(Newswire.net — March 24, 2016) — Comfort is generally a word used to describe your home, a movie theater, or a restaurant. It’s rarely used to describe a place of business, but maybe that’s why thousands of businesses struggle with both employee and customer retention. The comfort of your office can actually make a huge difference in both of these areas.
Comfort for Your Employees and Customers
“You could be spending up to 43.5 hours per week in your office,” says John Moyer, contributor for Business.com. “The only place you spend more time each week is your bed (53.9 hours/week). Nothing affects our attitude more than our immediate environment. Which in turn can have an impact on our health, happiness and our bank account (the reason we are at work in the first place).”
A comfortable environment is essential for the well-being of both your customers and your employees. The more comfortable your employees are, the more invested they’ll be in your company. They’ll be happier to serve your customers, and employee turnover will decrease.
From there, you can improve the customers’ comfort level in both the way the customers are treated and the environment you provide. You may be a business manager, but you’ve also been a customer. Think about the waiting areas and work environments you’ve visited that were messy, devoid of design, and uncomfortable. It didn’t make you feel very excited to do business with that company. The way your waiting area and offices look can have a profound impact on the way customers interact with your company.
Strike a Good Balance of Comfort
As you seek to improve comfort, it’s important to note that your business should be much different than your home. If it’s too comfortable at work, it will significantly decrease productivity and result in poor efficiencies. It shouldn’t have the same level of comfort as your home, but it shouldn’t feel like an unsettling place to work either. If you’re looking to strike a good balance in the workplace, here are some suggestions.
- Add an Area Rug: A little color and good design can do wonders for igniting creativity. “All you need to turn [a] lackluster space into a vibrant spot is a spark of inspiration,” says a blog post from NW Rugs & Furniture. “To help get your creative juices flowing.” Simply adding an area run to a waiting area, conference room, or your office can help make you feel comfortable and spur your creativity.
- Design a Comfortable Waiting Area: The chairs and/or sofas provided shouldn’t be comfortable enough that they suck you in and make you feel like you can’t get up, but they should have a soft, inviting feel that will entice customers to stay. Likewise, the overall design of the room, including artwork, scent, and color scheme should be relaxing and calm.
- Install Ergonomic Features: Ergonomic chairs and desks can significantly improve productivity, reduce visits to the doctor, create a better safety culture, and improve employee engagement. “The best ergonomic solutions will often improve productivity,” says Mark Middlesworth of Ergonomics Plus. “By designing a job to allow for good posture, less exertion, fewer motions and better heights and reaches, the workstation becomes more efficient.”
- Change the Lighting: If possible, add as much natural light as you can. Artificial lights can never replicate the cheery feeling of sunshine in the office. “Make sure all your employees work in a space with natural light,” says Taylor Johnson of BusinessPlanToday. “Poor lighting can cause significant levels of eyestrain, blurred vision and headaches, none of which are conducive to a productive work environment. On the flip side, a well-lit office can keep your employees energized throughout the day. If natural light isn’t an option in your office, then try to use light fixtures with adjustable filters.”
These are just a few of the many ways that you can give your office a facelift and improve employee and customer interactions, but there might be more you can do. Consider the space you have and any changes that could be made in order to improve the overall health, safety, and comfort levels at work.