Remote work from home may be more common than ever, but many businesses still use office spaces for their operations. After years away from the office, it can be tricky to recapture the same productivity, though.
Therefore, we’ve put together some valuable hacks for increasing efficiency in your business office that’ll make the office more productive and enjoyable to work in.
Declutter the Office
Offices are like homes; they can become magnets for clutter without you even realizing it. If it’s been a while since the office got a thorough cleaning and organizing, it’s probably good to set aside time for a decluttering session.
Schedule a chunk of time one day for the entire office to take part in cleaning their workspaces, tossing away unneeded documents and items, and organizing. Afterward, it’ll feel like a brand-new office space!
Go Paperless
If you haven’t already, it’s time to take your office into the modern age by using digital documents. There are numerous business benefits of going paperless, but chief among them is better efficiency and productivity.
Are you sick of sifting through piles of paper and drawers of file cabinets looking for the correct documents? Paperless documentation means finding, accessing, and sharing information among employees in a fraction of the time.
Consolidate Meetings
Meetings are essential to a collaborative and productive workplace, but they’re often excessive and inefficient for many employees. One of the most common complaints from office employees is that they must attend unnecessary meetings that don’t affect their work. Also, some meetings cover information that the sender can easily share via email instead.
When setting up a meeting, ask yourself these questions:
- Is this meeting necessary, or can it be an email?
- Who needs to be in this meeting, and who doesn’t?
- Does this meeting need an hour, or can it wrap up in 20 minutes?
Create Incentives
Using incentives is an excellent hack for increasing efficiency and productivity in your office. It gives employees extra motivation and shows that you recognize and reward quality work in the office.
Examples of office incentives for employees include:
- Cash bonuses
- More paid time off
- Company-wide kudos
- Gift certificates
- Employee-of-the-week/month plaques
Encourage Healthy Habits
The days of pressuring employees to churn out 100-percent productivity 100 percent of the time on the clock are mostly over. Experts and studies have shown that many of the most productive workspaces are the ones that encourage healthy workplace habits centered around mental health and avoiding burnout.
Consider promoting the Pomodoro Technique of work and time management. This technique recommends setting a timer for 25 minutes, working during that period, then taking a 5-minute break. Workers then repeat these steps three to four times before taking a more extended 30-minute lunch break.
Employees who feel relaxed and recharged while working are more likely to accomplish their work better and more efficiently than ones who are stressed and mentally exhausted.
