How to Create a Greener Office – and Why It’s So Beneficial to Employees

Whether it’s the ban on plastic straws or the battle to reduce the amount of glitter heading into the oceans, everybody’s doing their part in some small way to make for a greener planet. Compared to individuals, however, businesses have the greatest potential for making a difference – starting with how they run their office. Greener Office

There are now so many ways to make a worthwhile impact on the environment from your desk, so we’ve brought together just a few to inspire your green strategy, and transform your workspace – as well as discuss the importance of going green on your employees’ happiness.

1. Recycle, Reduce, Reuse

 It’s a mantra which has been repeated up and down the country for decades now, but we often dismiss it as something which is a little toodifficult to implement in our day-to-day lives, let alone in the office.

Fortunately, that’s not actually the case. As we’ve mentioned before on our blog, introducing recycling to the office can kick startsome great behaviours which lead to a tidier workspace and a huge reduction in paper waste.

Not only do the Three R’s help your business to contribute towards the green effort, there’s also the opportunity to make a sizeable saving on resources such as paper – a healthy option for the bottom line.

2. Literally Go Green

Now you may expect a lovely green plant on an employee’s desk to be nothing more than an attractive sight to decorate a desk with, but in actual fact, plants play a much bigger role in the workplace than just decoration.

For businesses, plants in the workplace can actually help to reduce operations and maintenance costs thanks to a process called transpiration. This process allows plants to release moisture in the air and reduce the overall office temperature, making for a much more comfortable environment whilst saving money on utilities.

All of this is beneficial enough without considering that plants are known to reduce anxiety and sickness in employees, whilst boosting productivity and happiness.

3. Allow for Remote Working

Remote working continues to be a popular option with employers thanks to the ability to access talent much further afield than usual. Aside from exciting new employment opportunities, however, remote working also brings with it the chance to go green.

For example, remote working reduces an individual’s carbon footprint by removing the need to commute. Instead, they can join in meetings via video call and can communicate with colleagues using apps such as Slack.

In addition, remote working means you need less office space, reducing the amount of resources a business is using, as well as cutting down on the cost of utilities.

Greener Office, Happier Employees

Although all of these options are great for the bottom line and for the environment, how do they impact your employees? Firstly, there’s the satisfaction that they’re doing something worthwhile to minimise their impact on the environment – and that they work for a company which sees the importance in that.

Secondly, a lot of what’s mentioned above directly affects employee happiness. Plants, remote working, and clean, welcoming environments are all aspects of working life which employee want to be happy with. Satisfy them, and you’ll find increased productivity and a much more positive office.

So, if your business has been considering going green recently, now might be the perfect time to implement a strategy – for everybody’s benefit! Greener office, cleaner conscience.

Merco is the only professional contract cleaning company with a 100% reliability guarantee. Our expert cleaning teams help to create welcoming work environments across the North West, ready to give a fantastic first impression to employees and visitors. To find out more about our service, feel free to get in touch with our team or explore our website.