Privacy is not only a personal concern. It is also something that should be protected in the setting of a workplace.
When employees have a sufficient amount of privacy in the office, they can comfortably accomplish their tasks. It provides a sense of control over their work area, too. These factors can then allow for better concentration on what they need to do for the day.
Approach workplace privacy with the mindset that it is not only for protecting information, although this is equally important. Privacy is also an important part of boosting employee productivity. Apply these simple solutions in your office to promote worker privacy and also protect your documents.
Improving Privacy in the Physical Workplace
When considering the privacy of the physical aspects of your business, you are not just looking at the office environment. You also want to maintain privacy for other assets, such as customer information, physical documents, and transportation.
Keep it tinted.
Tint the windows and clear walls in your workplace. This easily provides an air of privacy for your office’s different areas while also keeping a better atmosphere overall. Employees would not want to work in an office that makes them feel like they are being watched from the clear glass, after all.
This isn’t only limited to your office walls. If you have an office car or service, tint its windows, too. Aside from privacy, tint adds a layer of safety for your assets. High-quality tints can block UV rays from the sun and maintain temperature well.
Put up partitions.
You want to enable employees to work on their own. Partitions remove distractions and encourage better focus. They also encourage a quiet atmosphere that is more conducive to work.
Due to the pandemic, they have an even more essential function of keeping people physically distanced from each other. By putting up partitions between cubicles and different rooms, you help instruct on-site employees to maintain safe distances.
Mind the acoustics.
Putting up dividers will not solve all your workplace privacy concerns. There is also the issue of workplace acoustics. Think of this: a well-divided workplace remains unideal if you can still hear everything everyone else is doing in your cubicle.
There are three strategies for dealing with workplace acoustics: absorption, blocking, and covering.
You can use sound-absorbing panels for walls and ceilings while the partitions and walls themselves block sound from carrying over to other rooms. Cover noisy equipment or office furniture by simply installing cushions or fabrics that reduce noise, especially when they are moved around.
Systemize storage of physical customer documents.
Every business collects and handles customer-provided information regularly. If your workplace keeps physical records of customer documents and transactions, make sure you store them somewhere only authorized workers can access them.
Devise a system from the get-go of storing these, whether it is alphabetically by surname, color-coded categories, or another method that applies to your business.
Protecting Digital Data
Since so much of working occurs in the digital space in today’s world, digital privacy is also a concern for businesses. In addition to respecting the data you receive from customers, digital privacy is also a legal responsibility.
Develop a data privacy policy.
A data privacy policy is a notice to consumers on how you collect information, what you collect, and what you do with it. Since so many transactions take place online, this is a vital part of your business today. If ever your policies change at any point, make sure to inform your customers ahead of time.
Allow consumers to make decisions.
That is, explicitly ask for consent when collecting, storing, or sharing consumer information. They should also have an opt-out option should the time come when they want to withdraw their consent.
Apply cybersecurity measures.
Do you store data in the cloud? Do you send to and receive emails from partners, suppliers, and customers? Then it should be a regular practice to have strong cybersecurity measures in place.
This should include a secure office Wi-Fi connection, firewalls, and antivirus software. You should also encrypt emails and secure office chats via platforms with end-to-end encryption. Make it a requirement for office workers to follow your privacy protocols.
Privacy Makes for Better Business
When your business includes privacy in its priorities, employees can work better and faster, trusting that their personal privacy is being safeguarded. You are also able to prevent data theft and losses that are caused by poor privacy protocols. These, overall, allow your business to operate smoothly.