5 steps to build a great working environment

It's time to put class in working class. On an average, an individual spends around eight hours in their office. And that's a lot, considering that the rest is a whispering blur between catching forty winks, waking up, eating, and circumventing morning traffic to get to work. The time spent before getting to work can prove a morale dampener for employees. Therefore, it helps to create an office environment that can help employees recharge and become their own personal sanctuary and not sanatorium. And it’s up to branch heads and HR to be proactive and creative in creating an employee-friendly, nay, employee-loving environment for their workforce. Here are five ways in which it can be done.

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Start at the beginning. Hire the right people

According to Steve Olenski, a Forbes contributor, “Hiring the right employees can make or break your business. Employee recruitment is about managing stress, as you will constantly be judged on your selection.”

Hiring is the key to making life better at work. Who you hire is directly reflective of how seriously you take what you have set out to do. If you take hiring lightly, rest assured it will come in the way of your work and calm sooner than later. A wrong hire can prove dangerous, as they will not only hamper their own work but make life and work hellish for other employees as well.

Separate the good apple from the rotten ones

According to an article on Business Daily, “When employees are working alongside a high density of toxic workers, there is a 47 percent chance that they, too, will become toxic.”

This is the most drastic and direct effect of hiring the wrong people. Once hired, however, their stupidity must be restrained in order to keep them from corrupting the rest of your employees. You can best establish this by communicating your concern with the hire in question. Ask them to mend their ways or face the exit door. All in all, they must not be allowed to run amuck and unchecked.

Keep communication flowing

It is vital to ask employees for feedback and inputs, especially when there is a drop in morale or performance. This will give them a sense that they are being heard. Good communication is the key to maintaining healthy relationships at work and home. If you have created an environment where everyone can talk to everyone without feeling awkward or threatened, your employee stress rates can come down to a bare minimum. On the other hand, if you are the kind of boss who appears closed and unapproachable, it will come in the way of the everyday and overall functioning of work.

Have a Zen corner. Or two

From a meditation room to a kickboxing arena, get innovative with how you help your employees deal with stress. With stress becoming a ‘part of the game’, it pays to be prepared by providing your employees a space to relax, breathe easy, and rediscover their lost zest.

Let the office speak for itself

Young entrepreneurs these days like their offices to look as good and young as they themselves do. Therefore, it's not surprising to see a Jimi Hendrix and an Abida Parveen poster jamming side by side on an office wall. Taking care of how your office looks is an important aspect of business. You can use the space available to create infrastructural and interior design magic, and the best way to do so is to engage your employees. It'll be like decorating their own house and once they get into the groove they will create a space for themselves where they'd love to work.

A good working environment is a continuous work in progress. It requires constant looking into and strategy formation in order to make employees feel accepted, loved, and appreciated.