Tips for a good and inspiring working environment
What is a good working environment?
Defining the good working environment is a difficult task. Some people are noisy in the office, while others prefer noisy silence. There are therefore bound to be different opinions on the definition. Regardless of how your employees prefer to work, the good working environment will generally be the basis for good well-being and progress.
This includes the physical work areas, the office lighting and indoor environment, as well as the relationship with colleagues, management and workload. A good working environment therefore depends equally on a good and stable corporate culture that can help to promote individual well-being and productivity, and the overall health of the workplace, which includes positive interdepartmental relationships, supportive management practices and a manageable workload.
My 7 tips for a healthy work environment
A good working environment depends on both the formal and informal structures that define the workplace. To help you consider both sides of the business, I've put together my top 7 tips for creating a healthy working environment:
- Talk to your employees
No matter how many employees you have in the workplace, it is relevant to talk about where you are and what makes your workplace unique. In this way, you give employees the opportunity to put their own words to the environment. - Show your employees the way
It is important to put words to the process, but actions carry even more weight. Employees shouldn't just know your mission, vision or values - as a leader, you need to show them the way to achieve it. - Innovation
When leaders are inclusive, employees have a greater interest and desire to share opinions, ideas and participate in decision-making at work. - Focus on team development
A strong team spirit, cross-departmental communication and effective collaboration are key elements of a good working environment. There are many different tools that can be used to foster relationships and to better understand the behaviour and motivation of the different personalities that exist in a workplace - including DISC profiles. - Spend time together outside the workplace
As an extension of teambuilding, it's a good idea to cultivate community outside the workplace too. - Prioritise wellbeing
As important as it is to focus on strengthening the overall community, it is important to focus on the wellbeing of individual employees. The workplace should therefore focus on promoting healthy habits, and ensuring that employees dare and feel listened to when they come to management with any problems inside or outside the workplace. - Follow up on feedback
To make your employees want to share their perceptions of the working environment, it's a good idea for management to listen to and follow up on their feedback on an ongoing basis. This is especially true when decisions are being made about the working environment, as employees' experiences are particularly relevant here.
Strengthen collaboration with DISC analyses
As mentioned above, there are several tools that can be used to strengthen collaboration in your workplace. DISC analysis is a relevant profile tool used to assess personality, behavioural and motivational factors. It consists of a series of questions that then divide respondents into four main personality types: dominance-seeking (D), influence-seeking (I), stability-seeking (S) and competence-seeking (C).
The analysis seeks to make your team more aware of how to use each other's differences to strengthen collaboration and overall performance. It's about making the workplace's different personalities complement each other.
This is what we do at Webamp
At Webamp, I have focused on creating an informal workplace where creativity, trust and freedom to shape the work and agenda are part of everyday life. We have many different personalities, so it's important that we take the time to make sure everyone feels comfortable and heard. We make it a priority to include initiatives that promote personal wellbeing and professional development, which has ensured a strong company culture where everyone values each other and their differences. Read more about my digital marketing agency, Webamp.
Book me for a talk on well-being at work
My journey as an entrepreneur has taught me a lot about business culture, entrepreneurship, management and marketing. If you and your company are interested in booking an inspiring talk about company culture and how to create a good working environment, please feel free to contact me. While you look forward to the next talk, you can listen to exciting conversations about entrepreneurship, management and company culture in my business podcast, The New Standard, on either Spotify, Apple or Podimo.