5 steps to make your office better
- Josh Mehlman
- 3 November 2009
Photo credit: iprole, sxc.hu
We all spend so much time in the office. However, most people pay less attention to their office environments than their homes. We decorate our homes, make sure they aren't making us unhealthy and worry about our environmental impact. Why don't we do the same for our workplaces?
The first stop is the physical environment. Offices that are dark, crowded, uncomfortably hot or cold, noisy or dangerous can sap productivity and at worst damage your health. Ergonomics is the science of creating a healthy workplace that fits the people who work there physically, socially and mentally.
5 steps to an ergonomic office
- Get a decent chair. The best chairs are the standard clerical office chairs, not the large, high-backed reclining types.
- Make your environment comfortable. Provide even lighting to ensure your whole working service is illuminated. Use curtains to control screen reflections or bright sunlight, and don't sit facing a screen with bright daylight behind the screen. Control any unwanted noise. Use heating and cooling to make sure you're comfortable, not overheated or sleepy.
- Give yourself plenty of desktop space. Put the stuff you use a lot, such as the phone, notepad and reference files, within a comfortable arm's reach.
- Arrange your storage intelligently. Shop carefully for cupboards and storage facilities suited to your needs. Think of your back and how often you'll need to get things in or out of whatever you buy. Put the most-used things closest to you.
- Take regular breaks. Get up and get things. Try working standing up sometimes. Get some fresh air. And keep yourself fit: daily exercise, even just a brisk walk, will repay you many times in the extra hours you can work productively as a
result.
Source: Mark Dohrmann and Partners
5 tips for office feng shui
Another way of looking at the workplace is through feng shui, an ancient Chinese discipline that analyses the relationship between people and their environment.
- Sit with a solid wall behind you. It will provide more backing for your ideas and lend authority to your presence.
- Make sure you can see the whole room from your desk. This will ensure you have mastery over all you do, you will think more clearly, your judgement will be sound and you will be respected. Seeing who comes through the door gives you a sense of control over your work.
- Put in plants, flowers or wind chimes. They provide yang qi (creative energy) for the whole room, which encourages you to be productive, maintain good concentration and obtain good ideas.
- Get close to nature. Position your desk so you can easily see out the window and make the most of natural light. Good ventilation is important and open windows are great.
- Face one of your good directions when working. A feng shui book or consultation will help you determine which directions are best.
Source: Feng Shui Living
5 steps to a greener office
While ergonomics and feng shui address the interaction between the individual and the workplace, there is a larger picture. The built environment generally, and the office in particular, has a serious impact on the planet.
As well as saving money and reducing environmental footprint, these initiatives can make a small business more attractive to staff, customers and investors.
- Switch to renewable energy. Most energy retailers offer the ability to buy power generated from renewable sources only such as solar, wind and geothermal energy. Making the switch can save an average of seven tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
- Open the windows. Turn of the air conditioning and open the windows for some fresh air or switch your air conditioner to the economy cycle, which lowers energy use.
- Turn things off. Turning off the lights, computers, printers and monitors when leaving the office can make a big difference to greenhouse gas emissions. Think about timers or motion sensors to make sure lights are only on when needed.
- Switch to laptops. Notebook computers use up to 90% less energy than desktops. Even if you hook your laptop up to an energy-efficient external monitor, it's still using half the energy of the average desktop computer.
- Recycle. Buying used or recycled office furniture and materials such as paper means less energy use, emissions and pollution. Recycle as much of your office waste and unwanted goods as possible. #
