Creating A More Stress-Free Work Environment

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24 Nov. 2018. What does the work environment mean to you? Is it simply a place to offer your team the space and equipment they need to do the work they do? Or is it something more, an asset that can improve not just their job satisfaction but the quality and consistency of the work? Stress can be a powerful motivator, but a stressful workplace is anything but.

The continual pressure of an unhealthy work environment is likely to lead to burnout, to bad communication, and to fractured office politics. A happier team is more engaged with their work, more productive, and more motivated to stick around. But how do you make the office a less stressful environment?

Ergonomics and design

Ergonomics should always come first when you’re looking at transforming your office. To most people, nowadays, this means furniture such as lumbar supporting chairs and standing desks, but ergonomics goes further than that. Access to natural light, ensuring that workspaces aren’t cramped, and breakout areas all contribute to the physical comfort that employees simply can’t work effectively without. Not only are spaces lacking ergonomic design uncomfortable, they increase employee risk of developing real health issues like eye strain, chronic back and joint pain, and more.

A sense of peace

There are a lot of design choices you can take to create a sense of peace within the office. The visual changes are easy to consider, such as softer color palettes, motivational wall art, and so on. But sight isn’t the only sense that influences our mood. Perhaps the most engaging and powerful of senses is our sense of smell. Large-scale aromatherapy devices from providers like Aromatechsystems.com can are proven to help fight stress and to create a much more comforting environment. It also makes the office smell like a cleaner, more hygienic place. This benefits not just your team but also any guests and clients who happen to visit the office.

Some company

The relationships we build in the workplace can play a huge role in contributing to the sense of comfort and belonging we have there. But that company doesn’t always have to be human. Office pets like fish in an aquarium, for instance, have been shown to not only improve mood but to reduce both blood pressure and heart rate when in an office environment, as shown at Biotaaquariums.com. Even an empty tank can provide some aesthetic benefit, and office plants are shown to do much the same, but with the added benefits of improving the air quality in the workplace. A low-maintenance pet or plant can have a more profound effect on your team than you might imagine, so perhaps it’s time to give them a little company.

Making changes to the office design can provide a huge difference and help fight the stress you and your team might be under. However, it’s important to look at the potential workplace culture causes as well. Accountability, shared responsibility, and a culture of rewarding good work can help as much as some new chairs and an office plant.

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