Whether you're furnishing new employee workstations for the first time or giving old workstations a makeover, following are four tips you can use to furnish each space for optimized productivity:
Focus on Ergonomics
One of the most important things you can do when furnishing workstations for your employees is focus on ergonomics. By creating a custom ergonomic work space for each employee, you'll better be able to reduce the number of stressful physical situations that they're exposed to and optimize their ability to properly function while completing tasks. Employees will likely report less workplace injuries as time goes on, and you can expect to minimize missed work days due to stress injuries. Each employee should be able to customize their ergonomic workstations when you provide them with the following:
A chair with adjustable height, back, and arms.
Wrist pads for support while on the computer.
A monitor arm for computer placement customization.
An LED desk task light for optimized vision.
Have each employee fill out a survey to gain insight into the specific needs they have. This will allow you to provide special accessories to employees who need extra support to ensure optimal health and productivity.
Create Ease of Movement
It's important that your employees are able to freely move about their workstations so that no production time is sacrificed throughout the day. If an employee finds it hard to move their chair while sitting to answer their phone or find a file, a few seconds may be lost, but those seconds can add up when multiple employees are facing the same problem. Place a plastic mat under each employee's desk so they can move around quickly and efficiently, especially when they're in the middle of a task that is time sensitive.
Phones should be easily accessible, or headsets should be provided that can be worn throughout the day to aid in hands-free communication. And workstations should be large enough for at least two people to move around freely without bumping into a cubicle wall or each other. This will help ensure that there is plenty of room for each employee to customize the setup in a way that encourages enhanced performance overall.
Embellish With Color
The color schemes of your employees' workstations can have a direct effect on how they feel throughout the work day. Dull gray or white themes can actually cause a feeling of sadness and depression among employees, while colors from nature, such as blue tend to improve both focus and efficiency. Instead of or in addition to implementing hues of green and blue, consider accenting your employee workstations with colors such as:
Yellow- Stimulate creativity and encourage optimism.
Red- Invoke feelings of passion while increasing productivity.
Green – Increase efficiency and support a positive attitude during long work hours.
It's a good idea to choose a neutral color like beige as the base of your workstation color schemes and use the more vibrant colors as accents to ensure that the spaces don't look too busy or overwhelming.
Make Organization a Priority
Organization is an important key to productivity. If your employees' workstations are disorganized or cluttered, productivity is sure to take a hit. Each employee needs to be able to easily and quickly find anything they need during the workday, which means providing them with the tools and accessories necessary for efficient storage and accessibility. In addition to making sure that each employee has access to their own filing cabinet, they should also be provided with:
Desk trays for sorting and storing mail, daily reports, and incoming or outgoing files.
Desk organizer trays to keep small accessories organized while working.
Hooks for hanging on cubicle or traditional walls for storage of personal belongings.
Labels for the customization and organization of each employee's preferred filing system.
Provide guidelines to each employee that will help them effectively personalize their work stations while making organization and productivity a priority.
Share23 October 2017
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