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The Bottleneck Attention Audit Report | The Importance Of Having A Good Workplace Environment

When we talk of Workplace Environment in the traditional office space, one might think of the having common areas where they can communicate and collaborate in a non-conference or meeting setting. It could also remind you of managers going around checking in on everyone, or even just to say a brief hello to their team every so often. Overall, having a pleasant and good workplace environment is good for morale and overall culture of the company.

But how would you define a Workplace Environment in a remote setting, where people may not be online at the same time, and you don’t get to see each other face-to-face, for the most part? How can one measure if their workplace environment is still healthy, or has been causing problems within the company?

In this section of the Bottleneck Attention Audit Report blog series, we talk about Workplace Environment. We talk about why it is important, and how it translates in a remote workspace. We will also show our scores in the audit that was done by  MindEQuity. If you are not familiar with this blog series or the Bottleneck Attention Audit Report, you can check out our introductory post and our last topic on the importance of tool management.

The Importance of a Good Workplace Environment

Before relaying the importance of a good work environment, let us first give you our definition for it. For us, it is the atmosphere that envelops the office. Like the vibe that the whole team or company gives off to its employees, and even to its clients or guests. It is not something objective, like having great facilities in the office, but rather the subjective experience of the employees as a whole.

One would say, “Hang on, isn’t that the same as company culture?”

While it is related to company or work culture, it is not the same. Rather than focusing on the things we do, work environment is more on how we do things.

It really has more to do with work methodology and interpersonal relationships. So it doesn’t really matter if we work remotely or not; a company’s workplace environment should be carried along by its employees and leaders.

The Importance of a Good Workplace Environment

But why is it important?

Here are just some of the things as to why having a good work environment is important:

It Improves Productivity – a happy worker is a productive worker. If your workplace has a positive environment, there are fewer negative things to distract or hinder the employee’s productivity. Coupled by a good work culture, and you’re off to the races!

It Helps Retain Talent – having a good workplace environment is a huge factor on why most talents stay at their work. If someone is working for a company with a great atmosphere, they’re less likely to think of leaving for another company. Fostering a healthy workplace means fewer turnover rates, and keeping your talented employees with you for a long time.

It is Good for Overall Mental Health – related to the two points above, having a good workplace environment means less stressed employees. Less stressed employees mean more productivity, and fewer chances of people quitting or having high turnover rates in the office. Less turnover rates mean people in the company will get to interact and know each other better, which leads to better collaboration. Which of course, leads to a better workplace. Thus, the cycle is complete.

Bottleneck’s Attention Audit Results on Workplace Environment

That said, what was Bottleneck’s score on Work Environment?

According to MindEquity’s audit report, our team score on Environment was 74%, which was the Average strength. It means that an average team burnout and turnover risk may exist. But long-term market & talent advantage can be easily improved with some changes to the design of the physical and virtual work space.

One of the things that boosted our score in this regard is that we have multiple sessions a month where management and supervisors check in with the team on how they are doing. Not necessarily on things work-related, but also with their personal lives. This was particularly helpful during the initial onset of the pandemic, as it gave team members a way to express their thoughts, and also gave management a way to gauge the company’s mental health at those times. Lines were always open for communication via our HR, or their immediate supervisors.

If there was something we could improve on, it is that we should pay more attention during meetings. More than half of the respondents admitted to multitasking work during virtual meetings. This is bad as their attention is not on the conversation, and they are not contributing to the group as well.

Guiding Your Workplace Environment

While a good workplace environment isn’t exactly something tangible that you can shape of manipulate, there are things you can do to ‘set the tone’ and guide your workplace into a healthy and positive environment.

An Organized Company

A company running without proper workflows and processes can be quite chaotic, and it can foster a stressful environment. Having good systems and processes in place will lead to less worries for the employee, and better productivity in the long run.

A Healthy Leadership

As they say, lead by example! If the leader exudes a healthy and stable leadership and foster good relations with their employees, it can give employees someone that they can aspire to and emulate as they go about their day.

High Team Cohesion

Interactions between coworkers are essential to take care of the workplace environment. This is not limited to interdependence on their tasks, but also include positive emotional bonding. Employees should not feel like it is punishment to have to work with other people or departments, and they should be open to helping out should someone seem to be lagging behind.

Psychological Security

The employee must consider that the company is not a threat to their personal well-being. Having open channels for communication or reaching out to those who are prone to anxiety, stress, and burnout is a given. If you feel that your company is not doing the best to prevent such occurrence, you can seek outside professional help like MindEQuity to sort things out for you. 

Up Next

Want to know if your workplace environment is up to par? Check out MindEQuity’s Attention Audit and learn what things you can change or improve in your company to make it a great, welcoming workplace environment for your team!

We at Bottleneck Distant Assistants have taken the challenge to see how our team fares in being an Energized Team. In the next article, we talk about Balance, and how it can help avoid burnout and improve morale in your company.

Are you interested in taking the Attention Audit for your team as well? You can check out MindEQuity today and see if you are up to the challenge!

Want to learn more about Bottleneck? Visit our website and find out how our team can help your business break through its bottleneck today!

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About Jaime Jay

Meet Jaime Jay – a man who wears many hats, and wears them all admirably. He’s a master connector, an entrepreneur extraordinaire, and a published author who knows how to get things done.

Before he found his way to the business world, Jaime served his country as a brave paratrooper in the U.S. Army. But that’s just the beginning of his many accomplishments.

He’s the founder of the renowned Bottleneck Distant Assistant Services firm, and his book “Quit Repeating Yourself” has become a must-read for entrepreneurs everywhere.

When he’s not busy building his empire, you can find him on his beloved Harley Davidson, cruising through the countryside and taking in the invigorating effects of Uitwaaien – a Dutch practice that involves facing the wind to boost health and relieve stress. He enjoys spending his free time outside building stuff with his wife, Nikita the dog and their two kittens (for now at least) Tommy and Tater. He is ‘over-the-moon’ happily married to his wonderful wife Sara, his amazing daughter, Jessica, who is serving our country as a United States Army soldier. Jaime and Sara are the proud grand parents of two beautiful little girls.

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