Owning a business can be rewarding and fulfilling work, beyond simply the finances. You can invest in your passion and sell products and services you believe in. All while hopefully turning a profit.
You also know how much work it takes to manage an office. Your workspace needs to be stocked with resources that support your team and allow them to perform at their peak, and that goes beyond just functioning desktops. But how exactly can you create an optimal work environment?
This helpful article will outline five simple, quick and easy office upgrades to invest in. Read on to discover what they are and how you can make your office a place your staff love to be.
1. A Premium Coffee Machine
One quick and easy office upgrade is enriching your space with fully automatic coffee machines for your staff to use. Coffee increases productivity; the science is clear. This is because coffee contains the central nervous system stimulant caffeine, that revs up the brain and body. A good dose of caffeine will energise your teams and get their brains whirring into fifth gear – allowing them to work at a good pace, and more consistently.
In addition to this, a coffee machine is excellent for morale, as it can act as a meeting point for your staff to gather around, and a spot to catch up in the morning or during breaks. Your team will also appreciate the gesture, and feel more inclined to work hard in return. Happy staff are more productive, and as a business owner, that’s exactly what you want.
Swap Sitting Workstations Out For Standing Desks
Did you know that sitting all day at a desk can build up pressure and compress your spine? This can lead to stiffness and discomfort in your back, shoulders, and neck.
That’s where standing desks come in as a quick and easy office upgrade. Swapping out your old, outdated workstations for automatic standing desks will allow your staff the option to stand for the whole day or alternate between standing and sitting.
And what about productivity, you ask? Well, standing desks have also been proven to boost productivity. This is due to a few different factors, including improved circulation, boosts in energy, and less pain throughout the day, culminating in fewer distractions and a greater capacity for productivity.
Create Mind Mapping Rooms
It’s no secret that staff who collaborate often are more effective than staff in workplaces with segmented departments or offices. It’s like that old saying: no man is an island. So, another quick, easy fix is providing your staff with dedicated rooms for brainstorming and creative ideation. By doing so, you’re fostering innovation and cross-pollination between different teams.
The brainstorming space doesn’t even need to be incredibly fancy, either. It can be as simple as converting a room and adding a whiteboard that your team can use to visualise new ideas and strategies. Sometimes the quickest fix to dealing with a problem or concern is sharing it: someone else in the room might have an instant answer, or at least provide a suggestion to get the discussion started.
Create A Virtual Conference Room
Do you have a hybrid workforce in your business? Many modern workplaces have found that to recruit and keep staff post-pandemic, you need to offer flexible working arrangements. A hybrid work model allows your teams to work from home during select days throughout the week.
A quick and easy office fix can be as simple as installing video conferencing technology in a meeting room. All you need is a large TV, a webcam, and an audio system so people can see and hear each other in a hybrid meeting. A professional audiovisual company can set this up within a couple of hours. The tech should integrate with whatever video platform you choose, such as Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.
A Feature Wall
Another quick and easy upgrade for your office could be to hire a professional painter to paint a feature wall in a room in the office, such as the main open plan space or the kitchen. A cool feature wall, with some lovely art, perhaps in line with your company’s visual branding, will inspire your staff and bring a pop of colour to your workspace. Everyone loves working in a vibrant environment, and you’ll be surprised at the power of a fresh lick of paint on your office space. Alternatively, turn your feature wall into an acoustic panel, so that your conversations (and heated debates!) in meeting rooms can be heard even crisper.
If you prefer to keep things sleek and simple, painting over your walls with a new, clean white will instantly make the place look more modern, and better taken care of.
Office Upgrades: Easy To Achieve
This helpful article has shared five simple, quick, and easy office upgrades that take neither great time nor great spending, that you can implement as a business owner. Whether you liven up your office with an automatic coffee machine, install some standing desks, create a brainstorming space or virtual conference room, or you bring some life into the space with a feature wall or acoustic panel, these easy upgrades will take your office space and your staff to the next level.
