With so much emphasis on ensuring workplace productivity so that businesses are able to get the most out of the salaries they pay their employees, it is somewhat surprising that it is only recently that more attention is being paid to how office conditions have an impact on the efficiency of employees. Everything from the lighting to the layout of the office has an impact on workplace productivity, and now there is more in-depth research detailing the effect of the office’s paint color and its various temperature settings.

There is a reason that certain areas of the world are just more productive than others, and it is the same reason that certain kinds of behavior are likely to spike during certain seasons or under specific environmental conditions. Shortened daylight hours in many Scandinavian countries have been tied to increased feelings of depression, and appropriately heating phoenix az has been shown to influence productivity in an overwhelmingly positive manner.

One of the reasons that many businesses have been hesitant to improve office heating and lighting relates to cost, but the gains in productivity are likely to eclipse any subsequent increase in energy expenditure. Even in this circumstance, however, there have been systems developed to ensure that the lighting and heating is used in an optimal fashion so that vital resources are not unnecessarily wasted. Through the use of sensors placed throughout the office, heating and lighting can be controlled according to the presence of employees. When there is no one working in the office, the lighting can be turned off automatically and the heating or air conditioning reduced to a more efficient level until employees return.

For the increasing percentage of those working from home, attention should also be paid to the conditions they create in their workspace. While some work-at-home employees may be tempted to cut costs on energy use or on the quality of lighting, the lost productivity will be far greater than the potentially saved energy costs. In some cases, the utilities used in a home office may be tax deductible, so it is very likely to be worthwhile for a work-at-home employee to take advantage of the opportunity to increase productivity simply by cultivating a comfortable and efficient home office environment.