Employee morale is the collective sense of people in the workplace, including their attitudes, perspectives, emotions and level of satisfaction. Good morale is essential for the company’s success and leads to employee satisfaction, optimism and confidence. Low morale can show up as negative, indifferent and angry employees who may not maintain productivity and best business practices.
As a business owner, you can influence employee morale through your selection of office space and interior design. In this article, we explore the impact that employee morale has on a business and how office location and design can boost morale.
Why should you Concern yourself with Employee Morale?
Before looking for ways to cheer up employees, let us consider why we should care about the benefits of high morale.
- Improved teamwork – High employee morale leads to greater job satisfaction and a sense of well-being. As a result, employees are more likely to collaborate with co-workers and work together to achieve common objectives.
- Better Retention – Companies with high employee morale have better retention and can avoid frequent rehiring and training costs.
- Better office relationships – When morale is high, people display less negative behaviours and stress levels tend to be lower. This results in better office relationships and better engagement, performance and productivity.
- Increased productivity – When morale is good, people tend to go the extra mile.
- Less absenteeism – Employees with low morale are more likely to take leave, while employees with higher morale are more likely to report each day.
- Greater attention to detail – Low morale impacts the level of care that individuals have towards their jobs, whereas employees with higher morale pay more attention, as they care more about the outcome.
- More Creativity – Happy employees are shielded from negative emotions that impede creative thinking. High morale employees tend to be more innovative and may channel creative ideas into problem solving.
How the Placement of your office Can affect Employee Morale.
Having established that high levels of employee morale have several positive benefits for your company, let us look at some of the factors that can give your employees’ morale a positive boost. One of these factors is where your desk is located.
Shorter Travel is beneficial to Employees.
There is a great deal of research to support the fact that long office journeys equate to higher levels of unhappiness. Research has found that “commuters have lower life satisfaction, a lower sense that their daily activities are worthwhile, lower levels of happiness and higher anxiety on average than non-commuters”. In fact, if you commute o longer than an hour, feelings of happiness decrease with every successive minute of travel, not to mention increasing costs.
So it makes sense to situate your office as close as possible to most employees, with good connectivity and transportation options. Consider how your employees will get to work and try to make their job easier. “Working close to home” means employees can access a high-quality, flexible workspace that allows them to get out of the house and work alongside other people. This helps address many of the problems associated with working from home, while maintaining benefits, giving employees what they need, and helping employers reduce housing costs.
Consider Local Amenities
A remote area of convenience can cause frustration for employees. If your office is located in an area where there are no restaurants, cafes or cafes in the vicinity, employees will be forced to travel just to buy a daily lunch. This can greatly reduce their meal hours and frustrate them from a lack of personal time. Local amenities such as stores, post offices, pubs, restaurants, barbers, nail bars and recreational facilities will be appreciated by employees and will help boost morale.
Rooms with a View
Offices that have good perspectives are generally appreciated and valued by staff. Offices with windows overlooking a bay, river or green space are particularly well designed and contribute to staff morale.
What Desktop design features can boost Employee Morale?
Once you have chosen a great location for your office, the next consideration should be the interior layout and design, as well as the facilities that are provided inside.
Successful companies provide a positive work environment for their personnel, recognizing that employees are the company’s greatest asset. A work environment that stimulates creativity, motivation and collaboration will pay dividends in terms of employee retention, productivity and profits.
Balancing open plan and Private Space
Employees need different kinds of work spaces for different activities. The open plan is great for working collaboratively, but targeted work can require a more private and quiet space. To create a positive atmosphere, it is important that the workplace be suitable for the employee and not the other way around.
Use Glass Generously
Interior designers are well aware of the advantages of using glass as much as possible in desktop environment as it maximizes natural light and space and increases transparency. Glass helps create brighter spaces physically and psychologically and is proven to help stimulate energy, happiness and morale.
Sustainable Workspaces are Important
Sustainable development and environmental awareness are increasingly important in modern office design. Whether sustainability considerations extend to the choice of building materials, furnishings or working practices, employees appreciate a company’s commitment to sustainability and this will earn respect and boost morale within the workforce.
Bring Nature inside the Office
Create a healthier and quieter workplace by bringing nature to the office. It has been proven that placing factories in offices brings many advantages to office workers. The claims of benefits that plants can bring are actually awesome and include:
- Stress reduction
- Increased productivity
- Reduced sickness
- Better air quality
- Attracting new talent
- Reducing noise
- Boosting creativity and morale.
Informal discussion at Open Spaces helps togetherness and Reduce Stress.
The informal relaxation area is a “must” in a modern office. There are many uses for the break space. It enables staff to relax, socialize and collaborate with co-workers in an informal environment. The area can take the form of a living room with comfortable seats or a bar or kitchen where refreshments can be taken. Desks with outdoor space have become more and more popular, with external space used as a workspace, or a regular workspace facilitated by today’s technology.
The small group area offers the opportunity to escape the confines of the office and relax. It’s also a great place for creative thinking and reflection away from the four (4) walls of a traditional meeting room.
Flexible offices – perfect workspaces for boosting employee morale
If you are looking for a great office environment in a convenient place for your company, then take a serious look at the flexible workspace. Flexible workspaces include coworking, shared and privately owned offices that are fully furnished with pressurized amenities. The offices are designed to keep staff happy and productive and provide all the services and amenities you will need. Flexible offices are available for immediate occupancy, for short or long term rental and there is something that suits every budget. Most suppliers provide all-inclusive pricing, so budgeting is child’s play. If you are looking for an office that will truly raise employee morale, check out today’s world of flexible workspaces or look for Horizons Offices.