Creating a productive work environment is essential for any organization aiming for success. It not only enhances employee performance but also stimulates creativity and innovation. In this article, we will explore the significance of productivity in the workplace, essential elements that contribute to a conducive environment and eight actionable ways to foster such an environment.
What is a productive work environment?
A productive work environment is an environment that encourages employees to perform their best both personally and professionally. This includes physical considerations such as desk equipment and environmental factors as well as proper tools and technology. Beyond the physical considerations, a productive work environment includes workplace culture and support for both mental health and well-being. Whether employees are in-office or working from home, employers must create positive work environments that address employee needs on all levels.
Why is a productive work environment important?
In its simplest form, a productive work environment empowers employees to do their daily work efficiently and effectively while supporting their emotional and physical needs. A productive workplace benefits the employer and the employee in many ways:
- Improves job performance – By removing barriers to productivity, employers empower employees to do their best work.
- Promotes collaboration – Focusing on a productive workplace also creates a more collaborative work environment. Employees get better opportunities to work together to complete tasks effectively while gaining trust and respect for each other.
- Enhances employee engagement and morale – When employees feel supported, they’re more likely to want to go the extra mile for their workplace, which gives a boost to morale across the board.
- Increases creativity – When employees can focus on important work rather than repetitive tasks, distractions or office politics, they have more creative energy to put back into their work.
- Improves job satisfaction and reduces turnover – Productive, supported employees enjoy their jobs more, which makes them less likely to search for other work outside the company.
- Increases the company’s bottom line – Productive work environments reduce waste and increase revenue by empowering employees to be effective and efficient. Productive employees not only produce more and better work; they also enhance customer satisfaction.
Companies that prioritize productive work environments set their employees up for success and get the benefits of higher productivity, happier employees and more creative team members. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
8 ways to create a productive work environment
There are many types of work environments in today’s corporate landscape, from distributed or remote teams to hybrid workspaces and fully in-office teams. While the needs of your workspace and employees will vary, these nine general tips will ensure you have a productive work environment regardless of your organization’s specific requirements.
1. Optimize your workspace layout
Employees need a productive workspace that maximizes collaboration, focus time and comfort. In an office setting, this means designing a layout that makes the most sense for your teams. Open office concepts or “hot desking”, where employees don’t have an assigned work station, may make sense for highly collaborative or creative teams that need to communicate frequently.
However, employees also need quiet or private spaces to concentrate on individual tasks. Even if you have separate cubicle workspaces for employees, ensure they have dedicated places to make phone calls or work undisturbed like smaller meeting rooms or quiet spaces. You should also provide larger meeting rooms for teams that need to discuss projects, use whiteboards or other collaboration tools without disturbing other team members.
Employers have less control over the workspace layout for remote workers or hybrid teams, but there are many ways to empower them to create a productive space wherever they’re working. Some remote-first organizations provide new employees with productivity-enhancing tools such as:
- Ergonomic desk equipment
- Chairs
- Double monitors
- Stipends so employees can set up their home offices to suit their needs.
2. Let employees agree on environmental conditions
Giving employees control over their office environment goes a long way toward increasing productivity. Teams should all agree on considerations like office temperature, noise levels and lighting. Your organization should also provide accommodations for employees who have specific needs. Noise-canceling headphones and private or quiet spaces can help employees who need to concentrate on individual tasks. Decorations, plants and natural light from windows are other ways employees can improve their environments to be more productive.
Remote or hybrid teams have more control over their specific work environments, but employers can set these team members up for success by providing guidance on optimal work conditions. Noise-canceling headphones work just as well for employees who have roommates or family members at home as they do for their in-office counterparts, for example. Team members can make a list of suggested desk lamps, fans, speakers or other tools they’ve found useful to share with colleagues.
3. Provide the right technology and tools
It’s important to ensure employees have the right tools and technology to succeed, whether they’re in-office or working remotely. Employees should have functional laptops, desktop computers, tablets or phones to work effectively. They also need the right apps and technology running on those devices to collaborate, complete tasks and communicate with each other.
Studies have shown having a second monitor increases productivity, including quicker task completion and fewer errors. Whether your team is remote, hybrid or in-office, providing multiple monitors and ensuring they work properly sets your team up for more productive work.
4. Reduce distractions and unnecessary meetings
Office distractions are one of the biggest drains on productivity in the modern workplace. Regardless of where an employee is working, it takes time for them to get back on track after experiencing a distraction. Distractions also increase an employee’s stress levels and can lead to multitasking, which is detrimental to productivity as well. Many employees report prepping for and attending unnecessary meetings is one of the biggest distractions they face.
Empower employees to manage their time and focus to reduce distractions and go to fewer meetings. For example:
- Allow employees to block off their calendars for focus time when they need it or set office-wide “no meeting” afternoons every week.
- Ask anyone calling a meeting to create a clear agenda and follow-up protocols to ensure only people who need to be in the meeting are invited.
- Encourage managers to protect their employees’ time by shielding them from meetings they don’t need to attend as well.
- Provide employees with tools to guard against distractions, such as setting their phones or devices to “do not disturb” when they need to focus or scheduling time for daily email checks or personal phone use.
5. Set clear goals and give feedback
One aspect of a productive workplace is clear communication around goals, tasks and performance. To start, provide employees with clear goals for both the short and long term, such as weekly, monthly or quarterly tasks. You’ll also want to ensure they understand their impact by providing analytics on their performance.
Monitoring productivity is another great way to give employees insight and ownership of their productivity. Using productivity monitoring solutions like ActivTrak gives managers and employees actionable feedback on what enhances or detracts from their productivity, including what times of day they’re most productive, how their location impacts their productivity and what apps or websites may distract them. They can also see how much time they’re spending on productive work compared to meetings or collaboration and how their productivity aligns to that of other teams or individuals.
6. Promote a healthy work-life balance
Employee stress affects productivity in profound ways, and encouraging a healthy work-life balance reduces the risk of burnout for team members. Encourage employees to take frequent breaks throughout their workdays to refresh their minds and decrease stress.
For example, give employees dedicated break spaces and encourage them to enjoy their lunches there instead of at their desks. Provide employees with time off away from the office and encourage them to use it. You should also provide health benefits and wellness tools so employees can take care of their wellbeing.
Remote employees often have a harder time separating work time from personal time because they don’t leave an office at the end of the day. Your organization may want to enforce set working hours for remote employees to ensure they’re able to recharge when necessary. Encourage managers and supervisors to refrain from emailing or communicating with their employees outside of work hours to help create a better boundary.
7. Foster a positive company culture
High morale, trust and engagement all lead to better employee productivity, but it can be difficult to foster a positive work culture in a work-focused environment. Find the right balance of work and fun for your employees, industry and organization. Company potlucks for holidays can provide a space for employees to get to know each other and enjoy each other’s cooking skills while taking a break from daily work. Team happy hours or outings also provide an opportunity for employees to build rapport.
Remote and hybrid employees need innovative ways to connect on a personal level with their colleagues to build trust and camaraderie. Non work-related chat channels or online meetings allow remote workers to chat and get to know each other even when they’re not in the same office. There are many ideas for remote team-building activities, like:
- Virtual escape rooms
- Virtual happy hours
- Remote games
- Virtual clubs to build engagement
8. Provide opportunities for growth and development
Ample training, personal development and professional advancement are all important aspects of a productive work environment. Studies have shown that a lack of development opportunities ties with low pay as a reason employees leave their jobs today. Helping employees grow shows them the organization cares about their development while providing the company with more highly skilled and productive employees.
Some ways you can do this to create a more productive environment include:
- Provide career advancement opportunities including professional development
- Setting up mentorship programs and clear advancement pathways
- Holding regular learning opportunities such as lunch-and-learn virtual sessions
- Fostering access to digital learning modules or continuing education course
And remember, development doesn’t always have to be work-based. For instance, employees can build trust and rapport with each other by teaching each other skills they’ve mastered like cooking, art or crafts.
Create a more productive work environment with ActivTrak
Fostering a culture of productivity by implementing a productive work environment benefits both employees and the business as a whole. ActivTrak’s productivity management solution provides a comprehensive workforce analytics platform to transform how you understand employee productivity and well-being to build a more productive work environment. With insights into people, processes, and technology our solutions are designed to optimize outcomes and drive business success.
Join the 9,500+ customers who trust ActivTrak's award-winning tools, and take the first step towards realizing your team's full potential. Contact our sales team today to learn more or to create your free account. Let's work better, together.
