Think location 

It might seem a little odd to think about location when discussing the happiness of your workers, but it makes total sense. If you want to make sure your workers come into the office every morning with a smile and a can do attitude you will want to make sure that you work in an easily accessible place. City centres are very common however sometimes these can be more trouble than they are worth when you start thinking about traffic and things. Make sure you pick a place which is easy to get to and ideally one which isn’t ridiculously busy each morning. 

Creating a schedule 

When you start making your workspace into a running business you will of course need to give your workers a schedule so that they know what hours they work and which days in the week. It can be handy to use a tool like https://getsling.com/employee-scheduling/ to set this up and you can also chat to each worker 1-1 to discuss what working hours are better for them. For example some people might prefer starting early and finishing early whereas others might prefer to get some extra sleep each morning. Finding a balance and making sure to consider everyone’s needs can be a huge help. 

Think of trust

When it comes to the modern workplace it is not like it used to be. No longer to bosses expect your to clock in and out on the second because truthfully they are more flexible and trusting. If you want to make sure your employees are happy and fulfilled you need to make sure you are trusting and don’t clock them in on your system each day. Instead let them organise their own breaks throughout the day and leave when they are done and this will show your workers that you trust them, which builds morale. 

Allow working from home 

Although working in the office is what most of us still do, with the technology available to us in this day and age it can be easy enough to set up at home. This means that if you have workers who have a parcel due to be delivered or you have workers who have to take their child to the doctors… they don’t need to call in sick or stay off. If you let them work from home when they need to it will boost morale massively and it will make such a big difference to your working environment. 

Make it light

One of the things which can bring a workplace down before you even start to work inside it is the decor. A lot of workspaces have hardly any windows and stale yellow lights which make people feel as if they are trapped inside a cage and this can be bad for productivity. Try to choose a place or build an office which has tonnes of natural light as well as the ability to open the windows in summer to allow a fresh breeze into the room. It will make a huge difference and make people so much happier. 

Host activities

If you want to be one of those workplaces where everyone wants to be, you need to think about standing out from the crowd and doing something totally different to everyone else. One of the things you can do for example is host activities in the office now and again. For example you could bring in a yoga teacher to host a class, invite a local bakery for a tasting or bring in a mobile bar to make cocktails. Anything different will be fun for everyone in the office and it will give workers the chance to bond outside the confines of their desks for a while. 

Add character

Usually offices are pretty plain and boring. You will likely have white or pastel walls around the room, the odd notice board and nothing else which really makes the office feel like it is alive. This is why therefore you should take the time to add some fun and character to the room. It can be as simple as buying boldly coloured chairs and accessories or as much as painting the walls a new colour and hanging some art on every wall. The difference these changes can make to an office is immense and you will suddenly have a place which is alive and lived in rather than a cold dark space. 

Make it homely 

Although the office is a place of work, you have to bear in mind that you and your workers will be spending most of their time in here each week. Because of this it can pay to bring in some more homely elements to make the space feel warm and comfortable. Things like plants can be great for the office because they will calm people down, blankets for clothes of days and fans for hot days are great, and a tea station with lots of different flavours can be ideal for the morning cuppa. There are lots of little things you can do to make an office feel more homely and it will truly make a big impact on the space and the mood of your workers. 

Coworking space

Sometimes people don’t want to be stuck working at their desks all day and they may want to pop out of the room and work somewhere else for a while. This is the purpose of a coworking space which can be added as an extra room of the office with confound chairs, tables and a coffee machine. It will allow workers to get away when they are working on a project and it can make it easier for people to concentrate. 

Add a nook 

Every office should have a space where people can relax and get away from all the stresses of the day for a while. A small room away from the rest of the office can be equipped with books, a TV and sofas to make a chill out room for employees during a busy working day. It can be the ideal place for workers to go when they are feeling overwhelmed or stressed and it will massively increase mental health in the workplace. 

Outdoor space 

Finally, everyone should have a place outside the office where they can escape for some fresh air during the day. Fresh air is hugely beneficial to everyone in the workplace and having an outdoor garden can be the best way to do it. If you have a space outside the office which is plain and boring you can create a little garden with colour and plants and even a bird feeder or two to attract local wildlife to the area. Make sure you also add plenty of calming scents such as lavender in there because it will make a huge difference to the morale in the office in the afternoon, and it will keep everyone productive throughout the year.