Do workers work better or worse if they feel they are at home? I personally work better, but others might get lazy. Some people do nothing productive at home, while others thrive in this environment. It might be best to study the productivity habits of all of your workers and customize their environment to suit them ideally. If one works better with trees, put them out in a forest. If another works best in a cubicle, then do the obvious. If another works better at home, but you need them at the office, then continue reading this blog…
Making your office like home
There are coffee houses and bars that strive to feel like someone’s living room. These types of business put effort into their ambiance otherwise they will have an empty house. But, how many offices do the same? Imagine how much easier it would be to attract nice workers if you created an environment they actually liked being in! If you have windows that look like home, dogs, cats, and pets in the office, shelves filled with books, and other home-type stuff, people might feel more like home. You might add a sofa and coffee table just in case people want to do some collaborative thinking. But, would people collaborate, or just socialize and waste time? That is for your analytics department (which you probably don’t have) to find out. In the mean time while you ponder having an analytics department, do the analytics yourself!
Happy workers
Whether or not a homey environment is good for productivity, it seems obvious to me that most workers would prefer to be in that type of environment, and your attrition rate would go down. Worker satisfaction would most likely go up. There are many factors to think about when choosing an environment and short term productivity is only one of them!
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Compilation of posts about offices
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your office in the Himalayas?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/27/wouldnt-it-be-nice-to-have-your-office-in-the-himalayas/