Are slippers the key to office productivity?

In an audacious bid to sell more products, footwear label Shoegarden urged people to wear slippers to work but is there more to this marketing gimmick?

Shoegarden says its encouragement to swap brogues for booties is in response to changing attitudes towards office design and employee comfort, where more relaxed dress codes are being adopted. Shoegarden even added that wearing its range of indoor slippers in the office can increase productivity, saying it has found wearing slippers to work to be ‘tremendously beneficial’ for its own workplace performance.

The link between staff comfort & productivity

While some anecdotal evidence bound up in PR fluff might not convince you of the benefits (not helped by the image of professionals shuffling to meetings in slouchy, fury shoes), the news item does raise the issue of staff comfort and how this is linked to workplace productivity.

The design and provision within a workplace has a direct correlation to employees’ health, wellbeing and productivity. Despite numerous reports and evidence (which you can read more about in our guide to increasing staff productivity and welfare), many company owners and facilities managers are resistant to making changes in their workplace. Further reading on the link between working environments and productivity can be found here – make time to read the facts today as it’s a compelling case.

If you’re short on time, here are some quick facts about workplace productivity:-

• Poor air quality has been proven to affect typing speed and accuracy
• A workplace that’s too hot or too cold is proven to reduce productivity as much as 10%
• Research shows that offices with poor natural light lead to staff taking more sick days
• Blue and green lighting has been proven to improve productivity of people who are working on projects that require new ideas to be generated
• Red lighting has been shown to increase performance and productivity when people are working on projects that require focus and attention to detail
• Higher ceilings have been shown to increase feelings of freedom, and improve levels of creativity and problem solving
• Curved lines and rounded furniture have been found to create a more pleasing, inviting environment and trigger more activity in the brain than offices with straight edges
• Sitting in circles encourages greater levels of cohesion and fosters a collective mind-set
• Research in New Zealand has shown that investment in ergonomic furniture and effective use of space could increase productivity by up to 64%
• Plants can help staff recover more quickly from challenging or arduous tasks and may reduce levels of office pollution

A commercial refurbishment or office refit can address all of the above points. Ask us about climate control, comfort cooling, office lighting, computer chairs, workstations, business furniture, structural work, layout remodeling and space planning – slippers can be provided upon request!