Make the right impression in your office

The presentation of your workspace could be influencing decisions made about you regarding promotions and special projects. Be sure your office doesn’t fall into one of these classic cube categories:

• Kidding Around - Photos of your college “glory days” or posters of your favorite rock band hanging from your walls could be telling your boss that you’re still not ready to grow up.
  
• Mommy Mania - They are your pride and joy, but be careful that your work area doesn’t look like a shrine to your family. A few tastefully framed photos are a wonderful way to add a personal touch to your workspace. Just be sure not to overload your area, as this may indicate that your mind is at home, instead of on your work.
  
• Sloppy Sue - While you may think that your boss will understand that you’re working diligently and don’t have time to organize amidst your many tasks, they may see things differently. Instead of dedication, your boss may view you as a person who can’t keep their files straight – much less a big project.
  
• Clean as a Whistle - While you may think that a perfectly clean work area indicates that you’re amazingly efficient and organized, think again. A completely clear desk may leave your boss thinking that you have a clear calendar, as well.
  
• Power Position - Ever see a small, tattered chair in the President’s office? Of course not! A quality chair is a status symbol for power – not to mention the key to a comfortable and effective work environment. To show your boss that you mean business, place a request for budget to update your seat with a new quality option or take a stroll around the office to see there are any other chairs available to swap into your workstation. Or, even if you really want to make an impression, purchase a chair for yourself.
  
• Organize Your Organization - By establishing a few rules, you can raise your organization levels significantly. First, determine how you tend to organize. If your desk or floor tends to have stacks of papers, add bookcases or other storage units to keep paper off the floor and out of sight. Once you have your organizational system in place, set time aside each quarter to purge unnecessary clutter.
  
• Work-Life Balance - It makes sense that your workstation should reflect your personality, but remember to keep some “work-life balance.” Instead of displaying photos for the whole office to see, choose a few and place them facing inward for you to enjoy. While making your office more “homey,” be sure that your surroundings are giving what you want to portray.

Get lost on your desktop

With all the discussion about productivity, it made me think about whether I do what I can to ensure I am as productive as I should be.

This lead me onto thinking about the things that divert my attention away from my task in-hand, such as loud music, interruptions and wallpapers. So I came to wonder whether your desktop wallpaper (being the thing you see everytime you get a glimpse of your desktop) could aid you in your productivity.

I believe that having a wallpaper that I choose helps me to concentrate. I am the kind of person where I can work for hours without stopping, skipping meals, and becoming so totally absorbed in what I am doing to forget the outside world even exists. When I burn through that period, I am usually tired, not in the physical sense, and need a break. Staring into my desktop wallpaper relaxes me and gets me prepared to concentrate again, sort of like a good massage will help an athlete for the next game.

Does your wallpaper help you concentrate? If you need a minute to think maybe you can get lost in your desktop wallpaper too. A good place to find some interesting wallpaper is http://www.deviantart.com. Find what you need and let your mind relax a bit before tackling that next task.

You may find that you will become more productive if you take a minute to relax.

Fun at Work and Productivity

We've all heard the maxim "work hard, play hard" applied to workplaces. Often times the whole "play hard" thing is a bit of a red herring. But what is the value of fun in the workplace anyway?

Research has linked fun and employee satisfaction to higher productivity and even higher profits.* Not only this, but I've seen workplace fun contribute to retention. Departments that have fun together can be hard places to leave behind, and they tend to retain their best employees.

What can you do as a manager to bring some fun in? Chances are you won't need to do much other than let others spark it, but here are some ideas.

- Capitalize on your hobbies. I enjoy poetry, so I hosted lunchtime poetry readings at one of my companies. People enjoyed it, but perhaps poetry isn't your thing and movies are? Can you do a departmental film festival during lunch over a period of a few weeks? Be creative.

- Be spontaneous and quick. You don't need three hours to have some fun. Jump on an idea and then jump back to work.

- Go back to your childhood. When was the last time you blew bubbles? Had a sack race? Filled out a Mad Lib? You'll be surprised how much people enjoy a few moments of silliness, no matter how upright they are the other 99% of the time.

- Make it Educational. One client of mine asked two of her supervisors (who were often perceived as quite serious) to put on a skit about customer service for the departmental meeting. One of the managers came dressed like a grumpy old woman and played the part of "fussy customer" while the other demonstrated a slew of customer service techniques. The employees laughed until their sides hurt at the sight of their manager as "fussy customer" and learned a great deal about customer service too.

So, what can you do to embrace a little fun and increase employee satisfaction? Jot down a few ideas. Who knows? Perhaps it's just what the doctor ordered.

After a long holiday...

Whew! Am I glad the holiday is over so I can get some rest. I could hardly wait to get back to my office chair and get comfortable in its ergonomic design. What?! Your office chair isn't comfortable? It should be. If a person is comfortable, they will be more productive. Two new studies by Alan Hedge, Ph.D., CPE and Cornell University found that a comfortable working environment can do more than make workers happy: it can improve productivity as well.

A normal chair can give comfort for some period but an ergonomic chair will give comfort the entire time it is occupied. Using these chairs releases pressure from back stretches and pains. Ergonomic chairs distributes the whole body weight equally. An ergonomic chair will have its seat pan in a perfect position with suitable dimensions. An ergonomic chair is provided with pneumatical height adjustment. Not all chairs have enough back support for lower back and upper back with good lumbar support. An ergonomic chair satisfies all kinds of body posture with good back support in addition to lumbar support. Locking the chair backrest in one position generally isn't recommended. Before choosing a chair be sure that its armrests are broad, cushioned and comfortable.

Now I am going to lean back, relax, and enjoy.