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3 Things That Will Make Your Offices Way More Comfortable

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Office environment|3 Things That Will Make Your Offices Way More ComfortableWorking in an uncomfortable environment can be tedious and unenjoyable. If you are too hot, you can become lethargic and tired. If, on the other hand, you are too cold, then it can be incredibly challenging to focus on the task at hand. Moreover, if you aren’t comfortable in your offices, then it is very likely that your employees aren’t either meaning that productivity across the board isn’t what it should be.

Do yourself and your workers a favor by taking measures to improve the environment of your offices. Here are three ways to help you do just that so that everyone will be able to work comfortably.

1. Good Ventilation

No one likes to work in an enclosed space that becomes stuffy and stagnant. If you don’t have high-quality fans and ventilation throughout your offices, then the air is very likely to feel stale and uncomfortable. This doesn’t just apply to the hotter months of the year, either. When the heating is running in your offices during the colder months, then it is just as likely to feel stuffy inside if you aren’t taking the proper measures to circulate the air.

Look for the best heat recovery ventilation system that you can find to help keep the climate of your office comfortable and circulated. Such systems can also help save on energy costs in some scenarios as they can help the air in your offices reach the desired temperature more efficiently.

2. Window Coverings

It is always nice when an office space has plenty of windows that let in natural light. Windows can also make a space feel larger and less cramped. That being said, lots of windows make it difficult to control the climate in an office as they allow the heat from the sun to stream in during the warmer months of the year. The glass of windows can also allow cold to enter during the winter months.

Window coverings can help provide the extra insulation that you need in your offices. This can keep out the extreme temperatures outside so that you and your workers can have more control over the internal temperatures of your workspace.

3. Quality Office Chairs

A day at the office can be made increasingly more uncomfortable without the right chair. In fact, a poorly designed or worn-out office chair can lead to unbearable back and neck pain when sat in for too long. Sitting in the incorrect type of chair all day can also lead to poor circulation throughout your body, among other health risks. The chronic, nagging pain and discomfort from the wrong chair can make it difficult to focus as well.

While good quality office chairs are an investment, they are one that is definitely worth it in the end. By ensuring that you and your employees are sitting comfortably throughout the day, you can help ward off the chronic pain that generally accompanies jobs that see people sitting at desks all day and contribute to an overall more comfortable working environment.

How to Create a Safe Working Environment

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Safe working environment |How to Create a Safe Working EnvironmentAll employers have to provide their employees with a safe working environment. Failing to care for the health and wellbeing of your staff can lead to workplace accidents and injuries, which will harm productivity and affect your bottom line over time. It is also likely to impact employee engagement and result in low levels of satisfaction in the workplace. Health and safety should, therefore, be a top priority for all businesses. With that in mind, here are some suggestions on how to create a safe working environment:

Identify potential workplace hazards

All workplaces have some potential health risks. This includes physical hazards such as trips and falls, along with ergonomic hazards, including musculoskeletal injuries caused by poor posture. Some working environments may also have additional risks, such as biological and chemical hazards. Employers have a legal responsibility to identify potential workplace hazards and take reasonable steps to control the risk. Managers should carry out a regular risk assessment and look at work activities to determine what hazards are present in the workplace. They should then decide what control measures should be implemented to help minimize the risk of damage or injury. There is an excellent variety of resources providing guidance on how to carry out an assessment in the workplace.

Offer quality employee training

Employees must receive training on health and safety and be educated on the best practices to follow in the workplace. Making your staff aware of potential hazards will help them avoid accidents and injuries in the workplace. For instance, your team should be trained on how to safely lift and move heavy items and how to operate work machinery correctly. Ideally, you should provide regular training sessions on health and safety and enforce strict safety regulations in the workplace to help protect your staff. You can encourage employees to follow safety compliance by implementing clear policies and placing visual signs around your workplace that remind employees of the rules in place.

Provide the right equipment

Employees should always be provided with any equipment needed to complete their work activities safely and effectively. Failing to provide the right equipment will harm workplace productivity and may contribute to accidents and injuries in the workplace. For that reason, it is worth investing in reliable, high-quality tools and equipment. Employees must also be provided with uniforms and protective equipment, particularly if they are working in a high-risk environment such as construction. For example, staff will require shielding solutions like lead-free radiation shielding if their job role requires them to come into contact with radiation. Employers should complete a risk assessment to identify what tools and equipment their staff need to carry out their work tasks safely.

Conclusion

Every employee deserves to work in a safe environment, and employers should take steps to protect the health and wellbeing of their teams. Fortunately, there are plenty of simple ways to maintain a safe and positive working environment for your employees. Use the above tips to boost safety levels in your workplace today!

Practical, Professional Programs That Strengthen Business Practices

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |professional programs |Practical, Professional Programs That Strengthen Business PracticesProfessional programs are much more than some window dressing.

Their benefits are many and varied, ranging from money savings and worker engagement. But, they can’t be implemented by edicts. Words and promises don’t account for much either.

Instead, management needs to set priorities, take action, and get workers behind programs. It’s a strategic effort that requires ample resources.

Worker safety, accountability, and satisfaction are the three key ingredients of business success. Here is how to mix and blend them together.

Cultural Foundations for Professionals Programs

Before fleshing out programs, lay the foundations with empowering company culture.

First off, senior manageress should embody the core value and mission of the company. They would also do well to embrace responsibility and lead by example, not by cracking the whip.

The next step revolves around engaging the workforce.

To pull it off, open your channels of communication, and gather suggestions and feedback. The whole process has to be completely transparent.

Once it’s completed, set clear, measurable, and realistic goals. You can use the S.M.A.R.T. formula to do it right. The next sections will give you an idea of what concrete objectives to pursue.

Workplace Safety and Health

Worker health and safety have to be absolute management priorities.

Namely, effective safety programs add true value to the organization. They reduce injury frequency and severity, as well as worker compensation premiums.

So, carry out workplace audits and come up with preventive measures and controls. Put proper training procedures in place and hold biweekly/monthly safety meetings.

Educate everyone on Occupational Safety and Health requirements. Check out OSHA guidelines (including those for COVID-19), which are golden industry standards.

Provide corresponding materials, such as this HazCom training guide to classifying and labeling chemicals. Make sure worker participation is ubiquitous.

A Matter of Accountability

Next off, it’s of utmost importance to foster organizational accountability.

The ultimate trick is to do it without pointing fingers and alienating anyone. Moreover, you want to instruct and demonstrate instead of merely telling people to be more accountable.

Here, bear in mind accountability pertains to the aforementioned goals, values, and priorities. Your main job is to communicate them and put together a working system. Keep the messages positive and informative.

This is a way to become a desirable employer, a company people want to be part of.

Bolstering Employee Motivation and Satisfaction

To apply finishing touches, develop programs aimed at further boosting motivation and satisfaction.

Always give recognition and credit where they are due. Reward top performers offering more than kind words. Both monetary (gift cards, for instance) and non-monetary incentives can be quite effective here.

Apart from individuals, you can recognize the contributions of whole teams and departments.

These programs will pay dividends in terms of improving workplace productivity. At the same time, you have a chance to supercharge your employee retention rates.

That’s a clear win-win right there.

Turn It Up a Notch

Purpose-built professional programs empower workers and reinforce your bottom line.

But, integrating them with your practices isn’t easy. You first have to get everyone on board, from workers to top executives. Start by uniting them around shared goals and vision.

Furthermore, make the workplace safer and minimize the risk of injuries and hazards. Become a true role model for organizational accountability. Acknowledge and appreciate good work.

Following these steps, you’ll steer worker behavior in the right direction and outpace the competition.
Get in touch with us if you need strategic advice and counseling. It’s time to take your business game to the next level.

3 Important Tips For Starting A Mining Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Starting a Mining Business|3 Important Tips For Starting A Mining BusinessIf you are looking for new startup ideas, you will probably be looking at growth industries like tech. But sometimes, the best opportunities are in the industries that nobody is really talking about. The chances are, you haven’t considered starting a mining business, and it may not seem that exciting, but you should definitely think about it because there are some great opportunities in the industry.

You could start your own mining company and dig for resources or you could look into areas, like mining equipment or consultancy. Materials are always in demand, and there is a lot of money to be made in the mining industry if you get it right. However, there are a lot of hurdles that you have to get over. If you are interested in starting your own mining business, here are a few important tips to consider before you break ground.

Do Your Research

If you don’t have any prior experience in the mining industry, you need to make sure that you do your research. Now is the time to learn how to network and start connecting with notable figures in the industry. If you already know anybody that is working in the industry, get in touch with them and find out about their business and some of the challenges that they have faced. If you are planning to start a mining company in another country, it’s important that you research the logistics of starting a business abroad. Unless you do your research, you will be out of your depth when you start your new business.

Prioritize Health And Safety

The mining industry is dangerous and, as an employer, it’s up to you to make sure that all of your employees are safe. If you do not prioritize health and safety, you will find yourself dealing with mining accident injury lawyers and you will have to pay out some big settlements. This could be enough to sink your business before you get off the ground, so it’s vital that you have all of the correct health and safety measures in place. Make sure that you invest in training for all new employees, and put on refresher courses every year so you can be sure that everybody is always following health and safety rules. It’s also important to keep up with maintenance on any equipment so it is always in good working order and safe for employees to use.

Hire Experienced Site Managers

When you are starting a mining business, you need to pay close attention to your hiring process and hire some experienced site managers. Take a strategic approach to hiring and be realistic about the areas of the business where your knowledge is lacking. If you can hire experienced site managers that you can trust with the day to day running of the mining operation itself, you can handle the business side of things.

The mining industry has a lot of great opportunities for entrepreneurs, but if you are planning to start your own mining business, it’s important to keep these things in mind.

Long Hours of Screen Time? Here’s What You Should Do

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Screen Time|Long Hours of Screen Time? Here's What You Should DoMore and more of us are spending most of the day in front of a computer. All this time looking at the computer can have a real impact on your health and, without the proper support, there could be long term consequences too. We’ve all seen the pictures of what we might look like by the time we retire or how humanity could evolve and it’s genuinely scary.

Now that more people are working remotely, this is a good time to examine how you work and what is best for you. For many people, the realization that their chair at home is better or that they are more comfortable in a particular light has a significant impact. This is the moment that employees and employers alike should be considering the future of work – the where and the how.

So what should you consider?

Working in Comfort

Back problems and eye strain are classic symptoms of long hours in front of a screen. Many people experience headaches and tiredness as a result but you may also have tingling sensations and a bad mood too!

Let’s deal with eye strain first. Experts have created computer glasses to help people focus on screens that also reduce exposure to harmful blue light. A bit like reading glasses, these glasses are designed to bring a computer screen, which is usually a little farther away, into focus without making you strain. You should also take a few minutes each hour to stare off into the distance to allow your eyes to relax.

Back problems often come from sitting in a poorly designed chair for far too long. The first thing to do is to make sure that your chair is suitable for you. Even ergonomic chairs can be problematic, especially if you are shorter than 5’2”! But no matter how tall you are, the best way to sit in a chair is to have your feet comfortably flat on the ground (or possibly a stool), your back straight but not tense and whatever you are looking at should be at eye level.

Taking Breaks

Even with the most comfortable setup, you should still take regular breaks. Going for a walk in your lunch hour is ideal as this will get your body moving and prevent your muscles from seizing up. Walking is exceptionally good for your back as it is low impact and you can do it anywhere.

You might also like to think about whether you really need to spend so much time at the screen. You might find that some activities can be done with a pen and paper or through other techniques. When you take a more creative approach, you might even find you have more innovative ideas.

But let’s also consider what you do at home. If you get in from work and then spend the evening in front of the TV or yet another computer, you might like to think of alternative things to do, at least a few nights a week. Mix it up!