Are you looking for ways to boost employee morale, retention, and productivity? We suggest going calm.
Creating and maintaining a calm work environment helps impact our mood, drive, mental health, and performance. If employees work in a dreary office setting with unfriendly people, they likely won’t have enough confidence or job satisfaction to speak up. Creating a positive, un-chaotic work environment is critical to your company’s success.
Rethink your space
Is your workspace conducive to working?
Things like noise, lack of privacy, poor lighting, poor ventilation, poor temperature control, or inadequate sanitary facilities can create a stressful work environment.
“Marketing research has shown that approximately 80% of what we perceive or experience is based upon the visual sense of our environment,” says Design Expert Sherry Burton Ways. “Most office designs are uninspired. Therefore, work environments create uninspired and stressful employees.”
You don’t need a complete overhaul to see improvements – start small by making sure you’re using good lighting and ventilation (which many of us did during Covid anyway). You should also make sure you don’t have a thermostat hog that is flipping the switch to extreme heat or cold.
Get organized
Disorganization is terrible for the mind and bad for productivity. If your office is cluttered or disorganized, your employees may be wasting valuable time searching for papers, files, supplies, or other necessary things to complete their work. Having clearly marked spaces for supplies, labeling files, and having easy access to shared information will go a long way in combating a cluttered workspace and mind.
Go green
Adding plants to your office has been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, increase positive feelings, lower noise levels, decrease room temperature, and even reduce absenteeism.
Not to mention, they’re just lovely to look at. Just don’t buy overly fragrant flowers, as they can cause discomfort to people sensitive to scent.
Encourage relaxation techniques
If it isn’t distracting, allow employees to play soft music, stretch occasionally, or even take a quick walk. You won’t be able to get rid of everything that contributes to stress in the workplace—but you can create an environment where relaxation exercises are acceptable when employees are feeling tense.
Bike to work
Micromobility is taking off in many areas around the country. Defined as lightweight transportation devices, micromobility options include bikes and scooters. Biking one or two days a week can improve employees’ health and reduce stress.
Let someone else drive
Sometimes the commute to work and back is the most stressful part of our day. Consider using commuter benefits to encourage employees to look at alternative transportation.
Commuter benefits allow employees to use pre-tax dollars towards public transit, rideshares, and qualified parking expenses. Why drive if you don’t have to?
Share a meal
Breaking bread is a time-honored way of connecting with people, and stronger connections lead to calmer workplaces.
Edenred’s Ticket Restaurant is a meal benefits program that gives employees a monthly meal allowance via a prepaid card. Not only does this relieve the financial burden associated with lunch, but it also makes employees feel valued and appreciated, often leading to higher productivity rates.
Redecorate
Did you know things like lighting, colors, and décor can cause stress? Try changing the wall colors in your workspace to inspire a calmer workplace.
Neutral tones tend to be calming, yellows promote intellectual activity, and blues and greens are more restful.
Get rid of fluorescent lighting in favor of softer, more ambient lighting. Invest in good chairs, ergonomically correct desks, and glare screens. All these things can affect mood and productivity.
Get physical
Help employees get – and stay – in shape by offering Lifestyle Spending Accounts. These wellness plans can be tailored to your employees’ desires.
Employees can use Lifestyle Spending Accounts for health, general fitness, or well-being. They are very flexible and can be used for various goods and services, including athletic and camping equipment, entertainment, pet care, food and dining, continued education, and more.
Lifestyle Spending Accounts have a positive impact on both employees and employers. For employees, it is easy to participate in wellness programs and make more intelligent choices toward leading a healthier and happier lifestyle.
For employers, Lifestyle Spending Accounts help reduce healthcare costs and absenteeism while increasing employee productivity, morale, and loyalty.
The bottom line
A calm working environment will improve wellness, reduce absenteeism, and increase productivity. With such compelling benefits, introducing calmness into the working day should be a priority.
Schedule a meeting today to ensure you’re offering the most competitive benefits packages that can aid in creating a calm, productive work environment.
