Five Tips To Improve Workplace Indoor Quality

Last updated on April 7, 2020

Employees spend a big portion of their day at work daily. The responsibility to give employees a clean and hygienic working environment befalls on the management. If the management is failing to do so, it highly likely that their work staff is not happy with their workplace. Moreover, a mismanaged workplace environment will most likely lead to employees taking sick leaves more often and so it will become difficult to retain employees after a while.

We have compiled 5 tips that will help you improve the workplace indoor quality of your office.

#1 – Ventilation is the key

Most office spaces constitute of halls that are used to accommodate several people. This can be great in terms of communication, but it can also have lasting effects on the surrounding air. Ventilation is important in places where there are many people seated for several hours. In an office, the number of hours can range from 8-9. A lot of times the employees eat in the same area as well. This can make the area stinky and the atmosphere highly unpleasant. The ideal situation would be to have cross ventilation inside the office.

Cross ventilation means having windows on either side to ensure that air travels inside from one end and leaves from the other. In case your office does not have windows then you might have to consider creating some artificial ventilation. Artificial ventilation can be created through an air purifier or the fan setting on your air conditioner. Even if the weather is cold, get an air purifier installed to get rid of any nasty odor inside the office. Air purifiers can be easily bought online and they don’t even cost that much!

#2 – Make cleanliness a priority

Cleanliness needs to be your number one priority when it comes to the workplace. If there is are carpets in the office space, they need to be cleaned thoroughly and frequently. Moreover, for detailed cleaning of your carpets, you can always get the services of a professional cleaning services provider like Carpet Cleaning London. This will help you get sparkling clean carpets in no time. To ensure that the indoor air quality improves, it is also important to get the curtains and blinds cleaned or changed. The office space should be frequently dusted and vacuumed.

In addition to this, every employee should be made responsible for keeping their desks neat and tidy. To encourage this habit among employees, the management can hold different competitions for the best desk decoration or something similar. Healthy activities like these at workplaces are important to build and improve communication among the employees. The management can also promote hygiene through different signage around the office. This can include bathroom and kitchen etiquettes that workers need to follow to keep the office environment clean for everyone. The cleanliness of the workplace is not just the responsibility of the management, the staff should be equally responsible as well. It is every worker’s responsibility to clean and tidy up their space so that the entire area remains hygienic through the combined efforts of everyone.

#3 – Purchase indoor plants

Plants inside the office can make a huge difference in the office environment. Plants offer plenty of health benefits as well. Keeping indoor plants in the office will help improve the air quality and give an overall refreshing feeling to everyone who is working. The best thing about plants is that they are aesthetically pleasing. They are a great piece of décor around the office and look quite flattering too. Therefore, if you have the clients walking in and you are looking for ways to improve the office environment, then we would highly recommend that you buy indoor plants.

However, you must take care of these plants. They should be properly watered and taken care of at all times. Even indoor plants require sunlight and they have to be watered sufficiently. The frequency at which they need to be watered varies from plant to plant. Moreover, dust needs to be cleaned off from them frequently. Therefore, if you want to decorate the office with plants make sure you have the proper resources to maintain them. Wilted plants are horrible to look at for anyone who walks in and worse for those who are inside the office.

#4 – Restrict smoking in the office premises

While most offices have restricted smoking within the office premises, still there are companies that have no such rules regarding smoking. It is a widely known fact that the smoke from cigarettes contains harmful chemicals and carbon monoxide which is extremely detrimental to the health of the person who is smoking, as well as the people nearby. This smoke is known to cause several infections and medical conditions related to the lungs and the throat.

It has also been proven that electric cigarettes are not any better. They are equally harmful to the environment and the people as well. Therefore, it is important to make the office a smoke-free zone. This will help to improve the office environment and improve workplace indoor quality. It is also important to increase awareness about the harmful effects of smoking. Launching an anti-smoking campaign could help fulfill the purpose.

#5 – Using the right products

There are several products used in offices that could be responsible for harmful air pollutants. These products may include aerosol air fresheners, office stationery, printers, etc. The air pollutants produced through these office supplies could be collectively affecting your office environment adversely. Before purchasing a product the management should make sure that the product is environmentally friendly and does not include harmful chemicals. If it is necessary to use the products then there should be a proper ventilation system to take care of the fumes that result from their usage.

To ensure the right air quality, you may conduct an air quality test. This will help you see whether the measures you are taking are working or not. The air tests are usually a measure to test the humidity and dust levels, the level of allergens, etc. They are a useful tool to help assess and improve indoor air quality and prevent people from getting sick due to poor air quality.

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