Making Your Workplace Ready for Winter

If a cold hasn’t swept through your office yet, it’s just a matter of time. Winter can be harsh on your employees’ health, especially in open office spaces. While you might not be able to do much about the weather, there are a few easy changes you can make to your office design.

What are small changes you can make to improve workplace health during cold season?

Have an area for employees to hang their coats.

Trench coats are too long to hang on the back of chairs without people tripping over them, and they can’t effectively air out there, anyway. Create small, frequent areas along unused walls where employees can safely hang their coats and scarves. Not only does this declutter open office set-ups, employees won’t have damp coats when they leave in the evening. And creating smaller, localized coat hangs means people will feel more secure hanging it in sight.

Have vent covers that divert the air away from employees.

Even in the winter, the air conditioning has to stay colder than most people prefer. Ward off complaints and the chill by getting plastic covers that send air towards walkways instead of directly down on the employee unlucky enough to be below the vent, all without blocking air flow.

Take advantage of computer heat.

Desktops generate a lot of energy as they’re in use, so don’t let that go to waste. Reposition your hardware under the desks so the heat sticks around instead of dissipating towards the ceiling.

Every small change you make to your office can help make employees healthier and more comfortable, and it also shows that you’re taking your employees into consideration. Go to Tangram to see what other design changes can improve workplace health throughout the seasons.