One of the biggest, if not the biggest investment made in business today is in the cost of people. Finding, hiring, training, mentoring, and unfortunately terminating people in very expensive. Not only is it a good business decision to take the necessary steps to protect this major investment, it also makes good common sense.

There have been a few studies focused on showing the relationship between productivity and comfort. Most of these studies zero in on a single attribute of comfort, like temperature or humidity but they tend to leave out many other comfort issues. Like smells, lighting, noise and several other factor shown to affect ones comfort and productivity.

The collection of factors that add up to comfort are variable depending on what tasks are being performed. For years we all heard that 72 degrees was the perfect temperature. That may true for sitting in the living room watching television, but maybe not if your vacuuming the living room. There are studies that show typing speed and accuracy drop considerably if the temperature falls below or rises above 77 degrees.  On the other hand some studies have shown an improvement in creative activities if the room is kept at temperatures above 77 degrees.

It’s not surprising that a 2015 survey of nearly 136,000 respondents, identified the top 3 most important features of an effective workspace as the desk, the chair, and the temperature. All of these are directly associated with the physical comfort of the respondents. These represent the most important aspect of their day. These also impact how the people feel once they are at home. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair all day, or in a hot or cold office all day can ruin an evening with the family.

Measure the cost of comfort in your office. You might be surprised how large a number you get. Then consider the steps that can be taken to improve comfort and the cost of them. Remember the cost of discomfort is a recurring cost. While the cost to correct may also be a recurring cost, there are many steps you can take that are one time costs.

The standing workstation is an example of a one time cost. This allows you teams to move into more comfortable positions and continue to to work. I have an adjustable desk and would not go back to a standard desk again.

In the past, if I wanted to stretch a bit it meant taking a stroll to the break room or over to someone else’s desk for a chat. Now there are two people who have stopped working. Now I just raise my desk and stand for an hour or so, but I continue to work and I don’t stop anyone else from working.

CMC Corporate Solutions can provide you with solutions to several comfort issues, like humidity, temperature, smells and lighting. Give us a call to explore your options.