriate tools and resources can make a huge difference for productivity. For example, a pair of headphones can really help an employee zone in while working on important tasks or projects, and it can reduce distractions. There are so many other examples, but they depend on the user’s role. Of course, there are other solutions that are not necessarily technology-related, too. For example, if you haven’t yet made the switch to a paperless office, you can use monitor-mounted document holders to reference files while staying focused on the monitor itself. This helps to avoid users getting distracted.

Encourage Movement and Personalization

There are other ways you can keep your employees engaged, too. For example, you can get them moving a bit, as a little bit of physical movement can do wonders for engaging the brain and thereby improving productivity. Nothing kills motivation and productivity quite like staring at a monitor all day, so do your best to encourage your team to get up on their feet every so often. It’s important to not overdo it, though, as harping on your employees about physical activity could yield the opposite effect you are striving for.

On a similar note, employees tend to work better when they are allowed to personalize their workspace to a certain degree. This might include hanging pictures in their office, decorating it with little knick-knacks that give their space a bit of flair, or houseplants. A little green goes a long way toward improving productivity.

If you can create an environment that is conducive to productivity, you might be surprised by just how much of a difference it will make for your team. To learn more about how you can provide the best resources available for your employees, reach out to Horne & Benik at (603) 499-4400.