Natural Light

It might seem like a small thing, but natural lighting is very important for employees sitting long hours in an office. Without going too much into why natural light is healthy, let’s just say that exposing your staff to sunlight should, in the least, improve their overall mood and general happiness. Just like in our own homes, offices with plenty of natural light in them will feel more spacious and less oppressive, especially when combined with some nice colors and decent office equipment. If your office seems a little dark, consider removing curtains from a few windows to let that solar goodness right into your workspace.  

Take a Break

Breaks are important, and more than one would think! And, when we’re talking a break, we mean an actual lunch break. If you’re a person working in a cubicle 8 hours a day, you’ll soon feel very repressed and cramped, and you’ll feel the need to get out. As a manager, it’s a good idea to encourage your employees to take lunch outside and away from their desks. Walking over to a few dozen meters will do well for an office worker, as it will get their blood flowing, clear their mind, and, of course, fill their bellies with some warm food. When they come back, they’ll have rested sufficiently to start a new task (or pursue the old one) with renewed vigor and freshness. 

Neutral Colours

Several studies show that neutral colors have a very positive sway on productivity. In fact, all colors have an influence on productivity, but, for a regular office, neutral colors such as white and lighter shades of grey will promote a relaxed, but focused and official, the air around the place. You might consider warmer colors if you’re running a more creative office and softer colors for the break and lunchrooms, such as shades of blue. In addition, a few pictures, photos or paintings might be just the thing you need to top off your perfect office space, as they will add a bit of style to the place, and something to look at other than naked walls. 

Team Building Events

Team building events are something every manager should take into consideration. You might be your employees’ superior, but it doesn’t hurt to show them that you’re human as well. Organizing and attending team-building events will keep your employees entertained, give them something to look forward, but most importantly, create bonds of friendship and trust between you and your team, and between team members themselves. As to what kind of event you’re looking to create, it could be a BBQ, some form of friendly competition or you can even call over some unexpected professional roving entertainment – this would make an excellent surprise to pull during some unofficial meetings, or simply out of the blue to break the monotony.

Avoid Unnecessary Meetings 

Speaking of meetings, they’re, naturally, extremely important, as they offer insight into your employees’ mindsets, allow you to address them directly and coordinate your projects. However, too many meetings and too often lead to employees becoming disinterested, outright bored, unwilling to participate, and, most importantly, takes up their time and they’ll have to pull extra effort to finish their projects. Keeping meetings short, spacing them out and calling them only when necessary is a good strategy to keep your employees engaged in the goings-on of the office without having them feel they’re being pulled from their work. 

Set Reasonable Dates

Nothing spells discontent and disorder like backed-up and poorly planned out deadlines. If you’re in a managing position, it is your job to steer your team in the right direction, and this means setting dates that your team can meet. This also involves you knowing your employees’ capabilities and working habits – many managers make the mistake of dumping difficult tasks on less skilled employees as a form of teaching them responsibility and assessing their skill level. Keep your work schedule realistic and don’t push, lest you be considered a slave driver among your subordinates.

Take Time to Answer Questions

As a team leader, your employees are likely to defer to you as their mentor and guide. That is why it is important to be as open and forthcoming to your workers as possible, without upsetting the chain of command. To that end, it is very important to take the time and answer your emails and any queries your employees may have. This is especially important with new arrivals, and in case you’re many years a senior in comparison to your workers, as this will promote them to learn more about the way you do things in your office, and they’ll work harder to justify the time you took to train/point them in the right direction.

Conclusion

And, with this, we reach the end of our little article. If you find your office productivity lacking, these tricks and tips will go a long way to mitigate the issue. However, even if you’re completely happy with your employees, it will still do your good to implement one of these strategies to keep your team together and keep their engagement levels up to par.

Although the benefits that an employee is entitled to differ from state to state, there are benefits that are almost universal to all jurisdictions, and it is best to understand what these benefits are to be able to fully utilize them in case of a work-related injury.

The following benefits are pretty much a given across all the states:

1. Medical Care. – An injured employee is entitled to the required medical care to cure or relieve the results of a work-related injury. Medical bills, prescribed medicine, and even transportation cost to the hospital are included in this benefit. For some workers’ compensation insurance, the injured employee may have to see the company doctor for thirty days before being allowed to choose a doctor of their own.

2. Temporary Disability. – Depending on the employee’s injury, he or she may have to take some time off work to recuperate and heal as a result of the work-related accident. In this case, the employee may be entitled to temporary disability payments. This means that the injured employee would receive partial compensation for lost wages; usually paid out every two weeks, the amount that the employee would receive may vary but generally it is worth two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly gross pay. The injured employee should receive the temporary disability check soon after a doctor has verified that he or she would be unable to work. A few examples of a temporary disability are broken limbs, hand injuries, or other short term impairments that the employee would recover from after a certain period of time.

3. Permanent Disability. – Unlike the temporary disability benefit, permanent disability means that the injured employee no longer has or has a significantly lessened ability to compete for a job. The compensation that the injured employee is entitled to depends on a variety of factors. The following are considered when calculating for permanent disability compensation: the injury’s impact to the person’s ability to work, the employee’s age, the employee’s position/occupation, and his or her salary/wage at the time of the accident. Another significant factor that is considered is whether the work-related accident caused a partial or permanent disability. A few examples of permanent disability are severe back/spinal injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, amputation, hearing loss, and visual damage.

4. Vocational Rehabilitation. – Depending on the coverage of your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, a vocational rehabilitation may be included. This benefit pertains to your employer giving you assistance to look for another suitable job for you after your injury. During vocational rehabilitation, a partial compensation is given, similar to temporary disability. This benefit usually has a ceiling financial cap and can be replaced by your employer with a modified or different work on their business.

Workplace accidents and work-related injuries can happen to anyone and knowing what you’re entitled to can be great help in your recovery; however, there are instances where the process of claiming the benefits doesn’t go very well. In times like these, it’s best to consult with an experienced lawyer to help you with your claim.

Here’s a list of things you should remember if you have suffered a work-related injury. You can also contact Hogan Injury for expert legal advice.

None of the content on Hoganinjury.com is legal advice nor is it a replacement for advice from a certified lawyer. Please consult a legal professional for further information.

Original article from Hogan Injury.

There are plenty of articles out there telling you how to set up a home office to avoid distractions. But what happens when you have to work in — gulp — an actual office? You know, not at home?

My proposal: start thinking of every office as a “home office.” This means: make every office a place where you can be relaxed and productive, comfortable and focused.

How to do that? Here are some suggestions.

1. Don’t stock your desk with office supplies

This may sound weird. But what happens when you need some office supplies, and they’re not in your desk? That’s right: you get up. And move. And maybe talk to someone else.

At very least, it gives you an excuse to get out of your chair. At home this happens all the time (because you want to make sure that pint of Ben and Jerry’s hasn’t disappeared from the fridge, right?). Make it happen in your office.

2. Have. Good. Coffee. In. Your. Office.

For most of us, getting good work done means doing small tasks and then rewarding yourself. What better reward than a good cup of coffee?

If you’re running an office, paying for good coffee is a cheap way to make the day that much more exciting for all your employees. And to turn home into “where you drink coffee to get to the place where you drink better coffee.”

3. Break your schedule up

One of the advantages of working at home is that when you’re stuck in the middle of something, it’s easy to find an excuse to get up for 5 minutes. Maybe you do the dishes. Maybe you fold laundry. Maybe you run around in your underwear. (Hey, it’s your house.) Then you come back with your head a little clearer.

Schedule the same sort of thing at work. Keep a list of “little things” that take 5 or fewer minutes to do. When you’re stuck, do one of them. This can be a great way to import the rhythms of the home office. (Even if you can’t run around in your underwear.)

4. Get some plants

Can I be honest? My thumb is about as far from green as thumbs get.

But you know what? I’ve learned. Study after study shows that plants relieve stress and increase productivity. So I make sure that both my home office and my “office office” have plants.

Try a peace lily. Or a snake plant. Or, for something a little more fun, lemon balm.

5. Support your back

When you’re working from home, you may sit on a cushy chair or set a pillow behind your seat. Perhaps you work sitting up straight on your bed, or lounge on the soft couch. Either way, you’re doing what feels best for your back.

A good chair should offer both lumbar and pelvic support, to encourage good posture. Sitting in a measly desk chair is already bad, but throw some slouching in there and you’ve got yourself a mix of backaches, headaches, and lack of focus.

Do yourself a favor, and get a nice chair. Instead of daydreaming of your spry younger days, you’ll enjoy working in the office more and especially like going home without the feeling of a broken spine.

6. Quiet things down

You know what’s great about having a home office? No chatter. Or, if you like music, lots of it!

So, when not at home, get yourself a pair of good quality, noise-cancelling headphones.

This lets you go into the cave when you need to. And when you take them off, there’s a big, friendly world out there.

7. Mix it up!

For the most part, those work-from-home days end up inside a cafe. Or a park. Or — let’s be real — your bed. There’s so much freedom in location and it’s easy to change rooms when you hit a mental wall, or have the sudden urge to be near a window.

Moving around lets you stretch your legs and refocus when you settle back down. Having different workspace areas within an office has been shown to offer greater flexibility and increased productivity. If your work has the space, go between conference rooms, lunchrooms, beanbags, and more!

If your office is tight on space, quick jaunts around the block can also offer a refreshing change of pace. But much like home, you should feel able to move around as needed.

8. Focus on results rather than hours

This is maybe the biggest one. After all, one great thing about working from home is that if you take 30 minutes off, nobody will know. Especially if you’re exceeding all your benchmarks.

What’s the takeaway? That the easiest way to make a work office feel like a home office is to emphasize results. Be reasonable about when people can come and go, as long as they’re getting things done.

This can be a tough one, depending on the culture of your office. But it’s worth making your supervisors aware. And if you manage other people, strive to implement this kind of culture.

The point in all of these is to make the office feel like a place where you can be focused and get work done, without it feeling so formal that you don’t want to be there. Do this and, maybe, you’ll never go home again!

Click here to view the original article.