Providing a comfortable workplace is critical to ensuring your warehouse staff are productive and happy in their roles. In addition, improving comfort at work can also boost safety, ensuring your team remain healthy and working at their best.
There are many ways you can improve your employees’ comfort at work. It can help to get their opinions on any changes you could make to enhance their enjoyment of the workplace. You should factor in all elements that could impact comfort, including temperature, lighting, and uniform.
Provide Quality Safety Clothing
Anyone that has tried to do physical labour in uncomfortable or itchy clothes knows that this is the antithesis of productivity. The clothes worn during working hours can make all the difference to your employees’ comfort and safety. When working in a warehouse, it is crucial to comply with the law and provide the correct protective and safety equipment to all who work there. You should ensure this is of high quality and made of materials that will not chafe or cause discomfort.
Play Music
Music has been shown to improve productivity and enjoyment of the workplace. It is vital to ensure that music is not played too loudly, as this can present a hazard in a busy warehouse environment. If vehicles are used in your warehouse, this option may not be suitable. Consider asking your employees what kind of music they would prefer listening to, and choose a selection based on their answers.
Choose The Right Heating For Your Warehouse
Being too cold at work is a major source of discomfort and leads to a lack of productivity. You should ensure that your warehouse has suitable heating for the space, which can vary from warehouse to warehouse. You can find out about the differences between direct and indirect heating and how to choose the right option for your warehouse from the experts at the Dantherm Group.
Invest In Safe Soft Flooring
Walking over hard flooring day after day can be tough on joints and feet. Consider investing in quality, soft non-slip flooring to help improve your employees’ health and comfort. There are many options available that are ideal for warehouse environments and can reduce incidences of long-term warehouse-related injuries.
Install Air Conditioning
Just as being too cold at work can cause a loss of productivity, so too can being too warm. When doing physical activity, as many employees in a warehouse will be doing, it is critical to keep cool to avoid overheating and discomfort. This can be particularly crucial during the hot summer months, as heatwaves become more common in the UK.
Get The Break Room Right
Having a suitable place to go and relax during breaks is critical to keeping employees at the top of their game. It is best to provide a break room separate from the main working environment and filled with items that help employees relax and enjoy their breaks. Ensure that there are facilities to cook lunch, and fridges and freezers to store cold foods. Seating is also critical to allow your hardworking warehouse team to rest before getting back to work.