Music can create an upbeat atmosphere, improving morale, and calming the mind when the right tunes are chosen.
In theory, a stressed employee can arrive at work and then feel instantly more relaxed when they are soothed by the music playing in the background. As a consequence, their mindset should be better attuned to work once their stresses are relieved.
For an idea of the music services available to you, check out the following article on the best music streaming for business.
Make changes to the office space
A cluttered office space with dim lighting is not ideal when trying to create a relaxing environment for your employees.
A spacious office space with lots of natural lighting, on the other hand, is conducive to a more relaxing environment.
As such, do what you can to create a tidy working space, and where possible, arrange desks near windows so your employees can benefit from the calming rays of the sunlight.
A few well-placed plants can also create a more relaxed atmosphere, not only because they look and smell good but because they have air-purifying properties that create a healthier working space.
Think about the chairs your employees have to sit on in your workplace too. A chair that has been ergonomically designed, with fabric that is soft to the touch, will be much more relaxing to sit on than a chair that has scratchy material and that is ill-fitting for your employee.
Reduce your employees’ workloads
You pay your employees to work but you don’t want to overburden them. If they have to do more than they can comfortably manage within a given timeframe, their stress levels will start to rise and this could have an impact on their efficiency.
To reduce your employees’ workloads, you could:
- outsource tasks that aren’t part of their usual job description
- streamline business processes by automating as much as possible
- encourage teamwork so more complicated tasks can be shared amongst staff
Show appreciation
We all need encouragement from time to time. It can boost our self-esteem and give us the drive to continually push ourselves. As such, you should do what you can to show appreciation to your employees, perhaps by finding ways to thank your staff for the hard work they do, and by giving praise when it is due.
The alternative is never showing your employees any appreciation but this is hardly conducive to a relaxing working environment. If they are continually being made to feel unvalued, they will likely feel stressed and a little resentful when coming to work each day.
Here are a few of the ways in which you can show employee appreciation.
Workplace stress can lead to low productivity, time away from work, and low employee retention figures. Your business will suffer as a consequence so to avoid these problems, follow these suggestions to create a relaxing working space for your employees.