Managing a company is a large philosophical undertaking; every choice you make, every choice you employ has a physical impact but also an emotional and mental one. Many business owners find value-based decisions fairly easy to make, especially if they have a guiding mission statement. Ironically, the stuff that becomes tricky is the logistical things, the mundane, the stuff that should be easy but given the scale on which it’s being performed requires some thought. The following will explore a few things you can do to help ease some of the more practical aspects of organizing and managing your company. Special emphasis will be placed on smaller alterations that can have a big effect on efficiency, productivity, health, and happiness in the workplace.

Think About Cleanliness

Office and workspace cleanliness is critically important for a healthy work environment. This being said, the tragedy of the commons tends to result in coat rooms that are filled with unclaimed objects, shared kitchen areas are covered in splatters and filled with rotting unclaimed food, and other communal areas left messy. Keeping a workplace clean involves tasks divided into the following categories:

• Tasks needing to be done multiple times per day (cleaning something used by all customers, for example)
• Daily tasks
• Weekly tasks
• Biweekly and monthly tasks
• Seasonal tasks

You might find that your staff can handle some of these tasks, but likely undertaking all of them will require people to be constantly choosing between the work they were hired to do and cleaning and maintenance tasks. Consider a rotational assignment, so people aren’t expected to handle the cleaning often and maybe look into commercial contract cleaners to help fill in the gaps. You’ll quickly discover that a cleaner work environment contributes to higher levels of focus and concentration.

This ensures the health and well-being of each individual in the workplace so it should be a huge part of your overall plan. Make sure to do your own research and learn more about corporate wellness programs and how you can incorporate this aspect into the wider scale of your business. Cleanliness is a small, yet essential first step to ensure that the environment is optimum for each and every person inside.

Think About The Air

When it comes to employee motivation, focus, energy, and creativity, one of the most overlooked elements is the quality of air in your workplace. Open windows frequently if you’re able to (indoor air is up to five times more polluted than outdoor air) and consider air filters, particularly if you use strong cleaning products or chemicals in your work environment. Furthermore, get some living plants into your office. Plants clean the air of toxins and increase the levels of oxygen which improves mood, energy levels, motivation, concentration, problem-solving ability and reduces feelings of stress. When the air tastes or feels stale in a space, it is often because the ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen is off; people produce carbon dioxide while breathing, and plants produce oxygen.

Think About The Light

Natural lighting is another secret ingredient when it comes to productivity and focus. Sunlight has a ton of health benefits, including being one of the few natural sources of vitamin D available to people. A whopping percentage of the population is vitamin D deficient, which results in lower mood and lower immune systems. Making use of windows (and perhaps placing mirrors opposite windows) to maximize natural light can improve efficiency within your workspace with very little effort from you. It also improves the health of your employees, which is being found to be one of the most vital components of a well-run business again and again by organizational behavior studies.

Think About Sitting

Just because something has been done a certain way doesn’t mean it should be done that way or that there’s not a better way to get things done. One major discovery in recent years is how damaging sitting can be for people’s health, productivity, and creativity. Cultivating a workplace environment where standing while working or walking while discussing a problem with a colleague is acceptable can make a major difference in how easily problems get solved. Laying out the office with standing desk options can also aid people in their work. Yes, it takes a moment to get used to, since most of us have been institutionalized to believe that sitting means we’re working from our earliest years in kindergarten. Studies have found that as little as five minutes of standing or walking per hour can improve people’s quality of life.

In conclusion, your employees work incredibly hard for you. It’s about time you had their environment working hard for them. It turns out that simple tweaks to the space everyone is working in and changes to standards for organizational and managerial expectations can have a massive impact on productivity, employee health, and employee satisfaction. Each of the above tips seems small—almost comically easy to employ—but each of them can radically alter the experience of working for your company and, therefore, the work that is completed.