Posts in category: portland

Studies show the physical environment employees work in directly influences their wellbeing, work performance, and productivity. But even with the best intentions, many Portland business owners are missing the mark.

What environmental factors really matter when creating a positive, productive office environment?

You might be surprised. Take a look at the 6 most common things about your Portland office your employees can’t stand.

1. Noise level and bad acoustics

The quality of acoustics in your office is really important.

A loud office environment is frustrating for Portland employees. Even the most focused individual will start to crack in an environment constantly barraged with audible clutter. Loud noises in an office space are linked with a lot of problems:

• Stress
• Unproductivity
• Exhaustion
• Poor ergonomics
• Miscommunication

Open office environments are largely to blame for the clamour of the modern-day work environment. An open office layout may inspire increased collaboration and creativity, but there’s no denying it can also be hugley distracting.

If you have an open layout, office noise reduction tactics might include spacing out your employees, adding cubicle walls or other separators between departments, or installing a white noise machine to muffle chatter and ensure privacy.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, avoid making your office too quiet. Some level of background noise is necessary and can help with:

• Privacy
• Productivity
• Concentration
• Creativity

2. Poor air quality

Does your office feel stuffy? Kitchen smells wafting into your workspace? The strong odor of cleaning chemicals after your janitorial team comes through?

Keeping the air in your office space fresh is important. Many people can be sensitive to odors, causing headaches or other physical issues. And there’s nothing quite like cooked broccoli or the smell of tuna or other fish to break your concentration.

Make sure you install an effective air filtration system to keep the air fresh. Oil diffusers can be helpful as well, though you should again be careful with what scents you use.

You should also make sure your cleaning crew is using safe, environmentally friendly cleaning supplies that won’t leave behind a strong chemical odor.

3. Too cold or too hot

No one wants to work (or even can work productively) in an office space that’s too hot or cold.

For years it was thought that colder office environments are better for productivity. But new studies are throwing all this out the window.

OSHA recommends employers maintain workplace temperatures between 68-76 degrees Fahrenheit. Many Portland employees consider 70 to 73 as ideal for the office. However, a Cornell study found temperatures as high as 77 to be optimal.

4. Unclean space

The average employee loses 9 working days a year due to sickness. Some of these sick days may be attributed to a lack of workplace hygiene and cleanliness. A clean office is a productive office — it’s as simple as that!

A few other happy results of a clean office include:

• Increased focus
• Reduced stress
• Greater profitability
• Less wasted time
• Improved morale

Every office should have an established cleaning schedule. If you don’t have an in-house cleaning team, work with a janitorial company to ensure your space is properly cleaned.

How often should your office be cleaned? Large buildings likely need nightly cleaning services while smaller offices could get away with once a week. And remember that areas like kitchen and bathroom require extra care to ensure employee health and safety.

Whether you do nightly or weekly cleanings, you should also plan larger monthly or quarterly deep cleans to ensure you space stays in tip-top shape. This includes carpet cleaning, cleaning windows, and floor maintenance.

5. No recycling

51% of employees won’t work for a company that doesn’t have strong environmental commitments. And 25% say they will look for a new job if they discover their employer doesn’t handle environmental issues well.

There are many ways you can promote a green office environment, but one of the easiest (and most expected by employees in Portland) is a recycling program. Not only is it something many employees want and appreciate, it may also be a requirement.

Most counties expect businesses to provide recycling bins, recycle paper and containers, and separate recyclables correctly.

Depending on the size of your business, it may be beneficial to partner with a commercial recycling service. They can manage your recycling program, make sure its working efficiency, maximize recycling in your company, and answer any questions along the way.

6. Poor building maintenance

You can have the cleanest office building in town, but it won’t matter if it’s falling apart at the seams.

If you own your office building, regular building maintenance and property management is crucial for the happiness and safety of your employees.

There are a spectrum of maintenance tasks to keep an eye on in your office — from ceiling tile repair or replacement, blind cleaning, changing light bulbs, and more.

Anytime you have a maintenance issue arise, avoid the negative effects it can have on productivity, morale, and safety by taking care of it quickly.

Most Portland businesses hire a building maintenance company to handle these issues. You have enough on your plate as it is, don’t add building maintenance to your to-do list.

Happy employees are good for business

As we’ve discussed, creating a happy, healthy work environment for employees is beneficial to your company. Losing an employee due to a poor work environment is not something you ever want to happen: Dealing with employee turnover is a huge waste of time and money!

When you provide a positive work environment, you’ll reap the benefits!

• Better employee decision making abilities
• Increased innovation
• More productivity
• Better employee engagement
• Better customer service
• More sales (happy people sell more!)

How can we help improve your work environment?

For over 50 years, Cascade Building Services has been helping fuel clean, environmentally friendly, and well-maintained commercial properties (and in turn, happy employees) throughout Portland.

We provide services 24 hours per day 365 days per year. We are the city’s trusted source for building maintenance and cleaning — whether you need a one-time cleaning or an ongoing program.

Let us know how we can help!

Your office environment makes a big difference in the success of your business. If your space is notoriously dark, cold, and dirty you can’t hope to inspire employee engagement and productivity. But if your office is comfortable, clean, and aesthetically pleasing, you’ll encourage success.

Here in the Portland area, there are so many great qualities to draw inspiration from to help decorate your office. Keep reading for some Rose City inspired tips for decorating your business office in a way that speaks to the beautiful area we live, meets the needs of employees, and highlights the personality of your business.

Start by choosing the right layout

Gone are the days of cubicles and closed off working spaces. Today, 80% of companies are opting for open-concept floor plans.

An open-office layout has many benefits, like increased collaboration and communication — even helping keep energy high among teams. Still, there are pros and cons to an open floor plan setting. You’ll need to think about your industry, company culture, number of employees, and how the space is used before deciding whether or not an open layout is right for you.

If you’re not quite ready to commit to an open floor plan, consider a hybrid option. This type of design allows for collaboration with open, communal areas, but also accommodates the need for quieter enclosed spaces.

Ultimately, unless you’re planning on remodeling your space, the design layout you choose will largely be determined by the current functionality of your space. But having an idea of what type of environment you want to encourage will help as you think about decorations.

Spice up your walls

One of the easiest ways to bring company character and some local personality to your office is through your walls.

This doesn’t mean you have to go wild with paint colors — after all, many companies have a minimalistic personality. But even if you like the simple look, adding pops of color on your walls is a good idea. Especially considering the right colors in your space can have a powerful psychological effect on your people, causing them to feel happier, relaxed, and motivated.

Here are some ideas to spice up your walls.

Integrate brand colors

When choosing your wall paint and art, consider incorporating your brand’s colors to help uphold a consistent style to better reflect your business. If you have a company mission, values, or slogan, another idea is to have it painted on a main entry wall or communal area.

Choose local art

Incorporating local artwork is a great way to pay homage to your city. Here in Portland, we have a robust community of talented artists. Take advantage of this opportunity to showcase some of this excellent artwork, or commission an artist to create some one-of-a-kind pieces for your space!

Hang team photos

Company photos are a fun way to add some personality to your space. Whether it’s historical photos of your building or group photos from your last team outing, photos on the wall help add a personal and home-like feeling to the space.

Paint accent walls

A great way to add pops of color without being overbearing is to paint one or two accent walls. Don’t limit yourself to just a different color of paint. You could also create a wall mural or hire a local artist to paint a unique scene or design on the wall.

Maximize energy with good lighting and lots of plants

The lighting in your office will make or break how your employees feel about the space. You can have beautiful furniture, excellent color choices, and the modern desks, but it will all be for naught if you don’t have good lighting.

Natural lighting is always best, so start there. Portland is known for our gray, rainy days, so ensure all your window areas are unobstructed to allow for the best possible light. If you have blinds, keep them open during the day. And get your windows cleaned on a regular basis to ensure smudges and other debris aren’t affecting light flow.

Pay attention to the type of artificial light you add to your space. Always avoid fluorescent lights, as they throw a lot of glare and distort colors, including human complexions. Floor lamps are a great way to add a welcoming ambiance, and providing desk lamps allow employees to customize their own individual light needs.

Adding lush greenery around the office is another excellent way to bring natural energy to your space. It’s also a great nod to our beautiful Pacific Northwest. From large ferns and potted trees to desktop plants and succulents — there are endless options for incorporating plants in your office.

Choose cozy, friendly accents

Portland is known for its many comfortable and trendy coffee shops and welcoming indoor spaces. Bring some of that same friendly energy to your office by adding homey accents throughout your space.

Some great ways to do this include:

• Creating an open and cozy communal space
• Adding couches and alternative seating options, like window benches, bar seating, or cafe tables
• Using comfy pillows
• Adding rugs around the office
• Setting up bookshelves and other unique storage pieces
• Adding mirrors and other unique decorations (take advantage of the city’s amazing thrift and vintage shops for inspiration!)

Think of your office decorations as an additional employee benefit and you may come up with other unique ideas. Some ideas companies have implemented are:

• Ping-pong tables
• Espresso machine
• Fully stocked bar cart
• Kombucha or beer tap
• Employee gym

Allow for desk personalization

As you plan your decorations and implement your ideas, allow room for employees to personalize their own space. Encourage your teams to integrate any elements that will keep them motivated throughout the day — whether that’s storage and organizational items, artwork, or personal items.

Giving employees the freedom to make the space their own will bring a lot of personality to your office.

Keep your space clean

All the time and thought you’ve put into your design and decoration will be wasted if your space is dirty. So whether you have an eclectic design vibe or a modern, minimalistic style, keeping your office space clean is important.

No one wants to work in a dirty space, and especially in the rainy months, dirt and mud accumulation on the floors happens fast. But no matter what time of the year, your office should be cleaned regularly.

If you have a large office with a lot of employees, you may require a mid-week touch up (especially in restroom and kitchen areas). And communal trash cans should be emptied every day. For those with carpeted flooring, carpet cleaning is important once a quarter or so as well.

Let your office design shine — we can help

Since 1961, Cascade Building Services has been proud to offer comprehensive building cleaning and janitorial services to businesses throughout the Portland area. We specialize in helping business owners and office managers ensure their space is clean at all times — our goal is to help your office design shine!

From janitorial services and floor maintenance to carpet cleaning, window cleaning, and recycling services — we’ve handled nearly every type of cleaning job and offer a team that’s trusted and experienced.

Let us know how we can help!