Productivity and efficiency in the workplace is intrinsically linked to employee health, wellbeing and happiness. Here are five ways that employers and building managers can improve conditions for staff while boosting their bottom line.
Clean, tidy environment
Placing the responsibility of day-to-day tidying and de-cluttering of desks on each employee, combined with regular professional cleaning, ensures that staff take pride in their work station and feel comfortable and organised.
In addition, a display screen equipment (DSE) assessment for each employee ensures that they are seated comfortably and do not have to overreach in order to access devices such as keyboards and mice. A seating position that is not ergonomically planned can lead to long-term back problems, while unsuitable lighting can cause headaches and eye strain.
Temperature
Inadequate air temperature can have a negative impact on the comfort and health of employees. Being too hot or cold may lead to difficulty in concentrating which in turn affects productivity and general wellbeing. Maintaining a temperature of around 20°C via a properly-maintained HVAC system ensures staff can be comfortable wearing normal work clothes during all seasons.
Encourage a healthy lifestyle
Promoting a healthy lifestyle for employees can include offering snacks such as fresh fruit and encouraging participation in team fitness events such as the Virgin Pulse Global Challenge. Incentives such as discounted gym memberships will also encourage staff to get fit, which has benefits in the workplace. Regular exercise helps employees to feel more energised and therefore be more productive and efficient.
IAQ
Biofilm is a sticky mixture of dust, microbes, mould and other contaminants that forms in a moist environment such as an AHU within a building’s HVAC system. Contaminants may then be transferred to building occupants via the airstream, putting them at risk of respiratory infections. This reduction in staff wellbeing leads to increased absence rates and greater employee turnover – which itself results in recruitment costs rising.
Gibbons Ultraviolet Solutions helps building owners and facilities managers to protect building occupants with our range of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) systems for the disinfection of air and surfaces in commercial buildings.
Our flagship system, CoilCare®, is a chemical-free, low-maintenance unit containing photoniser lamps which is mounted within the air handling unit (AHU) of a HVAC system and applies ultraviolet-C (UVC) light to the cooling coil. By eradicating contaminants on and around the cooling coil surface, circulated air becomes sterile, healthy and safe for occupants to breathe.
CoilCare® is a permanent solution and with continued use can prevent the re-growth of contaminants, protecting building occupants in the long term and helping to maintain a happy, healthy workforce for employers.
Meanwhile, the use of CoilCare® and other UVGI solutions from Gibbons can help companies to achieve WELL Building accreditation, improving public perception of the business in the process.
Find out more about CoilCare® by calling Colin Hardman on 07940 544 206 or email colin@gibbonsgroup.co.uk.
