by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: March 22, 2009

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all get up in the morning and be thrilled that we are going to work. It would be so nice to say, "I love my job, it's such a great place to work." Unfortunately, it rarely happens that way. Most people will drag themselves out of bed every morning, prying the toothpicks between their eyelids and grumping and groaning about having to go into "that place".

Everyone has a different ideal working environment in his or her mind. There are some things that nearly everyone will agree on though. Here are some examples of the things that would make an ideal workplace:

Four-Day Work Week

Everyone would love to work less than the five-day workweek. This may mean longer workdays, but most people would be more than willing to do that and have that extra day off. In fact, many companies practice this type of workweek. It works wonderfully for the employee and the management. The employees are much happier knowing that they have one less day to wake up early. When employees are happy they are more productive. When they are more productive, the management is happy. Everyone goes away a winner.

Management

It would make it a far better place to work if those in management positions had to first work at the ground level. You should not be allowed to work as management over jobs that you have never performed. If everyone in management had to work in the positions that they "rule" over, they would understand the employees better and have a better idea of what the job really entails.

Appreciation

The most perfect working environment cannot be complete with the appreciation of co-worker for co-worker, boss to employee and employee to boss. Being shown appreciation for a job well done makes you feel valuable no matter who you are. This type of support from the people that you spend more time with than your own family goes a long way to help the days run more smoothly.

True Teamwork

Many companies will boast that their employees have great team work. What this often amounts to though is one person taking on more of the workload because of other employees who are being lazy. That is the person that often gets left without any help from their co-workers in their time of need. This creates a very hostile atmosphere rather then the "teamwork" atmosphere that the company would have the outside world believe is there.

Toilet Paper/Paper Towels

How many times do you go into the bathroom at work to find that there is no toilet paper or paper towels? This can hold true for nearly any of the office supplies that should be in the closet. It would be wonderful if your workplace kept all items well stocked. Rather than do that, employees often find that supplies are short. This includes much needed items that you must have to complete you job. The ideal workplace would have the items necessary to make the business run smoothly. There should also be basic supplies in the bathrooms because it only makes sense.

Employees Aplenty

We are living in a time of great financial hardships for everyone. Business' are not excluded from the hit the economy has placed on everyone. This leads to less workers in a place that has already overburdened their employees. This leads to more unnecessary stress than one person should have to handle. It would be wonderful to see enough employees being hired to complete the workload.

These are just a few examples that would help make any workplace the ideal environment. It would be wonderful if more companies put thought into what the employees need rather than trying to save money at every twist and turn. After all, if you have unhappy employees, you have a business that is sure to fail in the end.

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