For most of us, work takes a third of our entire day, and often even more than eight long hours. The sheer volume of time spent in such a setting highlights the importance of keeping our workplace healthy.
Whether you’re spending those eight hours in a shared space with colleagues or working from a home office, maintaining this environment is a factor that will affect your physical and mental health. It’ll also impact your work productivity and overall job satisfaction.
That’s why today’s article will delve deeper into maintaining this space, be it a standard or home office setup. We’ll provide four valuable tips to help you keep the work environment clutter-free, comfortable, and productive, so let’s dive right in.
Prioritising Hygiene – Keeping the Office Neat and Clean
As most shared offices have dedicated people who keep the place neat and clean, it’s easy to forget our role in maintaining proper office hygiene. Yet, cleaning the workspace isn’t a responsibility only those working from home have. It’s something that we all should do regularly.
A clean workspace isn’t just about its appearance; it’s also essential for our overall health. For example, dust build-up can cause severe respiratory problems, which won’t do well for anyone.
Just like daycare facilities regularly use a daycare cleaning checklist to ensure proper sanitation and a healthy environment for children, an office, too, can benefit from a thorough cleaning routine to keep employees healthy and happy.
Thus, it would help to adopt this strategy for home offices and shared spaces to avoid forgetting your role in tidying the environment you spend so much time in.
Proper Ergonomic Support – Investing in Comfortable Office Furniture
Work often takes eight hours daily, which might not sound like a lot. However, it undoubtedly amounts to a long time when you put it in perspective and calculate the weekly hours and years of working.
Being comfortable and reducing the strain on your back and eyes during this period also plays a pivotal role in keeping the workspace healthy, especially in the long run.
An ergonomic workspace, which often starts with a well-designed and comfortable chair and frequently involves a desk and an adjustable monitor, can reduce and even prevent physical discomfort completely, significantly lowering the risks of developing chronic back pain or sustaining strain injuries.
And yes, we know that comfortable, health-focused, back-pain-relieving, ergonomic office chairs and desks can be expensive, but you can also find comfort without breaking the bank. You should also ask yourself how much your health and comfort are worth.
Sunshine and Air – Encouraging Well-Lit and Properly Ventilated Spaces
While most shared-space offices exist in dimly lit buildings with no windows and bad indoor air quality, such a work environment can have severe consequences for your eyes and lungs. It can also lead to stress and dramatically impact your work productivity.
Fortunately, such a workspace can still be improved, even if you don’t have access to proper windows and vents. You can do that by investing in natural-looking warm lighting and air purifiers. While they might not be the same as regular windows and proper ventilation, these investments will undoubtedly improve the look and feel of the area, leading to a much less stressful and more productive environment.
Getting that fresh air and sunshine is much less inconvenient for remote workers in home-based offices. If you’re forgetful, you can add it as a note hanging off your monitor or as a task for your cleaning list to remind yourself to regularly ventilate the space, breathe fresh air, and feel the sun on your skin while you work.
Beyond Physical Health – Adopting Mental Well-Being Practices
While the first three tips focus on physical health, cleanliness and hygiene, long-term comfort, and increased productivity, we mustn’t forget about our mental health. A healthy work environment isn’t just about physical conditions. It’s also about mental well-being.
After all, spending eight hours per day in a workspace you’re not mentally comfortable with won’t just affect your work performance or productivity. It can also lead to severe consequences down the line, which is why adopting positive mental health practices is crucial for a healthy work environment.
A few extra mental health days can make all the difference for some. Stress relief and wellness programs can lead to significant mental health improvements for others. Whether working remotely or running the office, it’s all about finding what works best for you or your employees.
Conclusion
Maintaining a healthy environment and keeping your workspace in pristine condition is something you’ll have to tackle from multiple sides.
From regularly cleaning your office to investing in ergonomic furniture to encouraging frequent ventilation and getting the necessary sunlight, these tips can lead to a much healthier work environment and increased productivity.
On the other hand, we mustn’t forget our mental health either, and regardless of whether you’re working from home or in a shared office, you should also adopt various mental well-being practices.