Small business owners: did you know that you can improve productivity this year by doing something as simple as taking steps to ensure their comfort?

Physical comfort is sometimes considered to be something of a luxury. For example, during the winter, temperatures are often kept a little lower than comfortable in an effort to save money. Second-rate furnishings are chosen because of their lower price tag. Too often, people make these decisions without considering the long-term impact on their health, their emotional well-being, and the ability to work. When it comes right down to it, maintaining a comfortable home or office can be more cost-effective than scrimping on value.

improve productivity this year

Comfortable Environments Lead to Happier Workers

One study conducted for the National Institute of Building Sciences took a look at the impact of physical comfort on workers. The study showed that if work spaces were too hot or too cold, too noisy, or too dark, the workers were unable to work at their full capacity, job satisfaction was decreased, and workers were more likely to get sick. One of the recommendations stemming from this paper was to provide better quality thermal and ventilation services, protecting the comfort of the workers.

What is meant by physical comfort? This can be hard to pin down because even among well-respected experts, such as Cornell University and HVAC contractors, the optimal temperature for comfort ranges between 72 and 77 degrees. That’s a big difference that leads to a big problem.

improve productivity this year

.

Thermal Comfort

Workers will naturally have different ideas about the thermal comfort, but they are usually exposed to the same temperatures. A heating service may be able to offer solutions by maintaining consistent temperatures overall and providing ways to increase or decrease temperatures in smaller work areas.

While working with a heating service, facility managers should take into consideration the amount of physical activity to which the workers are exposed, as well as the outside air temperature, the standing temperatures inside the building, humidity, radiant heat, and any air speed. As they discuss this, heating and cooling professionals may be able to make recommendations for increasing the thermal comfort of employees and reducing any thermal discomfort employees experience.

improve productivity this year

Creating a Comfortable Workplace

The complexity of creating a thermal environment appropriate for the best results from employees has stumped many employers. In fact, this is a topic that has been studied for centuries. Ancient buildings were often designed with the comfort of the occupants in mind. Although there have been many important strides made along the way, professionals in the heating and cooling industry are still more likely to know how to achieve the optimal thermal comfort environment than others.

improve productivity this year

Enjoy the Benefits

If you hope to improve the efficiency of your employees and are interested in increasing thermal comfort, consider the following steps: Comply with HVAC industry standards for Thermal Environmental Conditions. Next, provide adequate ventilation, configure rooms to allow for small area control, and seek input from your employees, as well as from heating and cooling professionals. You might find that a simple heating tune-up is enough to balance out the fluctuation of temperatures throughout your building. If the problem is larger than this, the heating and cooling professional can offer practical advice and solutions.

improve productivity this year