Employee productivity is crucial to your business’s overall success. According to the Harvard Business Review, providing the right technology, offering cross-training, improving company culture, aiming for effective communication, and setting realistic goals can ramp your people’s efficiency at work.
But if you’ve tried every productivity hack out there but are still falling behind your goals, perhaps it’s time to level up your strategies and go for unconventional techniques.
Go Green
In a series of field experiments conducted in The Netherlands and the U.K, the researchers discovered that office landscaping has improved workers’ productivity by 15 percent. When purchasing plants for your employees’ workspaces, consider the ease of care and not just the aesthetics. Ideally, you should pick low-maintenance plants, such as snake plants and cacti. For the outdoor area, seek help from commercial lawn care services to bring out the best in your space.
Let the Furry Friends In
One way to keep your company in good company is to make it pet-friendly. With 20% of all companies in the U.S. already allowing their employees to bring their furry friends at work, there’s no reason you should deprive your people of this fun workplace experience.
Multiple studies prove that having pets in the workplace boosts mutual trust among teams and reduces stress levels, which then ultimately leads to a boost in efficiency and productivity. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association also reported that people at pet-friendly workplaces are happier, more creative, and more cooperative.
Schedule Game Times
While letting your employees play games at work could seem like a bad idea, it has exciting benefits. Researchers from London have previously proved that there’s a correlation between playing games and better handling of stress.
More recently, another group of researchers from Florida this time confirmed this theory when they discovered that people who spent at least five minutes of their breaks to play video games have a generally improved mood when they return to their workstations. Encourage your teams to play by scheduling game time outside their lunch breaks. It doesn’t even have to be a video game. You can find inspiration from tech giants Google and Amazon, where the game rooms have billiard, ping-pong, and foosball tables, among many other types of gaming tables.
Build a Nap Room
A well-rested employee is a productive employee. While snoozing during work hours used to be a cause for reprimand, companies are now adapting to today’s fast-paced and high-stress work environments by building nap rooms. Letting your people sneak in rest at work has surprisingly cool benefits to your business’ bottom line.
Naturally, a tired person is less efficient at work. In a research study conducted at the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital, it was discovered that short sleep sessions could boost alertness. You don’t need to be a multi-million company to put a nap pod in your office. You can create rooms where employees can take cat naps on days when they are sleep-deprived to allow them to recharge.
There are many ways you can encourage your workers to do better at work. But remember that the key to boosting employee productivity is acknowledging that they are humans and humans have limitations. Give them what they need when they need it, and you’ll see a significant increase in your workforce’s overall efficiency.
