Did you know that couples,where one partner spends more than 10 hours in the office have twice the divorce rate average? I bet you didn’t. However, with technology ever so changing rapidly, it’s reshaping the traditional office setting.
It’s no secret that working in an office is stressful and can lead to depression and long-term health issues. Mayo Clinic’s Dr. James Levine said office workers are sitting themselves to death. He also added that the average office employee could lose an additional 340 calories if they worked while standing.
Although numerous researches showed, how effective movement in the office affects quality and production, still, employers lag behind in their implementation. Without a productive staff, no profit is made.
Types of Automation in the Office
Several office automation systems are shaping the workplace today. Let’s dive in and take a glimpse.
- Standing Desk
This is perhaps the oldest types of automation since standing desks existence centuries ago. Depending on your budget and needs, adjustable desks play an important role in employee efficiency. The four main types of standing desks are the static, fixed,crank, and electric.
The electric desk, however,proves its prowess inefficiency because of its use of linear actuators. Actuators ensure the user interchanges between sitting and standing modes keeping them on their feet.So what do they do? They regulate the desk’s height with precision allowing it to switch between modes in 10 to 20 seconds.
- Projector Lift
Gone are the days where one would set up his/her presentation by dragging a projector from one room to the next. The revolution of equipment has given rise to the remaining in a single place (under the ceiling floor). How is that even possible? You may be asking yourself.
Well, the dynamics are quite simple. A space in the ceiling is made, linear actuators fitted with brackets and boom! You have yourself a retracting and drop down projector. The modes of operation vary from the manual (switch) and remote control.
- Door Opener
In the office setting, doors are sometimes quite a nuisance especially when your hands are full of files.In addition, they’ve been known to cause serious injuries. But all these can be avoided with a door opener.
A door opener removes the manual closing and opening mechanism you as an office worker frequently use.It also provides an extra layer of security for ‘unwanted guests.’
- Window Opener
As its name suggests, the window opener automatically opens your office windows. It seems like an extravagant piece of equipment (which it’s not) and serves a greater purpose climate control.
As a business owner, your main goal is making profits while limiting costs. The window opener helps you in this aspect. It ensures minimal heat loss during the winter and provides proper ventilation in the summer.
- TV Lift
Decades ago, it would have been impossible to find a TV in the office. Nowadays though, it’s believed to improve employee productivity and reduce stress levels. However, some employees spend loads of time watching than working.
You don’t need to implement the old padlock-key system. There’s the TV lift that popup from a piece of furniture or dropdown from a ceiling. Control is using a remote control to retract it only when needed. You, being the boss, will get the evil stare but get your employees in check.
Is Office Automation all that Necessary?
The answer is hell yeah. There are loads of advantages of office automation but here are the main ones.
- Cost Reduction
Automated windows save you on your electricity and heating bills. You’ll say goodbye to your AC in the summer as your windows open automatically providing natural cooling.
- It increases the overall performance of your employees
It’s very important for your employees to stand and move for a minimum of five minutes in an hour. These small breaks play an important role in the reduction of fatigue.
A good number of employees, however, don’t have the leisure of getting out of their desks every hour. A sit-stand desk, for example, enables an employee breaking from sitting to standing posture while staying in the same place.
- Staff Health is improved
It’s equally important that your employee’s health be in check. You don’t want a good number of your staff on sick leave as it results in massive losses. Windows automatically opening during a hot summer afternoon works wonders in overall employee performance. For staff who barely leave their workstation, an exercise desk suites them
- Safety
This is a business owner’s everyday nightmare. Without proper security, your business is vulnerable to thieves and buglers. Having an automated door with keycard access allows easy monitoring of who’s coming in and going out.
- Injury Prevention
An office is not the safest work environment though Injuries aren’t commonplace in the office space but once in a while, they happen. A door slams you on your face and you end up with a bloody or broken nose. A door with sensors opens when you are just near the door and closes behind you eliminates the risk of injury.
Office automation is an important aspect of growth. Having the correct and meaningful systems to suit your business needs provides you with an outlook of problematic areas.Office automation helps you in cost reduction, maintaining happy and energetic healthy employees andcan rapidly reduce work time on processes.
As the saying goes ‘One man’s meat, is another man’s poison.’ Office automation to some can mean efficiency while to others flashiness. Though everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, office automation’s main purpose is efficiency. Change is inevitable and you need to embrace it.
