In many ways, an office is like a family. People often spend more time with bosses, employees, and coworkers than they do with their own families. But it’s easy to let those relationships stagnate in the quest for a better bottom line. And when office culture suffers, so does productivity.
The Importance of a Thriving Office Culture
Office culture is one of those business buzzwords that many people don’t understand fully. When they hear “office culture” they think of offices with gyms, offices with regular field trips, and those innovative new offices that let employees take naps. And yes, each of those things is rooted in developing office culture; but office culture, as a whole, is about people, not perks. People get isolated. People get burned out. But with a thriving office culture, people experience reduced stress, build better workplace relationships, and become more productive employees overall.
3 Ways to Improve Office Culture
Establish core values. What’s important to you as a business? Is it passion for industry, top of the line productivity, or being conscious of how each goal helps not only your office, but the world around it? Companies with clearly stated values attract like minded employees, which creates a unity and drive that’s difficult to match.- Redecorate. There are plenty of benefits to cubicle life, but workers can’t survive on ergonomic chairs alone. Give them the freedom to decorate their office spaces to showcase what matters to them. Provide a common “water cooler” space where employees can take their mind off work for a few minutes. A five minute mental break can increase productivity exponentially.
- Act as a team. Employee led meetings, fun team outings, and team volunteer projects are all great ways to help your team make friends. And once that “work family” connection is established, you’ll see drastic changes in the mood, creativity, and productivity of your team.
As you work to transform your office culture, let R and M Office transform your work spaces. Explore our custom office furnishings or call us to redesign your cubicles and offices.