While your own mindset is your best ally in the pursuit of a higher productivity, a lot can be achieved by introducing ads and gadgets. This goes from individual tools like noise canceling peripherals, to pivotal pieces of office tech, that work to everyone’s benefit. The most important thing you need to understand is the fact that by boosting productivity, they also boost the morale, seeing as how overachieving their expectations may give your team more self-confidence and willingness to work. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several best office tech items that can definitely boost the productivity in the workplace.
Window-mounted solar charger
One of the greatest problems with charging your phone in the office lies in the fact that there are already so many cables, wires and coworkers doing the same thing. This means that you should either allow your battery to run empty, attach your personal phone to the company computer (which may not be allowed in your organization) or look for an alternative solution to this approach. One of the things you can do is purchase several window-mounted solar chargers and attach them in strategic locations around the office. This alone should be able to reduce the unnecessary foot traffic and make the office both quieter and better organized.
Multiple Screens
This particular trend often gets misinterpreted and even misunderstood, due to the fact that people don’t really take enough time to closely examine all the options prior to considering it as a whole. For instance, there is more than one way to provide your team with the productivity-boosting trend of multiple screens. Why would you purchase a desktop laptop and two monitors for each of your employees if getting them a laptop and one additional screen may be a more frugal option? Aside from this, you can also opt for multi-laptop windows that are getting more and more popular by the hour.
Innovate your printers
When looking at the office from the perspective of an outsider, you’ll quickly realize that there are two focal points, two places where people tend to gather the most. The first one is a water cooler, which shouldn’t be that much of an issue, seeing as how people gathering there tend to be on the break either way. All you have to do here is move the water cooler as far away from the work area and you’re good to go. As for the printer, switching to smarter printing solutions, such as any printer from the OKI pro series, might significantly facilitate the rate of printing around the office, thus avoiding the size of the line in front of the printer.
Noise canceling headphones
The next trend you should invest in is new peripherals for your employees, which is something we’ve already discussed. On the one hand, silent keyboards are a great idea, however, they’re just partially effective at making a silent office. People chit-chatting, breathing and walking around can still be quite distracting and this can be solved only with the help of noise-canceling headphones. While it is true that this investment may be somewhat expensive, when it comes to the productivity boost, it will definitely get you your money’s worth.
Smart thermostat
The issue of ideal office temperature is the one that every single employer had to deal with at one point in their career. Let’s face it, this is an issue without a definitive answer and, as such, something that you can handle in just one way – setting it yourself. First of all, the way in which you do it may change the perception of your team on this radical policy. Try using arguments and name a study which suggests that the office temperature between 70 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit suits the majority of workers. This is one of those scenarios where you have to do control damage, seeing as how pleasing everyone is completely impossible.
Mini standing desks
Finally, while this may not be technology in the most apparent sense, there are more than a few serious studies claiming that standing desks do boost productivity. Nevertheless, this may not be a trend that will seem appealing to your entire staff. Instead of making everyone switch to this work model, why not get a few mini standing desks and introduce them as an experiment. Offer incentives for those willing to try out this work method and see where things go from there.
Conclusion
Although some of these items may seem expensive (relatively speaking), since they bring a boost to your productivity, they’re not a commodity or a luxury but an investment. When observed from this perspective, it becomes more than clear that you can calculate their ROI, make an adequate estimate of the break-even point and find other ways to justify the purchase. Sure, the morale boost we discussed in the introduction may be a tad harder to make an estimate of, nonetheless, it is a positive bonus that always works in your favor.
