Expert Office Advice

Indoor air quality is a very important aspect of keeping your office a healthy and pleasant place to work. Poor air quality can cause eye-irritation, skin inflammation and sore throats as well as mental fatigue, headaches and other flu-like symptoms.

Poor air quality in the office is mostly caused from contaminants in the air from both biological and chemical sources. Every office has its share of contaminants, including carbon monoxide from vehicles that gets sucked into the ventilation systems and circulated around the building, while potted plants provide an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Electrical equipment such as photocopiers can produce ozone, which is highly irritating to humans. Excessive humidity usually stimulates the growth of microbes, while air that is too dry allows static electricity to build up and this can cause skin rashes, nosebleeds or headaches. (more…)

When planning a meeting it is easy to forget that the room in which you are holding the meeting is a key element that should be given due attention. A bit of planning before the meeting as to the seating, refreshments, heating/cooling, presentation and other arrangements can go a long way towards ensuring a successful and productive meeting.

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A good paper filing system is essential to the organisation of any business. In order to ensure that the records of a business are maintained efficiently it is essential that they are organised in a methodical, logical and systematic way.

Try to avoid storing your paperwork in too many folders; it is not efficient to make separate folders for anything less than 20 papers. If you have small records that are comprised of less than one or two documents it is better to file these in miscellaneous folders. It is also important to use enough file headings as finding records is easier when they are organised under sections and subheadings.

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Recent studies have shown that people in the UK are spending more hours than ever before on their computers. According to many stress experts, those who work from 45-60 hours per week are high risk for various stress related diseases.

Choosing the right office furniture and equipment can help reduce the eye strain, back strain and the overall physical pressure that can be caused by long hours sitting in an office.

It is important to pay attention to aspects such as the size, shape and height of the furniture and also where it is placed in within the office.

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That file must be somewhere here… Whether you are going through your papers on a messy desk or entering various keyword combinations in your email search box, doing this too often causes not only stress and aggravation, but can ruin a healthy and composed atmosphere at work.

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You’ve had enough and you are leaving. If you think the ‘Farewell’ card will be the last thing to remind you of your previous colleagues, think again.

As a recent survey claims, almost half of us (approximately 43%) will end up working with an ex-colleague at some point in the future. It turns out that burning bridges may not be that wise after all.

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Stress is a natural part of everyone’s life, whether personal or professional. Healthy level of stress can be good and useful, but stress overload results in anxiety and panic attacks, moodiness and depression, irritability and negative physical symptoms. In some cases too much of stress drives the sufferer to resort to drinking, smoking and overeating.

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The smoking debate continues to roar with both sides having equally valid arguments, however with the UK becoming ever more smoke free, what impact will this have in the offices around the country? A brief history on smoke free laws may help to see where the very issue has come from, and what ignited the nation in public area bans.

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Your office should be as efficient and pleasing as it possibly can be. The more organised your office is, the more productive you’ll be. A cluttered office can lead to disorder, cut down on the amount of work that gets done and encourage negative energy in the workplace. On the other hand, a tidy office that is pleasing to the eye, fosters positivity and may increase the amount of work you are able to complete. The good news is that even the most unorganised can improve their office and therefore their performance on the job.

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Are you drowning in papers? Is your office so cluttered, you don’t know where to start when it comes to cleaning? Don’t despair, there is hope for you. The thing to do is break down your tasks into small chunks. Take one chunk at a time, and then you won’t feel overwhelmed.

The first task should be disposing of rubbish. Rubbish is anything you don’t need. Throw out duplicate copies and outdated information. Any papers containing personal information should be shredded. You may be able to cut your paper pile in half just by throwing unneeded papers away. Next, sort the remaining papers into piles. Each pile has its own category; such as “clients”, “employees”, “financial”, etc. After you’ve finished sorting the papers, file each pile in the appropriate file folder. Hopefully you have already established a filing system. If you haven’t, you need to. A filing system is necessary to keep any office organised and de-cluttered.

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