This We Know

During the Covid pandemic, there were very few businesses and business sectors that were not adversely affected, and landscaping companies were among them. Given the various lockdown rules and the need for social distancing, even though the garden is an outdoor space, there were few opportunities for landscapers and their clients to meet and discuss new garden designs.

Another result of the pandemic and lockdown was that millions of people who would have normally commuted into an office were obliged to work from home where it was feasible. Whilst this was a necessity due to the pandemic, many soon found that working at home was an enjoyable experience, and as a result, many businesses reported that the productivity of many of their employees went up significantly during this period.

Coming out the other side of covid, many of the employees who worked from home have been allowed to remain doing so, either full-time or for part of their working week. This has led to many individuals seeking ways to create an outdoor workspace with all the benefits that it brings such as working in the fresh air, and the natural surroundings.

So, if you have been considering an outdoor workspace for yourself as someone who now works from home, or if you were already working from home and wish to have an enhanced workspace, or simply for times when you are browsing the web on your laptop, here are five key tips that will help make that outdoor workspace all the more feasible and enjoyable.

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Successful inventory management is vital for every business to avoid waste and losses, and one option available to assist with those aims is to rent secure Perth storage units from a commercial storage facility. By getting a proper inventory management system in place with the help of secure storage units, you will avoid unnecessary purchase orders, expired excess stock, and wasted working hours trying to deal with all those issues.

In this blog post, we will take a more detailed look at why effective stock management is vital and, specifically, how to use a secure storage facility as an integral part of what will make implementing your stock management easier for you.

First Steps

The first step is to select a storage facility with the space available and the additional services you need that will suit the needs of your business. Look at factors such as the size of the storage unit you require, the security on-site, flexibility such as opening times, and availability of climate-controlled units if they will be required. Also, ask other business owners if they can recommend any storage facilities they may have used.

Take An Accurate Inventory Count

Before transferring your existing inventory to your storage unit, accurately count what you currently have. This will not apply if you have no inventory or are a new business and will send your first inventory purchase to your storage unit. An accurate count of what you have provides the basis to check your inventory levels more easily and get an ongoing accurate inventory count once your stock is stored in your storage unit.

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When acquiring commercial furniture for a business, education center, health facility, or any other organization type, you have no shortage of choices. These choices include the style, the quantity, the specific furniture items, the colors, and the amount you will spend on it all. The last of those, spending, will be influenced by many factors, especially another choice you must make…Do you lease or buy commercial office furniture?

It is a choice that will influence many things, not least what you must pay upfront for your office furniture, any ongoing payments, and the total amount you will spend. It may also make a difference to the quantity, type, and quality of the office furniture you can acquire. Investing in premium quality furniture from trusted brands including Atama, would have more benefits than buying cheap furniture from Kmart or IKEA.

Ultimately, whether you buy or lease, office furniture will come down to which options you believe is the most advantageous. Determining that will require you to look at the pros and the cons of each option. If you are wondering what these pros and cons are, wonder no more, as we have laid them all out below.

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One of the comments that can be heard when someone enters drug rehab is from someone with them, be that a loved one, a friend, or their employer, which is, “I had no idea”. Granted, if someone has a drug addiction, it is more than likely that those in their family or their circle of friends would know; however, when it comes to their employer, it is undoubtedly the case that they are often the last to know.

We say that not to suggest that employers do not care about employees who are facing up to drug problems and getting help for it. Admittedly, some do not, but thankfully, many do. Still, notwithstanding the enlightened status on helping employees, it does not necessarily mean that they are going to be able to spot that one of their employees is regularly taking drugs and may even be addicted to them.

It is only after supporting that employee by enrolling them in drug rehab that an employer might discuss this with the drug rehab staff. The reason to do so is that they do not want to be in the same situation in the future where an employee who needs help does not receive it as soon as possible because the warning signs were not picked up.

What the drug rehab facilities professionals can outline is what to look for when determining if someone is using drugs and what warning signs are most obvious. Here are what warning signs they are likely to highlight, especially within a workplace environment.

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If we were to examine the two extremes of employers’ views on employees who have drug problems, we would have those who would dismiss them without so much as a goodbye and those who would fully support their recovery and possibly even fund them entering drug rehabs in Perth. Thankfully, far more employers tend towards the latter attitude than the former.

We have to caveat that last statement by saying that we are not advocating that employers should let employees openly use drugs and turn a blind eye to it. Quite the reverse. Drug use serves no one other than criminal drug dealers, and so we most certainly agree the workplace is no place for drug taking.

However, it is also the case that, in our view, drug addiction should be viewed as an illness, and just as you would want someone with a heart or stomach disorder to receive the necessary treatment, then that likewise should apply to someone who is addicted to drugs.

As for how this plays out in the workplace and what the employer’s role should be, much of it will be dictated by what type of business it is and its drug policy, assuming it has one. Some businesses, due to the nature of what they do and the work done by their employees, have no option but to take a zero tolerance to drug use based on health and safety considerations and, in some cases, the law.

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Suppose you are a business owner or office manager. In that case, you will possibly be responsible for organising the cleaning and maintenance regimes within your office, and part of that will be the carpet cleaning.

In normal circumstances, it might be sufficient for your day-to-day cleaners to do the regular vacuuming and occasional stain removal for your carpets. Still, ultimately, you may need to take further action. That action is when it becomes necessary for you to arrange for the rugs in your office to be professionally cleaned.

The question this begs is at what point do you make that call, and what signs should you be looking for to tell you it is time for professional cleaners to come and use their skills and experience to get your carpets looking at their very best again. Here are five of those signs.

#1 Increased Instances of Allergies

If your office staff are prone to hay fever attacks or have shown ever-increasing signs of allergies, such as sneezing or skin irritation, it could be a sign that your carpet is playing host to many allergens and bacteria. These microscopic nasties, including dust mites and pollen, will remain permanently if a rug is not cleaned correctly.

Even daily vacuuming might not be enough, so having the offending carpet professionally deep cleaned is the answer. This will remove allergens and bacteria and make your office healthier.

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Whenever a business decides that it wishes to relocate to another office it has many choices to make. One of the first decisions will surely be whether they wish to organise and facilitate the relocation themselves, or whether they are going to hire the services of a professional office relocations company.

Clearly, the matters that each business needs to weight up with regards to making this decision will be influenced by the size of the business, the distance between the two offices, the amount that has to be moved, and obviously the budget that they are able to allocate to the relocation.

Beyond these, it is a case of weighing up the pros and cons of hiring office removalists, and then deciding. Being the helpful people that we are, we have those pros and cons here for you.

The Pros

They will Know How To Plan It

One of the keys to any office relocation is the planning of it, and often business owners do not even know where to start, let alone actually create a plan. A professional office relocation company will advise you on the best way to plan and prepare for the relocation.

They Will Support You

Even though they may have helped you with the plan, there are bound to be things that crop up which you are unsure of. Rather than trying to work them out for yourself,  your office removalists will be happy to take a call or answer an email that asks for help or advise.

They Can Supply The Packing Materials

No doubt many of the items which are being  moved will be expensive, such as computer equipment. To ensure that they and any other valuable or fragile items are protected properly against damage en route, they will be able to supply you with the best packing materials for the job.

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Eco-friendly living is becoming increasingly popular in the modern world, and this environmental mindset is rapidly expanding into the business world. It doesn’t matter if you run a website design agency or a mechanics workshop – there are numerous things you can do to make your premises better for the environment.

In the rest of this article, we’ve explored our top five tips for creating an eco-friendly office space. Remember, these are just a few of our top ideas – there are plenty more things you could do to reduce your office’s carbon footprint and save our wonderful planet.

1. Turn Everything Off Every Night

Although it may seem a little self-explanatory, it’s amazing how many people don’t turn everything off before leaving the office. It’s a good idea to get into the habit of switching off all electronics – including computers, printers, and routers – along with lights and heating devices before you leave the office. Doing so will save electricity, and therefore reduce your environmental footprint.

2. Create a Sustainable Office Policy

If you don’t already have some sort of recycling and environmental policy, you need one. It’s as simple as that. Not only will these documents help you reduce your environmental footprint and transform your office into something “greener”, but they will also help you ensure you’re not breaking any laws.

3. Avoid Single-Use Items

Single-use plastics and other items, including stationery, coffee cups, and a wide range of other common office equipment, are the leading cause of what is arguably the biggest modern environmental catastrophe – pollution. Reduce single-use plastic in your office, and you will be going a long way towards becoming a much greener operation.

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