Make your employees happy!

An office which has carefully chosen interiors and placement of furniture enhances the productivity of the employees significantly. Interiors should be discreetly chosen keeping in mind the weather of the city, the kind of work performed by the employees and also to the extent the age group of the workers, say experts.

Hygienic flooring: The flooring of the office has to be hygienic and safe. Flooring is usually divided into hard floors and soft floors. It must be ensured that that the choice of flooring is thermal resistant, anti-static and inflammable. The flooring must also assist the acoustic dynamic of the office so as to reduce noise levels. In addition to these, the chosen flooring should also be easy to clean. Keeping in mind the environment protection, the flooring should also have low carbon footprint.

Light balance: Lighting play a very important part in supporting the moods of the employees and extreme care should be given to this aspect. The lighting system and design is utilised to create a productive and welcoming environment but minimising energy use at the same time. It is also important to balance the heat and light coming into the building from outside. All efforts should be made to reduce visual glare discomfort. This will help protect the employees from eye fatigue, especially in IT and ITeS companies.

Colour blending: Colours bear a direct and significant impact on human mood, behaviour and productivity. Hues of blue and of green are considered the most soothing.

Furniture: A lot of focus needs to be given to physical, cognitive, and social needs of modern workforce. Ergonomic (designed for efficiency and comfort in the working environment) furniture is greatly recommended. The size of work tables is also important and adds to the comfort level of the employees. A size of 4*2 ft is an ideal size for enhancing productivity.

Walking space: A lot of care should also be given to spaces for walking and movement of the staff. Spaces like corridors, public areas and aisles should be planned and must not be cluttered. It is important to make them ventilated, well illuminated and broad to cater to large crowds. These places require careful planning so as to boost the productivity of employees. This should also be done to reduce cost to company for injury or illness related to employees.

Accessories: A lot of attention is paid to accessories these days in the offices, and rightly so. These accessories further improve the mood of the employees and also enhance the aesthetics of the place. An office that is clean will right furniture and accessories makes the employees want to come to work but too much of accessories should be avoided and only those items should be chosen that blend with the colour theme of the office.

- Nakul Mathur, Managing Director at Avanta Business Center and Pradeep Aggarwal, Co-founder and Chairman,
Signature Global.