If you run your own business, you’ll want your employees to be as productive as possible. If you can manage this, your profits will increase, and you will become more successful, plus your staff will be happier as they will always have something to do and won’t be bored. Yet working out how to make your office a more productive place to be is a challenge; there are several different options. Which ones will work best for you? Read on to find out.

Add Plants

It’s a surprising fact, but those offices that have houseplants in them are often more productive – as much as 15 percent, according to the American Psychological Association – than those without. So, if you want your office to be more productive and for your staff to be able to focus more, it would seem that adding some greenery is the best idea.

The reasons for this change are varied, but the biggest one is that, when there are plants in an office, it feels less sterile and more comfortable. Being around plants has a calming effect on people, and because they feel less stressed, they are more easily able to get on with their work.

Offices with plants also tend to be healthier places (which again helps with productivity; when staff members are off sick, they aren’t working and boosting your profits) as the air has more oxygen in it and less carbon dioxide.

Offer Flexibility

In the past, every business worker had to go to a specific place of work between certain hours and complete their work before going home to do it all again the next day. This was just ‘the done thing,’ and everyone fell in line with it. Popular culture is awash with references to the daily 9 to 5.

Recently, however, things have started to change. Now it has been realized that not everyone is suited to a routine like this, and they are more productive at different times, such as very early in the morning or later in the day. By offering flexibility such as home working and rent a desk options, as well as staggered start and end times to the working day, you can truly get the best out of your team.

Give Breaks

Although it might seem to make sense that the longer you work, the more you’ll get done, and therefore the fewer breaks someone takes, the more productive they are, this is not the case. Working for long hours without taking a break actually reduces productivity, and the quality of the work produced will diminish too.

Taking plenty of breaks throughout the day, and ideally going outside to breathe in some fresh air while doing so, will make your team more productive, even if they are technically working less. Make sure everyone takes their breaks and you’ll see a surge of productivity.

This can be a difficult thing to gauge when someone works from home, but it is still important to let your employees know that you expect them to take a break at least every hour for five to ten minutes and to have a proper lunch hour away from their desk.