It takes a certain amount of courage to establish a startup — and a lot of money. In a startup, unless you have a lot of outside investment or capital, chances are you’re cash poor or strapped for cash all around.
As a startup, you most likely spend your capital on marketing, research and development, and overhead costs. You probably also spend a considerable amount of money on your workforce.
There’s no doubt that your workforce can make or break your company. Making sure that they’re skilled and productive is paramount to the success of your business.
So how can you help increase your employees’ productivity?
Workplace Culture and Employee Job Satisfaction
Happy employees may have improved job performance. The chances of them going above and beyond also increase.
However, when you’re running a startup company, employees may often wear many hats, leading to them feeling overwhelmed or burnt out. Even if they’re only handling the responsibilities of one job, the workload may still be such that they feel completely stressed out by the end of the day.
Workplace culture can greatly impact an employee’s job satisfaction and their resulting productivity. Adding break rooms and even game rooms with things like ping pong tables can help improve workplace culture and the overall work environment.
How Can Ping Pong Help?
Many startups and even large companies (in and out of the technology field) have ping pong tables at their offices. However, the ping pong tables aren’t just there for fun. Having a table or two at the office benefits employees and helps recruit new employees.
Ping pong is a brain sport that engages and challenges its players. The sport stimulates creativity and strategic thinking, which can be quite beneficial for employees who need to solve problems and develop ideas.
This sport requires little space and can be played by practically any age and by one to four people at a time.
Ping pong offers quick matches so that employees can play a short pick-up game during their breaks. The best part is that benefits are felt even from just 15-20 minutes of play.
Health Benefits of Ping Pong
Table tennis as a sport can provide its players with many physical and mental health benefits that can help them at work and beyond.
- Improved gross and fine motor functions
- Enhanced long term memory
- Improved reflexes and reduced risk of injury
- Cardiovascular exercise and potential weight loss
- Reduced stress and frustration
Benefits of Ping Pong for Your Business
With ping pong, employees can work off stress and frustrations, improving their moods. The sport also helps them socialize, which can be important at a startup to help build camaraderie and enhance the workplace culture.
Ping pong requires plenty of focus and can help employees boost their concentration throughout their workday. Not only does this lead to improved productivity, but it can also lead to many aha! Moments since the sport encourage innovative thinking.
When employees play ping pong, they may also find their patience and discipline increasing over time — both things that can help in a startup environment.
Choosing a Ping Pong Table
When you’re choosing a ping pong table, there are a few things that you can keep in mind:
- Your budget will dictate what sort of tables you can choose from.
- Consider the amount of space you have so you know what size of table you need.
- Consider whether you want a table that allows one side to fold up for solo play.
- Do you need a portable table?
You can also think about whether you want an indoor or outdoor ping pong table. Both provide the same benefits, though indoor tables are not at the mercy of the weather. At the same time, outdoor tables do benefit from allowing employees to spend some time out in the sun and get some fresh air to clear their heads.
Ping Pong Might Just Be a Justifiable Investment
Although workplace culture might not seem like the highest priority, your employees’ happiness and job satisfaction can make a huge difference in your success. High job satisfaction increases employee loyalty and retention, which are both things that are important when you’re running a startup company!
