There are no words to highlight the importance of having a healthy, positive and happy work environment. For starters, employees with high happiness scores are known to be at least 12% more efficient and productive than workers who work under stress or simply lack motivation.
Since it is an indisputable fact that the work climate and the work environment play a preponderant role, not only in business health, but also in the personal health of employees. Work Environment Studies conclude that there is no valid excuse for not investing time and resources in improving said factor.
Improvements brought about by a favorable working environment
1. Increased productivity
The attitude and predisposition of the leaders has a direct impact on the humor, state of mind and enthusiasm of the team. The effect is immediate: stressed leaders generate stress in the work team at all levels. This is conveyed not only through aggressive or tactless verbal language, but also through body language and other more subtle signals (procrastination, sabotage, etc.).
An ideal work environment has not only to do with the positive attitude of the work team (although it is important). It also has to do with less obvious things such as comfortable, well-organized, ventilated and well-lit work environments.
2. Better health
Psychoneuroimmunology is a relatively new branch of medicine. What this specialty has discovered is surprising: stress and lack of motivation generate a noticeable decrease in our body’s defense mechanisms: leukocytes and humoral defense mechanisms (antibodies).
In particular, chronic stress generates a series of health conditions that are directly related to decreased immunity. Among these health problems are:
Probability of developing cancer.- The body’s first line of defense against tumor cells is the immune system itself.
Depression.- Chronic stress can generate serious depressive symptoms that can become chronic and escalate to potentially serious situations.
Frequent infections.- Low immunity generates a predisposition to contract frequent infections: respiratory, gastro-intestinal, urinary and dermatological.
Diabetes.- Diabetic patients can have diabetes spikes triggered by uncontrolled stress situations.
Lack of concentration.- Stress generates a lack of concentration and memory difficulties in the short and long term. They can also affect decision making.
3. Increased creativity
A favorable working environment stimulates the creativity of the work team. It is advisable to avoid excessively long and stressful working hours.
Creativity increases under states and conditions of mental calm as it is associated with the right cerebral hemisphere, in charge of brilliant and sudden solutions.
By improving the work climate, it is possible for the team to be in a mental and intellectual state prone to generating solutions, instead of devoting their energies to dealing with problematic, aggressive, hostile or not very edifying situations. A good Work Environment Consulting can help to improve this important factor for a successful business development.
4. Develop loyalty
People who work in positive work environments tend to identify more with the objectives and goals of the company. In other words, they develop loyalty, empathy, and feel genuinely invested in the business vision.