Health in the office can be perceived as an expense connected with employee costs or an investment that should pay off and bring the planned benefits. Office furnishings is a basic element that affects our health, but we must also take into consideration the lighting, noise, air-conditioning as being elements that have an impact on our mental and physical state.
To simplify a little, let us focus on office furniture only because it has the biggest impact and companies have the biggest impact on expenses related to the furniture. When we say that office furniture is a cost, we think that it is a necessary element of the furnishings for our employees to do their job. Then we pay much more attention to the costs because we basically want to achieve certain visual aspects. We want our office furniture be in nice colours and look modern. We are hardly interested in how they will affect our health, or physical and mental well-being of users. We are often not aware that it can also play a part in the employee motivation system. It is important that it should create a positive image inside and outside the company. It often happens however that the latter element is realized only for the initial period of operation (0-3 years). The effect on external image especially is short, because inconveniences in using the furniture can be already seen within a few weeks after purchase. You can hear then an opinion that nice (if the interior looks attractive) but uncomfortable solutions were purchased.
We want you to look at office furniture as a standard investment that should bring extra profit for your company. It cannot be treated however as a separate element, because the arrangement of furniture within space should reflect the company’s organizational structure, it should support internal communication and protect information resources, etc.
For further consideration let us assume the this requirement has been met. Therefore, let’s see how we can expect the return on our investment.
1. Efficiency of work of an individual employee, department and whole organization.
The proof in this is the following example: an employee in his present office had certain health problems connected with back ache (badly-chosen chair) and leg numbness (too high desk). His previous furniture seemed to be cheap – cupboards were put in rows and there were gaps between them, the shelves bent under the weight of binders, the desktop was dark and worn, the edges of the desk were broken off, the desktop felt unpleasant (plastic) when touched, the revolving chair was uncomfortable after long periods of sitting and the upholstery was worn.
After coming to work each employee felt discomfort in using his work-place. The mental and physical attitude of the employees was negative, which affected the overall atmosphere in the department (caustic remarks). None however complained aloud because everybody cared about his job. Some people worked after hours to reduce a backlog. What was the result?
Some employees worked without involvement counting the time to the end of the working day, others tried to be productive but working long after hours made their bodies tired, reducing their efficiency. Moreover, health problems connected with office work negatively influenced their health and decreased their productivity. There was more absenteeism due to health problems and additional therapy was necessary, which reduced their involvement in their tasks (read: office work as a disease of the 20th century). Relations between departments were tense because internal tasks were done late and their quality was not high.
The company’s management noticed negative tendencies and decided to improve the situation. This happened at the same time as the company’s headquarters were being changed. A new arrangement of space was prepared and it:
- corrected the location of particular departments and persons – better communication;
- improved interior design;
- provided comfortable solutions for employees regarding office furniture – desks had notches for computers and height adjustment, desktops felt pleasant when touched, cupboards stood at the same height in a row and the shelves could hold the correct load.
Everything was put in order. The employees noticed the changes and their mental attitude changed. They still joked but the jokes were not malicious. They felt good in their offices. Some people did not feel any problems caused by long periods of work at a computer any more. Fewer employees worked after hours because the number of errors within a day was reduced and they performed their duties faster and more easily. The work of departments became more effective, tasks were done in time with the correct result. The company’s turnover and profit increased and the employees were more involved in the realization of goals.
This theoretical example shows that it is possible to increase the efficiency of work of an entire organization in a simple way.
How to calculate it?
Efficiency can go up from 3 to 10% (we assume 3%).
A company employs 30 people.
Monthly cost per employee – 5,000 PLN
Average monthly gross profit per employee – 2,000 PLN (whole company brings 60,000 PLN of gross profit per month)
An increase of efficiency by 3% will result in the same job requiring one person less or the company has simple reserves (no need to hire an extra person) and is able to increase the monthly profit by 7,000 PLN (this is the average productivity per person – 5,000 PLN of costs plus an average profit per capita 2,000 PLN). Depending on the calculation we will receive in terms of one year:
Employee monthly cost * number of months – 5,000*12 = 60,000 PLN
Gross margin per employee * number of months – 7,000*12 = 84,000 PLN
Costs of our investment:
Value of basic work-place – 2,500 PLN
Value of work-place purchased – 3,300 PLN (that enables achieving the benefits above)
Difference – 800 PLN*30 work-places – 24,000 PLN
As you can see the investment will pay off after about 5 months. But the actual costs calculated per single work-place will be higher due to the costs of reception desk, conference hall, offices, kitchen, etc. The values given are based on certain basic assumptions and cannot be understood as a commercial offer.
2. Reduction in the amount of sick leave
The assumptions are the same as above and the average time of sick leave within a year is 5 working days per employee.
Costs of sick leave – 30 weeks per year, or 6.5 month*7,000PLN = 45,500 PLN
According to research done every second sick leave is a result of office work. Reduction by half will give us:
45,500 PLN/4 = 11,000 PLN
3. Better image inside and outside the organization
This is the most difficult thing to assess. It translates directly into an increase in the company’s turnover and customer satisfaction is a result of the attitude of the employees. We can assume that an increase in turnover by 1% will bring at least 3% more income and direct growth of profit if the costs remain unchanged. For our example let us assume a symbolic 1% and see what we get:
Monthly gross margin of the company – 30 people*7,000 PLN=210,000 PLN
Operating costs – 30 people*5,000 PLN=150,000 PLN
Gross margin growth by 3% = 210,000 PLN*3%= 6,300 PLN
Per annum – 6,300 PLN * 12 = 75,600 PLN
Wouldn’t you decide on an investment that pays off within a time of less than 1 year? I am sure you would. But what stops us? We think that there is no sufficient information available and there is an investment risk. What are the chances that the above calculations will not be achieved? This question cannot be answered by anybody but by you. We can only give examples of international companies that apply this method of investing/thinking. Even if it turned out that the effect is worse than we expected, the higher expenditure will pay off after a longer time – not after 5 months but after 10 or 12 months, which is a very good result anyway.
What to do to achieve these results?
You should look for solutions in the market. It won’t be a simple task. That is why our portal under the patronage of state institutions that protect workers health will help you in this job. Please read the materials contained here. And if necessary we will answer all your questions and give you concrete advice. |
