Winter is here which means you need to be doing everything possible to ensure that your employees are comfortable and happy in their working space. It’s not actually as easy as you think to keep your workers comfortable during the winter, especially not when you have never been in a position before where you need to ensure that your office is as warm as possible because that’s where they’re spending most of their time.
This is a contributed post. Please refer to my disclosure for more information.
The drop in temperature is enough to make you want to lock yourself up in the house all day but if you don’t have remote work as a thing in your office anymore then you’re not going to be locking people in the office, you’re not going to have people locking themselves up at home you’re going to have them in the office wondering how they can keep comfortable. As an employer, it’s your job to ensure that they can be as comfortable as possible, which is why we’ve put together a big list of things that you could be doing to make sure that people are happy to come to work without freezing their bottoms off! So, let’s take a look at a few things you could be doing to help your employees.
Reinforce your windows
Free open office with wide open windows where people are going to be able to look out the window and enjoy the natural light throughout the day. You’re also going to be able to appreciate the fact that it’s not always going to be the warmest place in the building. All of these beautiful windows are great for natural lighting, but they’re not so great for keeping warm. That means that you need to figure out a way to make sure that those windows are comfortable to sit by, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to ensure that you are reinforcing the windows with good blinds, and curtains with a thermal curtain lining. When you do this, you will be able to keep your employees comfortable and warm because less of the cool air will be permeating the windows. You still get to bring that beautifully natural light, but you won’t be doing it in a way that means people will be freezing themselves while they’re sitting at their desk. You have to remember that everybody in your business deserves to be comfortable, and thick curtains and blinds are going to help them to do that.
Invest in your catering
Whether you are investing in coffee and tea or you’re investing in water, you need your employees to stay hydrated so that through the day they are not going to be cold. Hydration is important, and if you can provide decent coffee runs, warm drinks, even bottles of hot soups, your employees are going to thank you for it.
Encourage layering
Most offices have some kind of dress code, but when the temperatures plummet you need to make sure people are comfortable and that can often mean relaxing the busy dress codes and ensuring that they are able to layer their clothing. If you encourage layering, then don’t be surprised that people wear more comfortable things to work such as leggings, jeans and boots. It doesn’t mean they are less professional, it just means that they’re making sure that they are able to stay warm. Layering is important during the colder months, and it’s likely that people will be coming into the office from the outside while it’s still dark. If you relax the rules around clothing, you will have a much happier and much more productive workforce who will be more willing to work longer.
Provide good heating
Get the HVAC checked over so that your employees are aware that you have done what you can to keep them physically warm. Investing in individual heaters may cost your business money, but sick employees are gonna cost your business more. If you ensure that you have good heating in your business then everybody will be comfortable, people will come to work, and you will be a happier boss. Comfort is key for your business to avoid interruption and employee absences.
Keeping your staff comfortable really will make a difference to the way in which people work; they want to work hard, and you want them to be happy. So, prepare properly for winter and you won’t have a problem anymore! Use these tips and ask your team what they need the most!