Creating a good work environment

Creating a good work environment. We see it in our day-to-day work. A company whose workers are motivated gains, and a lot, in productivity. This is not only determined by the efficiency of the company’s production and/or service systems but, above all, by the willingness to work for its employees. It’s therefore vital to have a team of people who feel motivated every day during their working day.

 

To create a good working environment, we have to take into account several factors that we must promote within our companies. Whether we are the managers or the employees, we can all collaborate and try to put most of them into practice. The creation of a good work environment favors both the results of the company and the psychological well-being of the people who work in it.

 

Creating a good work environment

 

Some of the actions that we can carry out are:

 

Create a climate of respect

 

This is the most important point. We must all try to create a harmonious environment in which tolerance is the key element, both between different hierarchical levels as well as “peer to peer”.

 

Cooperate rather than compete

 

When we are in a team we must be aware that we are all working towards a common goal. Therefore, complicity, cohesion and above all cooperation are the main ingredients to improve personal relationships and the results of our efforts.

 

Encourage autonomy

 

When employees have their own responsibilities in their work and have free rein to think critically and propose ideas, they end up getting more involved, since they understand that their actions and opinions are important and have relevance.

 

Helping family reconciliation

 

Work should be an important part of our lives, but it cannot completely condition our personal life. From the company we can carry out several actions such as giving the option of more flexible schedules or adapted to the schedule of schools, among others.

 

Be empathetic

 

All workers, and even the leader himself, may have complicated personal situations and we must be empathetic enough to understand their situation and understand the possible consequences.

 

Build a pleasant physical space

 

We spend many hours a day inside the office, so we must try to have these places well illuminated, ventilated, etc. In addition, organization, cleanliness, and comfort must be taken care of in detail, since they will have an impact on the emotional state and productivity of employees.

 

Choosing a good leader

 

It’s crucial that you know the potential of your employees, but also that you communicate well with them. It’s important to thank them for their work and recognize their successes, as well as to encourage feedback, hear their opinions and criticisms and propose solutions. Also, some companies learn about the empowerment culture and how it could help a business.

 

Stimulation

 

From the personnel management, we must create the feeling to our employees that their professional career does not have to remain stagnant within the company, but that it has prospects for growth and improvement over time. In addition to rewards at the status or economic level, we can also stimulate our employees with training, offering them courses of their interest that will also improve the productivity of their daily work.

 

One of the factors that can most influence the productivity of a company is the work environment of its employees. In the case of an adequate work environment, employees will be much more productive and talent will be retained in the company. On the contrary, inadequate work environments hinder the development of workers, which results in low productivity, high absenteeism, as well as high job turnover.

 

What is meant by work environment?

 

The work environment is the context in which an employee carries out his or her work. This context can be made up of both physical elements (the space where the work is carried out) and non-physical elements (for example, the work environment with colleagues or the hierarchical relationships that are established). 

 

All these factors contribute for better or worse in the production of employees. Therefore, it’s important to take them into account when promoting a space and a work environment where workers feel safe and at ease. This will allow them to fully develop as workers and, consequently, be more productive.

 

How to create a good working environment

 

There are many elements that help to create a good working environment. In fact, depending on the type of company where you want to achieve this goal, it may be more important to focus on some aspects or others. However, in most cases, the following tips are usually of great help.

 

Respect schedules

 

This is an element that, a priori, might seem basic, but is not always the case. There may be situations that require employees to work overtime, but it must be kept in mind that this will always be an exceptional situation. If the workload is such that it’s necessary for employees to work more hours than they should in theory, it may well be time to expand the workforce.

 

Facilitating work-life balance

 

Another of the most important elements in creating a good working environment is helping employees to balance their work and family life, as it frees them from external pressures and allows them to focus on their tasks during working hours. In this sense, solutions such as daycare provide considerable help in improving employee productivity by improving their work-life balance.

 

The importance of breaks

 

Breaks are part of any activity, including work. Breaks allow workers to clear their heads and return to their tasks with renewed energy and a fresh head. Therefore, respecting breaks and adapting them to the type of task being carried out is an element that helps a lot in creating a good working environment.

 

Correctly defining jobs and each of the tasks assigned

 

One of the main problems that can damage a good working environment is the lack of definition of tasks and jobs within the organization. Correctly defining each of these elements will help employees perform their tasks more efficiently and will also avoid misunderstandings, duplication, or unassigned tasks.

 

Develop a career plan for each employee

 

One of the most helpful elements in creating a good work environment is for employees themselves to have a long-term perspective of their respective jobs. If employees see themselves in the same company many years from now (taking into account the corresponding promotion in each case), this will motivate them to become more committed to the company.

 

Good internal communication

 

This is one of the fundamental factors in fostering a good and pleasant working environment for everyone. Communication among employees is essential to create a space where employees feel safe and comfortable, so it’s advisable to work with specific and appropriate training.

 

Comfortable and pleasant physical spaces

 

Likewise, another fundamental element in creating a pleasant working environment is the physical elements with which the employees themselves interact. Elements such as work furniture, lighting, and air conditioning, the separation of the physical space between workers, or cafeteria services, among many others, are aspects that facilitate the creation of a work environment that helps to develop the highest productivity of employees. Therefore, it’s important to pay them the attention they deserve.

 

5 ways to create a healthy work environment

                                                   

Being healthy is more than just not being sick; it’s experiencing personal and relational well-being in the various areas of our lives. As more and more of our lives are spent at work, we propose ways to create an environment that not only doesn’t make you sick but helps you feel better.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed in 2013 an action plan for the design and implementation of healthy work environments. This plan was aimed at employers, workers, authorities, and professionals. The basic premise of this work is that “the wealth of companies depends on the health of workers”. Thus, it’s not only a business ethics responsibility, or a legal obligation, but also a business policy decision that improves the work climate and productivity

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Health is not defined simply as the absence of disease; on the contrary, it’s a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Hence, a healthy work environment is a place where all stakeholders collaborate. This collaboration is vital in implementing a process of continuous improvement to protect and promote the health, safety, and well-being of all workers and the sustainability of the workplace.

 

Of course: no one can object to these definitions but the reality is that it’s a concept, a horizon that guides the improvement process without ever exhausting it, although it allows changes that we can all appreciate. That is why there are key guidelines for the design of a healthy workplace.

 

Management involvement and commitment. Creating a good work environment

 

It’s essential that any initiative aimed at improving the work environment has the participation of the company’s superiors and top-level personnel. The key is integrating the design of a healthy workplace into the company’s objectives and values.

Involve workers and their representatives. 

 

Just as healthy workplaces are good for the company, they have workers as immediate beneficiaries. Including them in the decision-making process avoids the mutual distrust generated by unilateral measures and generates a genuine interest of all parties in the success of the measures taken. 

 

Corporate ethics and legality, Creating a good work environment

 

Organizational commitment to compliance with occupational health codes and laws is key to any process of designing a healthy work environment. Adherence to ethical conduct that avoids harm to others respects their rights and takes care of their health is the necessary basis without which no improvement process is possible. 

 

Use of systematic and comprehensive continuous improvement processes

 

Like any change process, the design of healthy work environments requires an investment of money, time, and human resources. Creating a good work environment. It’s necessary to commit to the planning and then the execution of that plan, maintaining a responsible team that monitors compliance and is attentive to deviations, changes and reformulations that may be required.

 

Even if complete wellbeing is, to a large extent, utopian, the intermediate results we achieve result in perceptible improvements in the lives of workers and organizations.