How To Create a Positive Working Environment
We spend most of our waking hours working, so it seems obvious that our working environments should be pleasant places to be.
This is not always the case. The stress of the work itself, the company culture, your surroundings, and the people you work with all contribute to the overall environment in which you spend your time.
Most important features of a positive working environment
The essential elements of what makes a great working environment are personal. They will vary by individual, type of organisation, and the kind of work you do, but there are some universal truths to be found.
A truly positive working environment is one founded on strong company values, makes employees feel welcome, encourages training and development, is comfortable, and communicative.
A good environment and culture will also promote the kind of work-life balance that sustains, rather than drains, an employee. These things, plus some extra details below, all contribute to better motivated, satisfied, and productive employees.
What makes a negative working environment?
It may sound obvious, but being clear on what makes a working environment unpleasant can help you identify the changes you should implement to create a great work environment. Understanding the negative can make it easier to see the positive.
A negative working environment is characterised by poor communication, lack of trust, and low morale. Employees may feel undervalued, stressed, or micromanaged, leading to disengagement and dissatisfaction.
There may be a lack of recognition, limited growth opportunities, and unresolved conflicts, which can fester throughout a team and create a culture of fear or hostility. This type of environment hinders collaboration and productivity, causing high turnover and burnout.
These negative qualities may apply throughout organisations, and to traditional office environments, hybrid offices, and even home-working. Freelancers are not immune, either. What elements of a positive working environment can you relate to your situation?
Establish Company Values
Hybrid working is favoured by many, particularly those who are able to work on a laptop and fulfil their responsibilities in this way. It is often the preferred arrangement for employers, balancing the convenience of remote working with the benefit of contact time between employees.
In our ever-changing world of work, most companies still insist on hybrid working over remote working, consisting usually of two-to-three days in the office and two-to-three days at home.
Many people cite time savings from the lack of a commute as one of the main benefits of hybrid working, while also claiming this type of arrangement improves efficiency.
Some employers still believe in the power of an office to increase overall output, but the jury is – understandably – still out on this. Read on for a non-exhaustive breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid working.
Prioritise Onboarding and Training
This is your opportunity to really make someone feel part of a team. How they are welcomed into the organisation can set the tone for the rest of their career.
We’ve all been asked “So how was your first day?” after starting a new job, and the answers given here will resonate, so do what you can to make them positive. Little details like having a desk ready, and making other team members aware of a new starter, can go a long way.
Encouraging someone to grow makes them feel valued, so training is important too. People want to grow, and in a competitive business environment, stagnation is the same as going backward. Make sure your team has opportunities to develop, provide them with resources and time, and show that the work they put in is rewarded.
If you don’t, someone else will!
Create a Comfortable Work Environment
Make sure employees and team members have a comfortable work environment. This means the ambiance as well as the furniture.
Are they able to control the temperature? Do they have enough space in the office? Are the chairs comfortable and working, and are desks well-equipped with reliable tech? Is there a space to relax and take a break, or do they feel trapped until the end of the day?
Also consider the individual needs of the team. If some enjoy listening to music and others don’t, how can you balance these competing desires? Perfect solutions are rare, but a welcoming environment, even if there are some compromises, is noticed by staff.
Promote Work-Life Balance
Workers who feel trapped or chained to their desks are more likely to be stressed and concerned about other important things in their life. – it is not all about work, after all. Promoting a good work-life balance means allowing your team the freedom, judgement and accountability they need to do good work, but also manage busy lives.
Workers with children will have issues with schools or child sickness. Those with elderly relatives may need some flexibility. We all have to deal with doctor’s appointments and the occasional plumber, or similar, too. A few hours here and there can make a big difference in a worker’s lives.
If your working environment fosters a ‘business at all costs’ culture, don’t be surprised if workers choose to sell their skills elsewhere. It is more expensive to replace an employee than it is to retain one.
Encourage Diversity and Inclusion
Without a diverse array of backgrounds, cultures, experiences and lifestyles, an organisation is in danger of becoming a monoculture. If every new team member looks, thanks, and acts exactly like everyone else, the organisation will become stale as the world outside the office keeps moving and growing.
Think beyond the characteristics protected in the Equality Act 2010. Promoting a diverse and inclusive organisation means you will have a wider pool of talent to draw upon, and be able to recognise a wider range of business opportunities, with greater insight, than a single hive mind.
A worldwide 2020 study on diversity and inclusion by McKinsey found that the most gender diverse executive teams correlated with a 25% out performance and ethnic diversity correlated with a 36% out performance among their peers.
Practise Effective Communication and Collaboration
An environment of open communication in the workplace means fast, reliable messages employees can trust.
That goes both ways; employees who are encouraged to ask questions will be better informed, be able to make better, faster decisions, and will have less need to gossip. Information shared openly means no back-channel chats, which can lead to misunderstandings and mistrust.
Likewise, engaging your team in peer-to-peer recognition at review time and regular check-ins with line managers can help staff feel more engaged and management feel more informed. Both will feel more empowered in their roles.
Acknowledge and Recognise Great Work
Everyone likes to be recognised for the work and effort they put into their jobs, even if the outcomes are not always successful.
Public or private words of thanks (depending on the individual – not everyone wants a public show), and small rewards may seem like tokens, but they show how any team can recognise the work of its members.
Provide Growth and Learning Opportunities
Similar to the training opportunities covered above, growth and learning opportunities go beyond simply learning a new skill.
How are these new skills being applied? What opportunities do the team have to develop and grow in ways beyond certificates and tests? How can senior and more experienced team members encourage and mentor the more junior team members?
A flow of work and responsibilities through the organisation will help younger or less experienced staff gain valuable experience without feeling left to flounder.
Make Work Fun!
Of course you are there to do a job, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself too (deadlines permitting!)
A short team break in the form of a quick weekly catch up is a great way of finding out what everyone has been up to, and a reminder that you have a life outside of work too. Taking time out as a team is a great way to do this.
Electric Works N7 has an abundance of places to relax after work. There are plenty of fun things to do around Islington and Holloway, but also places to simply sit back and chat, like one of the local beer gardens.
Find more ideas in the Local Area section of the Electric Works N7 blog.