MANAGEMENT OF THE

OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
WHAT IS OFFICE MANAGEMENT
Office management involves the planning,
designing, implementation of work in an
organization and its offices. This includes creating
a focused work environment and guiding and
coordinating the activities of office personnel to
achieve business goals. These activities are
evaluated and adjusted to improve and maintain
efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity.
Types of Office Management Jobs
1. Corporate Office Management
Corporate office management jobs include the manager at each branch of a
given company. The district manager (typically located at the head office)
oversees all other branch managers, therefore traveling between company
branch locations is often a main aspect of the job. Additionally, corporate
office managers plan new organizational approaches for human resources
and marketing campaigns.
2. Medical Office Management
Legal office management jobs require practical law experience and an
extensive understanding of law procedures. Law office managers oversee a
practice's legal administrative assistants, payroll management, and the firm's
human resources department.
3. Virtual Office Management
Rather than work for one business at a time as a full-time
employee, virtual office managers often work for several
smaller companies part-time. This is due to the tendency of
small businesses to contract out virtual office management
jobs. It's no surprise that remote jobs of all caliber are on
the rise, therefore virtual office managers are an attractive
option for steadily growing small businesses that don't yet
require an on-site office manager.
 6 Key Office Management Functions
1. Planning
Creating a structure of the responsibilities required to achieve the
objectives of your company is a key function of office management.
When you fully recognize the short and long term goals of your
respective business, you can then plan your approach to achieving
the goals. Detailed planning and meeting organization is the first
step toward efficient operations and facilitating control.
2. Organizing Resources
Organizing resources walks hand in hand toward achieving
company goals with planning. These resources include
materials, personnel, and financial backing. The next stage after
planning for office managers is task delegation, such as
identifying which materials are necessary and assigning those
materials to chosen personnel. The best office managers
consistently coordinate tasks in order to keep these resources
moving toward planned goals.
3. Staffing
Another key responsibility of the office manager is staffing.
Executive office managers run lead or coordinate with human
resources on all matters of staffing recruitment, compensation,
promotion, and retirement of subordinate managers.
4. Communication
Effective communication, a staple of any high-functioning operation,
is a necessary factor of office management. If an office manager is
unable to properly dictate the needs of the company to its
employees, then optimum efficiency will not be possible. Does one
team need a certain sized meeting space to hold their weekly
meetings? Do they have the technology they need in that space?
Remember, good communication goes both ways. If this same office
manager is unable to articulate the needs of your company, then the
issue may be that this office manager is not a good fit for your
organization.
5. Working with IT
Modern office managers use technology quite a bit on the job.
They may use software for their own day to day role and also
help to manage the software and technology for employees.
Perhaps your company uses digital facilities management
software. Office managers also work with the IT department to
ensure that all meeting rooms are running smoothly, and should
be trained on all video conferencing technology and Wifi
connection for employees and guests
6. Motivation
A highly complex factor of office management, motivation
comes in two forms. Self-motivation and external motivation.
When your employees are self-motivated, the job of the office
manager is made easier. But when they are not, that is where
the job of office management is to externally motivate. This
motivation should satisfy the employees' needs while being
competitive, productive, and comprehensive. When external
motivation does all of this, your office workers will have high
morale and be more likely to improve their performance.
Office managers are some of the few people who interact with every
level of employee, either virtually or face-to-face every day. As office
cultures around the world continue to expand and shift, the
significance of the office manager role will increase.
Ergonomics
can roughly be defined as the study of people in their working
environment. More specifically, an ergonomist (pronounced like
economist) designs or modifies the work to fit the worker, not
the other way around. The goal is to eliminate discomfort and
risk of injury due to work.
7 Simple Tips for Improving Workplace
Ergonomics
1. Practice Good Posture
Good posture is about more than finding a comfortable position
to work in, or what “feels right.” Especially when you consider
that some positions, while comfortable for the worker, may not
be ergonomically correct. To complicate matters further, some
shifting and movement in position throughout the day can even
be useful for some workers with and without disabilities.
2. Change it Up
Repeating the same movement continuously through the day
can cause strains. If it is possible to alternate tasks, it is
advisable to do so. If job rotation or alternating tasks throughout
the shift is unrealistic, be sure to incorporate several rest
breaks. Stretch during breaks or do simple exercises to keep
your muscles and tendons from becoming tense or strained.
3. Lift with your Knees
Be sure that if your job involves lifting, that you are trained in
manual material handling, and that you practice proper lifting
techniques. Never lift with the muscles in your back. Lift with
your knees.
4. Get a Good Chair
If you sit at desk all or most of the day, you need an ergonomic
chair that has various settings for a variety of seated postures.
The best chairs have adjustable height, arm rest, lumbar
support, and seat pan depth settings. If your feet don’t reach
the floor, a footrest should be used in conjunction with the chair
and remember it doesn’t matter how well the chair is adjusted if
you do not sit in it properly! Standard chairs — even the best
ones — may not work for workers with certain disabilities, so be
sure to make accommodations for workers who require them.
5. Make your Computer Work for You
Your computer station needs to work for you. Your keyboard
and mouse should be at the same level, with the weight of your
arms supported by the armrests of the chair. The keyboard and
mouse should also be positioned so that your wrists remain
straight. If you need to look at documents as you type, ensure
that you have a document holder. All other required tools, such
as staplers, pens or pencils, and your phone, should be within
reach. If you use the phone frequently, opt for a headset over
cradling the phone between your ear and shoulder.
6. Look after your Eyes
Eye strain is common in workers with and without disabilities
who spend a lot of their day looking at computer monitors.
Adjust your monitor so that it is at eye level when sitting straight
in your chair. Ensure that you look at it directly, and that it’s not
angled. If you have a window, place the monitor at a right angle
to it to reduce glare. Monitors with poor resolution or a flicker
should be upgraded or replaced.
7. Chill Out
A stressful work environment can cause workers to tense their
muscles and remain in that state for extended periods of time.
Workers who feel pressure to complete tasks may skip breaks
or strain themselves to complete tasks faster at the expense of
using proper ergonomic material handling methods. Be sure
that workers are not stressing themselves in this way. Training,
information, and control over the ergonomic set-up of an
individual’s workstation goes a long way in reducing the stress
that causes ergonomic injuries.
What is a healthy working environment?
Put simply, a healthy working environment is a workplace
where both management and employees work together to
promote healthy actions and behaviors to keep everyone safe
and well. The World Health Organization characterized a
healthy working environment as one in which “there is not only
an absence of harmful conditions (that can cause injury and
illness) but an abundance of health-promoting ones”.
There are quite a few factors that go into what makes a healthy
work environment. There is the minimum physical space that is
safe and clean — well sanitized, socially-distanced workspaces,
clean air filters, etc. — but it goes beyond that, of course.
A healthy workplace is one where employees thrive in their
work projects and feel fulfilled while also staying physically and
mentally healthy. They’re productive and feel supported, which
leads to reduced absenteeism, illness, conflict, and, ultimately,
turnover.
Employer’s duties and responsibilities
 deciding what could harm you in your job and take precautions to stop it.
 Explain how risks will be controlled and tell you who is responsible for this.
 Provide you with any equipment and protective clothing you need and ensure it is
maintained.
 Provide first aid facilities.
 Record injuries, diseases and dangerous incidents at work and report these to the Health
and Safety Executive where relevant.
 Provide any required training to ensure that work is being carried out safely.
 Have insurance that covers you in case you get ill or become injured at work.
 Work with anyone sharing the workplace or anyone who is providing employees (such as
agency workers), so that everyone’s health and safety is protected.
How to create a healthy working environment
a. Provide a clean and comfortable workplace / office
Having a clean workplace is a great start. Make sure that desks
are cleaned daily and that clutter is not an issue for staff.
Provide training if necessary on the importance of keeping
desks clutter free but importantly, work areas should be cleaned
and clean on a daily basis. This will help to promote comfort
and in turn will be more conducive to workspaces in promoting
wellbeing.
b. Promote wellness
One clear change that has been made in recent years thanks to a global
pandemic is how we look at wellness. From wearing masks to social
distancing and even sanitising our hands and work areas on a daily basis -
sometimes more than once! But wellness programs are also about getting your
staff to think about their health and how the business can help support that.

This could be from organising a flu shot campaign in the winter months to
promoting office place yoga one day of the week. Wellness is an attitude or a
behaviour that becomes a repeated idea and acted upon by the individual over
time.
c. Identify what disparate employees want from
their working environments
Of course, what works for one person may not be right for another
(e.g. pop music playing in an office) so you must understand what
makes different employees work better in different environments.
Be sure to take notice of likes and dislikes. It could be that some
members of staff prefer sprint working hours - such as a selected
time of day where they get to do an hour with no distractions and no
meetings whilst others may require more time in group activities to
ensure that the work is being done correctly.
d. Recognize and deal with bias in the
workplace
Bias can lead to all sorts of problems in the workplace and can
even cause legal issues, so being able to identify where bias can
occur is essential. That’s why you can train to identify and deal
with bias in your workplace.

One of the key elements is to look for open communications to

allow people to express their concerns. This could be in one-to-
one meetings or in blind surveys so that there is no concern on
who is raising the point.
e. Encourage mental health breaks
This is becoming more important than ever and being able to
provide this kind of service is to the benefit of the employee and
the employer. Being able to understand how to ‘turn off’ and
relax away from work is something that should be encouraged
for employees of all ages and years of experience.
f. Promote a healthy work / life balance
Much has been made of having a good work/life balance, and
there is a reason for that, it’s because it really matters.
Understanding that work is not the most important thing in your
life and finding balance with the things that bring happiness,
relaxation and joy is an important part of the work/life journey.
Not only is this healthy for the employee, it’s good for the
employer. It means that you have a rounded member of staff
that has interests outside of work and someone that is going to
be more engaged with work when they’re in the office as well.
g. Recognize and reward all contributions
Something like a simple ‘thank you’ message from managers to
workers or between workers - makes a big contribution to a
healthy working environment. It’s not a big task, but a small
gesture can make someone feel good about themselves and
the work they do.
h. Encourage healthy eating
From providing fresh fruit in the office that everyone can enjoy
and share to even giving staff cooking lessons as an office perk,
the benefits of healthy eating are not underestimated and have
shown to improve mental performance by over 82%!
THANK YOU