This One Thing Can Dramatically Improve Workplace Productivity
By: Steffen Ploeger
If you’re an office manager or a team leader, you’d likely try just about anything to boost your staff’s productivity levels. With that said, you probably already know that finding the right strategy often means walking a very fine line—many productivity-boosting initiatives are met with skepticism and consternation from an already hard-working team. But what if there was a way to boost morale and productivity without anyone even realizing it; would it be worth a try?
Bear in mind, we aren’t talking about rolling out a new efficiency app, or onboarding some other crazy new technology. Would you believe that something as simple as the right window coverings could herald in a new age of productivity in your workspace?
Energy Savings
Naturally, one of the key indicators for measuring an office’s productivity is the average number of dollars required to cover day to day operations. One of the greatest costs an office can incur comes in the form of maintaining a comfortable temperature. Uncovered windows beckon the sun to heat up a room and roast your employees, leading to unnecessarily exorbitant cooling costs. Roller blinds and the like will not impede natural light from entering your workspace, but they will help to significantly reduce the amount of sun that is allowed to enter. These shades and window coverings of other designs can easily be adjusted throughout the day to find the right balance of shade and sun, keeping your employees happy and your environmental costs in check.
Just the Right Amount of Natural Light
One of the aspects of office life most maligned by employees is the obligatory harsh, artificial light that seems to go hand in hand with any modern workplace. Fluorescent lighting is cold, unflattering, and can plague those with light sensitivities. Commercial window treatments allow you to let just the right amount of light in so that those who constantly find themselves distracted by the bad lighting, or those daydreaming of being outside, can focus on the task at hand.
Optimizing Light in Meeting and Conference Rooms
Common areas like meeting and conference rooms are designed to be hubs of collaboration, where decisions can be made and goals decided upon. Having said that, the ways in which the rooms are used will dictate the most effective window coverings when it comes to warding off waning productivity levels. For example, many office meeting rooms are used to host internal and external presentations, video calls with clients, and other media events. Blackout window treatments are an effective option for managing light effectively for any of these activities. Improper light management in rooms like these makes them less effective, less used, and ultimately, less productive.
Motorized Shades: Control or Schedule Time for More Convenience
Technology makes just about any innovation more efficient, and window treatments are by no means an exception. Investing in motorized shades allows you to adjust the height of the shades throughout the day without disrupting anyone’s work or forcing those sitting next to the windows to constantly monitor and adjust them ad nauseam. Automated shades often make use to sensors to determine the outdoor light levels, intensity, and temperature and can adjust accordingly. Alternately, less sophisticated options can be programmed to raise and lower at certain configurable times throughout the day or controlled via a smartphone.
Customized Commercial Blinds with Mood Colors
Commercial blinds and shades can offer a boost to productivity in unexpected ways. Studies have shown that productivity levels that be positively influenced by the effective use of color. Since commercial window coverings can be customized to include vibrant colors and patterns designed to keep employee synapses firing at peak capacity, there’s no excuse to stick to monochromatic earth tones or cubicle grey when selecting your window coverings.
Reflect the Heat and Sun Exposure
Lastly, everyone likes to feel the sun on their skin—but as we all know, too much sun is not a good thing. Prolonged exposure can lead to a myriad of health problems, all of which are detriments to employee health and morale as well as office productivity.
Though perhaps a reasonable to significant investment at the outset, commercial window blinds offer employers like yourself many, many benefits for improving your office’s productivity. Remember, there aren’t many ways to boost productivity that will so readily garner a positive reaction from the rank and file while saving money on your bottom line.
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