Environments

Having keen interest in interior designing, I tend to become more observing about décor whenever I visit any place. So, this is the very first thing I notice in restaurants, motels, universities, beauty salons, homes and of course, offices. I, somewhat, believe in the notion “first impression is the last impression” though the impression can be changed later on but it takes a lot of energy and time to do so. Therefore, I believe one should always work on their first impression.

Well-decorated and beautifully designed office is also a way to attract more clients and visitors. It shows signs of employer’s seriousness towards their work and office because great interior shows your business’s success and professionalism. It helps in building client’s trust.

There are many factors that are involved in employees’ productivity and output level. Research has proven offices’ physical environment to be one of them and indeed, who wouldn’t want to sit in a luxurious environment?

Office is a home away from home for employees, as majority of us spend more time in offices then at home. Therefore office environment should give them sense of comfort to increase the productivity of employees. Unfortunately, this fact is greatly neglected by many of Pakistani companies. Investment in such things is considered as useless but the more employees feel comfortable at office the more they give the output.

Following are the physical things that affect employees’ productivity:

Controlled Temperature: Whether its winter or summer, temperature inside the office should be moderate, accordingly. It becomes greater source of distraction from work if not controlled properly. Heating and cooling equipment should be available at every office.

Work Space: Individual’s workplace should be enough spacious where they can adjust their belongings and keep their stuff at hand. Congested or small area doesn’t make one feel comfortable to perform tasks.

Over-crowded Office: Offices that have more staff and less sitting space are the worst. Employers should facilitate enough space that allows employees to move around.

Sneak-peak: Sneak-peak creates a level of discomfort amongst the employees. The discomfort creates distraction and a distracted employee can never give the optimum output. So this aspect should also be kept in mind while planning the office setup.

Comfortable Furniture: Of course, the most important need of any office. Employee has to sit all day long in the office and uncomfortable furniture will not only make them tired but causes major health issues in long run.

Availability of Facilities: Basic facilities, such as printers, fax, staplers, pens, etc to facilitate employees. So that they should not rush and hustle for such micro things.

Decoration and Ambiance: Office should be decorated decently and should not be over designed. Aesthetically designed offices always affect the mood of employee in a positive way.

Appropriate Lighting: Lighting is the major part of any interior décor. It should be proper so that one can properly see things without stressing on eyes.

Cleanliness: And above all, neatness and cleanliness of the office is very important. No one likes to spend time in messy or dirty place.

To keep all these factors in accordance with the employees’ interest, a proper study has evolved, known as, ergonomics. It deals with the relationship of humans with products, process and system. Researchers spend their time in knowing, identifying and finding solutions to make human-product relationship more comfortable and workable.

 So if an employer is looking forward to have great output from workers, the office ergonomics are must to be kept in mind as a contributing factor towards enhanced output.

It’s open for discussion and comments and off course the critique. That surely will help me in improving the thoughts I share.