At TPR GROUP 9-5 is 'Happy Hour'

Imagine a company in this tough economic climate whose sole focus is on happiness and wellbeing for businesses doing it tough. The assumption that happiness and productivity go together seems hard to contest. Common sense suggests that psychologically healthy (as opposed to complacent) workers with a smile outshine the grouches.

Support for that view comes from a raft of research including a Kansas State University study that surfaced earlier this year, which found that staff with high wellbeing make better decisions, show superior interpersonal skills and are less inclined to quit.

That’s the philosophy of TPR GROUP who provide a range of healthy office solutions and products to create a happy and productive office environment for their clients. Originally conceived as an indoor plant hire company more than 30 years ago when owner Stuart Swaddling had the foresight to bring ‘green’ indoors, the company has evolved in recent times to provide a suite of services that deliver happiness and wellbeing to its clients.

“We like to say at TPR GROUP that we’ve undergone a transformation, a happiness and wellbeing transformation! We help people feel connected to nature by providing everything from soothing water features, aquariums, living plants, eco-friendly heaters, sculptures and artvases to providing healthy office solutions with the revolutionary technology product Microbe Shield Treatment (MST) that literally stops cross contamination on surfaces at work”, said Stuart Swaddling.

This is a particularly important service for businesses when research by international recruitment firm Robert Half found that the economic downturn is placing increased pressure on employees to the point that one in two workers (52 per cent) frequently come to work when they are sick. Nearly half those surveyed said they avoid taking sick days because they don’t want to be labeled as ‘slackers’. However 45% of those people who turned up feared that if they stay away too long on sick leave, they could be sacked. “If ill employees present to work ill, germs are spread person to person within the office and this has a dramatic affect on productivity”, says Stuart Swaddling.

It is a fact that most people touch up to 132 touch points a day so you can imagine the bugs that are passed from person to person through phones, computer mouses, door handles and railings etc. Note: Some bacteria can live for up to 72 hours on surfaces.

Today, TPR GROUP is a network of some 35 franchisees nationwide and growing, many of whom have been in the business for over ten years. Most work less than 30 hours a week, and have extra time for their families and recreation too. “That’s part of our happy culture. It is important that we make time for our families and recreational pursuits, to aid lifestyle balance,” says Stuart Swaddling.

This is embedded in the organisation’s culture. TPR GROUP regularly hosts ‘happy activities’: laughter yoga for franchisees; ‘Wollemi Club’ weekends away for franchisees and office staff with their families; optimism tools for franchisees to help them on ‘happy day sales calls’ and even a happy board where staff and visitors write a ‘happy’ message before leaving the office. The organisation always celebrates the arrival of a new franchisee into the system, part of the reason that many franchisees are attracted through friends and family. Even TPR GROUP’s customer newsletter is called “Happiness and Wellbeing @ Work = Productivity”. Staff at Head Office share lunchtimes together every day as a group and Friday afternoons are sacred for coming together as a team at 3.30pm, to celebrate the past week with a drink.

According to Stuart Swaddling, happiness is not just an elusive word but a critical component in producing a productive working environment, particularly when the pressure is on.

This is supported by Harvard Business School Research, which indicates workers in a good mood on any given day are more likely to have creative ideas that day and the next. A positive cognitive process sets in, parking ‘flexible, fluent and original thinking’. One way to promote a ‘feel good’ glow in the workplace is for bosses to ensure the environment is anchored in ‘nature’. It makes people feel grounded even when the going gets tough.

It is well documented that employees who are constantly under pressure are more likely to have workplace related stress difficulties even sometimes resulting in clinical depression. Tools to assist reduce workplace stress include introducing time-out breaks, exercise activity and of course getting close to nature.

“Bringing ‘green’ indoors is critical to this. Every employee should have a green living plant within their eyesight and preferably one on their desk too, to help them identify with nature and assist in staying grounded on difficult days. It is not an added cost but really a necessity to ensure absenteeism and workplace stress does not over-run your organization and affect productivity”, says Stuart.

TPR GROUP helps businesses maximise their productivity through providing a range of indoor plant hire services to some 2000 customers big and small around Australia who understand the critical need to not only provide the right ‘mood working environment’ for their staff, but also the importance of detoxing the working environment with ‘green solutions’ as well.

Much has been written about ‘toxic workplaces’ in the sense of bitter staff, however offices can get toxic in a physical sense too. Computing equipment, floor coverings, paint and wallpaper emit volatile organic compounds that pollute the indoor climate. The potential result: fatigue, stress related illnesses, sore eyes, headaches, skin complaints and more. Indoor plants help to alleviate these potential health hazards. More than just visually soothing, plants promote a healthier and happier indoor climate through two biological processes. Firstly, just like people, when plants breathe, they emit water vapour back into the air. Secondly, they absorb heat and filter dust and harmful substances. Workcover Authority of NSW recommends that plants be used in the workplace to help alleviate characteristics of Sick Building Syndrome. You need only one plant for each 10sq.metres.

ENDS

Released July 28, 209

For further Information

Contact: Kathie Melocco

0448 881 516