When you first think about moving into new premises, it is exciting. Images of immaculate, brand new buildings, decorated with elegance and sophistication, spring to mind. Along with these pleasant images, comes the idea of plenty of space, lots of windows letting in plenty of natural light, sunshine and fresh air. However, all too often these dreams need rather a lot of adjusting to meet up with the realities of affordable office space in the right area! It is a relatively simple feat to ensure that the office looks right: good-looking furniture and bespoke reception desks alongside a neat paint job can transform the appearance of any office. But there are invisible factors that are almost more important.
Air Quality
Being able to breathe is a must, and it is important to consider the quality of the air in your building. Many modern office blocks have windows that will not open, and not all the rooms and offices will even have one of the permanently closed windows. This means that your air quality must be managed artificially as not enough air will be able to come in through the vents and doors in the building.
A Good Atmosphere
The way to ensure good quality breathable air throughout your new office premises is to ensure good circulation throughout. This can be managed by installing an air conditioning and heating system (eocservices.co.uk). When looking for air conditioning in Peterborough, your priorities will be finding a reputable company that can install and maintain your system for you, ensuring that your employees have no issues with the air circulating through their offices and workspaces.
Look For Trouble
When you are first looking at office properties keep a sharp eye out for unwanted features that the real estate agent or building owner might not want you to see. This can include mould in the kitchens and bathrooms, or damp patches on the walls. One unscrupulous person carefully placed large pot plants in front of damp patches as they appeared, in order to hide them. Should anyone comment on the damp, having peeked behind the pot, he would blame the plant for the damp – when in fact, the opposite was true! Sometimes people paint over damp patches just before showing the building. If this has happened to you, installing an efficient air conditioning system can help to clear the problem.
Warm Employees are Productive Employees!
Studies have found that warm employees are more productive than if they are kept too cold! Of course, if you have an even mixture of men and women in the office you may still have a problem as it has been found that men prefer temperatures a degree or two colder than women. This is because of biological differences in metabolism and muscularity and explains the thermostat wars that occur in many homes. But the main point of the study was that if a worker feels too cold or too hot, they are distracted and may even leave their desk in search of something to cool them down or warm them up. Having the heating set to an optimum level year-round ensures that all your workers have to focus on is their work.
Plan Your Décor Carefully
Once you have set up the office, do be prepared to make changes as necessary. No one would like to work in a draught, or in an overly hot and airless corner of the room. Once you have got to grips with the office, allow your workers to move their furniture around to suit themselves – while ensuring that the aesthetic of the office is maintained, of course! In this way you can have the best of both worlds: an attractive and well-laid out office and contented employees with high morale and good business practices.
Ideally, your heating and air conditioning should be something that is never mentioned because it is simply there, working quietly behind the scenes to deliver the best quality air to the office, maintaining optimum levels of humidity, and keeping everyone at a comfortable temperature during the working day.