Office Essentials Checklist: Must-Have Items For A Productive Workspace

An efficient workspace makes all the difference when you want your team to become more productive. The biggest thing in creating a productive workspace is organizing and supplying it with essentials to allow employees to focus on their work without distractions.

However, most people underestimate or overestimate what they need to get their offices up and running, compromising productivity. For this reason, we have created this post of office essentials to save you from struggles in either case.

This handy checklist will equip you with must-have items so productivity can improve in your workplace. Again, it’s a practical checklist for those looking to set up a home office and workplace simultaneously.

Let’s get started!

1. Business or Custom folders

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We’ll start with storage solutions - nothing slows things down like shuffling through messy piles all day. So, get custom folders for your office to save time and keep your files tidy and safe.

When organizing important documents, custom printed folders are a must-have for keeping everything neat and professional, making it easier to stay productive in your workspace. Use a reliable service to print custom folders to benefit from this.

You can even color-code the folders by department, client, project, or other specifics to look for documents and files smoothly. Besides, quality folders protect necessary paperwork from damage over the long haul.

2. A Desk and Office Chair

The following essentials to include in your office are the desk and office chair. The number of desks and office chairs you require depends on where you work and the number of employees.

For example, a single desk and chair are enough if you’re the only one and probably working from home. Similarly, you can make a counter, flat surface work, or tables in a pinch if you have several employees or your space demands.

Regarding chairs, get comfortable and ergonomic ones to ensure that workers stay happy and focused without distractions of poor sitting.

3. Adequate Lighting

Another essential in improving productivity and a comfortable workspace is adequate lighting. That is especially true because no one wants to deal with eye strains and headaches from squinting in lighting, as that can significantly affect deliverables.

So, as you consider improving your office setup, prioritize adequate lighting. In short, install effective lighting systems that provide balanced lighting for all office users.

4. Writing Essentials

Your office isn’t complete without basic writing items like highlighters, erasers, markers, pencils, and pens because it’s normal to find yourself writing things in the office. If you don’t have such essentials, it can be challenging to outline ideas, brainstorm opinions, and take notes.

As such, ensure you have an ample supply of writing essentials in your office every day.

5. Communication Tools

Let’s face it: Is there a more important thing than effective communication in the office? Mind you, it’s in the office that every opinion, idea, and vision of a business originates before getting to employees and other stakeholders. So, it’s important to stock your office with essential communication tools like flip charts, presentation boards, markers, whiteboards, etc., to facilitate collaboration.

Additionally, they have a good supply of sticky notes and a reliable phone system to share information quickly, even when other members aren’t in the office.

For business communication shared by team, you could use a tool like Sociocs.

6. Technology

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Technology can mean many things when it comes to improving your office’s efficiency, which is why it’s essential. Gear up your office with technology that enables efficient collaboration within and out of the office.

Things like Wi-Fi routers, backup storage hard drives, power strips, and IT accessories are all excellent examples of technology tools you require in your office.

Other technology tools include office phones, projectors, printers, laptops, PCs, software, etc.

7. Safety tools

More often than not, thieves and burglars target offices when stealing in a business. The office often keeps all the valuable assets, including sensitive data and cash. So, office safes are significantly worth the investment to protect your office equipment and employees working from there from any safety risks.

Safety tools are usually burglar- and fire-resistant; investing in one can protect your office valuables against theft and fire.

8. Label Maker

A simple item like a label maker keeps everything organized by clearly marking folders, shelves, boxes, cables, and more. Tracking things is much easier when adequately labeled. Durable laminated labels prevent fading over time, so things stay findable.

9. Paper Shredder

Data security is an essential practice in any office. However, it doesn’t end with keeping vital documents safe; it also destroys them, when necessary, which is the work of a paper shredder.

Are you wondering when you can destroy your documents? A good example is when your confidential data falls into unauthorized hands and risks losing potential clients and legal disputes,

In such a scenario, you can use a paper order to destroy such documents to ensure that no one can reassemble the shredded documents.

10. Plants

Adding office plants boosts air quality, humidity, and employee happiness. According to research, natural elements like plants reduce stress and increase workplace satisfaction. This translates into higher engagement, creativity, productivity, and retention rates. Easy-care indoor plants include snake plants, pothos, and philodendrons.

Conclusion

Creating a fully-equipped office with this checklist allows your team to thrive. Properly outfitting your workspace removes barriers to productivity and sets employees up for success.

There is more to add to the checklist, but what we provided is enough for many offices to run. Besides, you can conduct an annual review to add missing items as needs evolve. The biggest thing is to ensure you invest in core office essentials to achieve an excellent return through higher performance.

Cover photo by ricardorv30 on Pixabay