Most of the candidates comes in with a carefully draft resume to provide the perfect summary of their work experience but you can’t get everything about them by simply going through from what they put down on paper. By asking this question, you get a sense of the candidate personality and character, rather than just their work experiences and accomplishments.

Many people have a tough time being truthful about how they left and felt of their last job. Pay close attention to candidates when they talk about their previous job. Whether they are focusing on negative aspects or more on the positive side by addressing their hopes for the future which will demonstrates their ethic and professionalism that are crucial for any roles.

This might sound harsh and difficult to the other party but the purpose of asking this question is to ensure that the candidate possesses self-awareness. More importantly is much like the biggest weakness question, the key thing here is learning what the takeaway was to help avoid recurrence.

A simple question as it may seems, but over 50% of the candidates fail to answer this question. This is to test a candidate’s attention to detail as well as the calmness during an important task because sometimes nervous and tension leads people to be oblivious to their surroundings, which can be critical and dangerous, especially for the jobs that requires crystal clear vision and mind.

Perhaps one of the best ways to end interview is to let the candidates to throw you some question, however, most of the candidates didn’t prepare any questions to the interviewer and always end up with funny question like “where’s the washroom? “or “can I have 3 hours lunch break? “ . Remember, the purpose of asking question is to gives the candidates a final opportunity to prove that they’re a good fit by showing the interviewer that they’re well prepared for the interview and put thought and effort into the interview.

Interview is your opportunity to get a feel for whether or not a candidate is qualified and if they could contribute positively to your organization. By asking insightful and adequate questions, employer get a better assess to candidate’s skill level and personality, which are the most important factors to consider when choosing a new hire.

Whether a weekend outing or a simple after work dinner, team building is important and will contribute to the overall high performance of the team as well as to have a team that is cohesively working together towards a common goal.

When employees say they want their voices to be heard, they meant by saying they want leaders who will not just hear them, but really listen to them. By giving full attention and focus on what others are saying, you can learn a lot more about employee’s problem and make a positive impact at work.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is not only important for health and relationships, but it can also improve your employee’s productivity, and ultimately performance. Always encourage employees to takes up some active life activities or allowing work flexible hours around their personal needs, this leads to greater staff loyalty and satisfaction levels.

Whether you’re a morning person or not, there seems to be a universal reluctance to greet people first thing. Saying hello might feel a little awkward at first, but it is actually appreciated by people more than you might think. So starts your day by greeting your team, a simple and yet free way of starting to break down barriers between you and your employees

Recognition can be tied to more than just performance. Celebrate strong effort when employees go above and beyond. This helps them develop emotional connections to the workplace that fuel future performance. Whether is in a formal way or just a simple gesture, all these can be meaningful, especially if they’re done in a timely and genuine way.

By fostering a positive work culture that encourages motivations and brings happiness to your team, your employees can become more invested in what your business creates. Always remember, pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work!

Upper arms must be comfortably placed parallel to your spine and your forearms and hands rested on the work surface while sitting at your desk. Adjust your office to a appropriate angle until your elbow bent at 90 degree angle. Placing your arms unusually high or low can place stresses on your shoulder joints and the upper back, causing pain.

Slumping, slouching, hunching and other poor positions are likely causing muscle fatigue and giving extra pressure to your neck and back. Change your position frequently to avoid muscle tire and take a 10mins break away from your desk to stretch, or a walk to pantry for a quick refreshment helps too !

With most of the office chair and work desk at the market now offers ergonomics feature, invest in a good furniture with adjustable features like height, armrest and back seat adjustment that will save you from back and neck discomfort.

While most of stay sitting at the desk for most of day , it can be tired with prolonged sitting hours . Ergonomically supported posture is critical to good spine health such as shifting forward to the edge of the seat with a straight back can alternate with sitting back against the support of the office chair to ease the work of back muscles. If you feel tired while sitting , is time to re-evaluate your position and switch to one that your body are well supported while you sit .

Having a suitable screen level and placing it in an appropriate height and position helps reduce exposure to forceful exertions, awkward postures, and overhead glare. Adjust the screen so it is level with your gaze.

While most of us spent 8 hours at working at our desk, it is important to start making these ergonomic adjustments to synchronize your work station, office chair, and your posture to help relieve unwanted stresses on your spine and other joints. Remember, a good and healthy posture leads to an ergonomics working environment that boost our efficiency, productivity and happiness at workplace.

MNC can offer their employees “more,” because of their mass resources for example higher in salaries, bonuses and some of them even subsidy or share a part of their employees’ insurance. MNC may also contribute more to employee training and not just internal training as well as outside professional development like sending employees to overseas conferences and training sessions so they can learn and develop new skills.

When you step foot in MNC , it’s like taking part in a machine that has been around for long time with clear-cut procedures in place to help you make decisions . With all the set training and policy guide around , you will get to learn all the things that you need to do know for your job scope .

Generally bigger the corporation, the more diverse it will be and with diversity in the workplace, employees can be beneficial from both a professional perspective. You’ll be meeting a broad range of people with hugely varied skillsets, and from a personal perspective, in that there’s a large pool of people to make friends with and mingle with.

MNC often have extra perks for employees, from subsidized gym memberships to social events. Plus the availability of good food, refreshments within the campus are specialties of MNCs that keep the spirit and momentum of the working team up at all time.

In small business, employees have to be in regular collaboration with colleagues from other departments while putting your hand at many different roles, which eventually beefs up different skill sets. For example, you might be working in the sales department of a start up, but in the time of leading up to a product launch, you could be participating with everything from research to design and maybe even , minor decision marking.

Unlike large corporations, your effort and success at small business can be seen by everyone and this makes you easier to distinguish yourself with others by achieving certain mileage at your company. By working at small company, your abilities and gain references and reputation can follow you for years and it’s also a great path way to higher up .

Working in a small company means having the ability to innovate in order to steal a march on rivals, given the level of competitiveness of the trading environment. Ideas are easily be heard and used at SME as there are less barrier and suppression from top , hence , people are tend to be more creative that generates more innovation ideas and perspective at their field of work .

Small company often have more flexibility in how projects are carried out as there isn’t as much bureaucracy, so ideas and projects can usually be implemented faster and efficiently. Small business can too offer flexibility, too, and many savvy small business owners dangle perks such as flexible scheduling and telecommuting opportunities to highly qualified workers to make up for lower salaries or smaller bonuses.

Regardless of MNC or SME , there are always pros and cons on the working culture . It’s always crucial to take into consideration the following which are your preferred working style, your career objectives, and the stage of life you’re at. After all, your preferences may vary at different stages of your career so it’s always important to seek out the organization that best matches those needs.

While many people “eat” their stress away during lunch which result into a “sluggish and grumpy” performance after lunch time . Take your lunch time as a break time , a healthy diet and refreshing drinks like fresh juice will keep you stay energetic and boost for the rest of day !

Spending 8 hours looking and working on the computer screen can leads to eye strain from too much blue light which cause fatigue and headaches. Hence, take a break and look away from the bluescreen for 10mins, even if it’s just for a few minutes, can really improve your emotional and your eyes wellbeing.

Trying to stay focus by 8 cups of coffee a day? Too much caffeine not only raise the chances of high blood pressure, but may also lead to artery stiffening. Therefore, try to cut down cup by cup and stay hydrated by like drinking at least half gallon of water per day to stay fresh and energized.

Too many papers and files on your desk ? Put a small green plant on your desk! This green little plant will not only brighten up the space but also add some oxygen, and could even improve your mood and according to study that found the colors blue and green can improve feelings of wellbeing and contentment.

Ask a small group if they’d be interested in grabbing drinks or food near the office. The casual environment will open the conversation to non-work stuff, and you’ll get to connect on a more human level. Remember, having a work friend can help relieve tension and make your entire day enjoyable and much productive.

The idea that you can beat yourself up during the work week and recover in a flurry of wellness pampering over the weekend is an all-too-common myth. By trying out a few easy steps, you can find a routine that works for you. Rebalance yourself with some self-care and watch your work and life improve dramatically. Stay healthy and be productive!

By offering better office benefits, such as wellness rooms, ergonomic seating and comfortable and cozy environment give a sense of home and harmony to all employees. Implementing these ideas as well as creating an environment they truly enjoy being in. Artwork, plants and ergonomic desk and chairs are a great way to start, adding comfort to what should now be a perfectly clean space.

Every business has their own over and never reaching goals. Involving all employees in the goal-setting process will be key to increasing efficiency at work. When employees have clear, tangible goals to work towards, it helps them prioritize what they need to focus in the coming month, quarter and year to come.

By organizing friendly team bonding activities, employees will become more comfortable with each other on a more fundamental and personal level and therefore ask for help when they’re struggling. Giving each team a budget for a short weekend get-away or setting up after-work events to kickstart a positive relationship between all of your employees. Remember, stress free and healthy employees lead to fewer sick days and much more productive.

An organization with too many meetings could be wasting both time and money, not to mention affecting employee’s emotion by creating the nonstop meeting madness. Hence, try investing at the right project management tools which will help eliminate the need for many meetings. Of course, there will always be a need for face-to-face meetings, but maybe not so many of them.

Simple gestures mean a lot. As simple as having an employee of the month and offering some kind of reward is a great way to motivate teams, especially during busy times. By giving recognition employee deserve will definitely boost the team or person spirit. The reward for employee could be anything from gift card to bonus in their next pay. Either way, this could give people the push needed to work harder, thus improving both motivation and productivity.

Remember, employee productivity and wellbeing are vital for your business and organization growth.  By keeping a team in good spirit and ever motivated mood, you will be amazed at how much more your team and business can grow, both in and out of the office.

Working from home enables more agility and flexibility in working arrangements. No longer tied to an office, workers may be better placed and more willing to work flexible hours such as earlier or later in the day or even at weekends, it’s all up to you as long as you the work done by due .

The average one-way commuting time in Malaysia is 30minutes, which equals to an hour each just to getting on and off to work. Ditching the time-wasting commute helps you support your mental wellness and physical health. Time savings from commute can allow you to focus on priorities outside of work, like getting extra rest after a long night working, spending more time with family, working out at gym, or eating a healthy breakfast.

The worst and most annoying issue at workplace, office politics. While you trying hard to finish project before due, your colleagues may busy gossiping and even worst , “backstabbing”. Working from home tend to skip the gossiping and posturing that happens in traditional work settings. And that’s like winning a jackpot for those who hate office politics, aren’t they?

Say goodbye to tie, suit, uniform and everything that makes you looks like a workplace robot. Just wrap yourself in a blanket and work from a comfy chair. (Over cozy will leads to lazy and reduce productivity, so don’t get too cozy too often!)

The savings can include everything from petrol or public transport costs that associated with your daily commute and through to saving on lunches and eating out after work .Since you are working from home, there will be no need of business attire, the biggest saving ever!

In conclusion, working from home can be beneficial for both mental and health wellness. If you’re self-motivated, adhere to a routine well, and enjoy minimal distractions, then working from home is definitely the right choice for you.

One of the fundamental of business is communication. While the world has gone under lock down during the pandemic, collaboration in a fully remote environment definitely looks a little different, but it can still be effective with a little effort. With the reduce of face-to-face meeting or roundtable discussion, employees will need to know how to communicate with each other especially as many are beginning to work asynchronous hours in order to balance their responsibilities at home and at work.

As part of workers back to workplaces, employers must carefully consider if their workplace has super spreader potential. Pre-pandemic cleaning routines are unlikely to pass muster in a post Covid 19 world. Workplaces might in fact become extremely vulnerable to poor hygiene and cleanliness and it is this potential that needs to be met with vigilant health and safety strategies by employers.

Work from home have significant control over workplace, in the sense of social distancing. However, at an office or store, it is difficult to control other people. In the workplace, social distancing has many natural and practical constraints which makes practicing social distancing difficult and sometimes almost impossible

The risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace depends on the likelihood of coming within 1 metre of others, in having frequent physical contact with people who may be infected with COVID-19, and through contact with contaminated surfaces and objects. Employers should adopt infection prevention and control strategies based on a thorough workplace hazard assessment, using appropriate administrative controls and safe work practices.

Employees who do not have the tools and resources to work effectively outside of the corporate office may face challenges with maintaining normal productivity levels. Even if employees are able to be in the office, the heightened distraction and anxiety caused by coronavirus may reduce productivity.

Workers might feel like relaxing into a return to offices, however, employers must maintain a constant focus on workplace hygiene and cleanliness in the post-COVID world by delivering a modern empathetic workspace. Whoever can manage to deliver a seamless employee and workspace experience will find success in this post pandemic era.

Ambient Concept, a subsidiary of AM Office, brings 23 years of office furnishing experience from its parent company into its professional services. We work with in-house or partner interior designers to plan and build workplaces based on each company’s unique requirements. We also outfit offices with superior quality built-ins and furniture while managing the entire project to meet the organisation’s budget and timeline.

Our products and services include:

• Architectural interior works– Walls, flooring, ceiling, and built-in furniture
• Furnishing – Seating, desks, and cubicle systems
• Installations – Curtains, blinds, handrails, windows, and doors
• Mechanical – Air conditioning system, hot & cold plumbing system, sanitary installation, fire protection system, medical gas and pneumatic system
• Electrical – Electrical wiring & fitting, card access control, CCTV, PA system, nurse call system

Placing a pillow to fill that gap between your back and the chair, not having enough drawers for your papers, and crowding around your colleague’s desk for a quick discussion just don’t cut it anymore.

Instead of making the furniture work, we make furniture that works for you. Using our years of experience, knowledge, and feedback from clients, we manufacture and import quality furniture that suits the needs of the modern worker. Ergonomic task chairs, space-efficient cluster tables, and panel systems that enable interaction and privacy – if you can think it, we have it.

We work closely with interior designers, architects, and property developers for office furniture and interior design. We do this by recommending solutions for your client’s or target market’s needs, then provide you with desks, storage, and panel systems that match those needs best.

Our portfolio also includes organisations from the healthcare, education, public, and commercial sectors. Having serviced hospitals, universities, multinational corporations, and even the national zoo, we understand that each workplace is unique, and we treat them as so.

As a result, our consultants and partnered designers listen carefully to every client’s budget, space, and work process expectations to come up with customised solutions. This includes layout planning and furniture curation that will ensure maximum workplace productivity and comfort. Check out our list of clients which include the likes of Gleneagles Hospital, Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care, and Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB).

Our tagline is more than a marketing phrase, it’s actually what we do. When it comes to office furniture solutions and office interior design, all you have to do is tell us what you need, and we’ll take it from there.

Here’s how it works:

We pride ourselves on impeccable client and customer servicing, before and after the sale.

• Consultation, layout planning, quotation proposal, and site measurement.
• Free delivery within Klang Valley for orders above RM200.
• Product warranties on most of our catalogue.
• A professional support team that’s happy to take your questions and feedback.

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Interested in our products or services? Drop us a message here.

Ergonomics at the workplace is all about designing workstations and furniture that support the individual who uses those things.
Modern office design is so much more than just creating places to work, it’s about enabling productive, quality work by providing the best work environment for employees.

Today’s working styles have created unique health problems such as hunched postures from leaning into the work desk, shoulder and back aches from insufficient arm and lumbar support, and neck pains from incorrect desktop screen heights. These health problems affect employees’ well beings and resulting morale, productivity, and efficiency.

Thoughtful ergonomic office design can improve all of these and create a company culture that’s supportive, inviting, and engaging.
Furthermore, modern companies adopting practices like flexible seating, stand-up meetings, and bring-your-own device need to design offices that enable them. Arguably then, one of the most important features of a modern office is adjustable, ergonomic furniture.

With the proliferation of startups along with their Gen-Y and Gen-Z employees, open plan offices are a popular choice. These offices are characterised by their lack of cubicles and partitions. Desks are arranged in rows or clusters in an open area.

Who it’s for: Fast paced and flat hierarchy organisations like startups and tech companies.

Advantages: The lack of barriers between employees enable communication. This means that decisions get made faster, resulting in prompt action and increased work efficiency.

The open plan office is also more affordable, as there are no partitions or rooms to build. This way, natural lighting can stream through the entire office and fewer artificial lighting and air conditioners are needed.

Common design mistakes: Not having enough meeting rooms or private pods. Many Malaysian startup offices have vibrant open layouts which are noisy, distracting, and lack privacy . While open communications allow for efficient work, employees still need quiet and private booths and rooms to make calls and hold discussions.

Traditional offices with private rooms for every single employee are the antithesis of the open plan office. At such offices, every employee has their own room from which they work and meet clients.

Who it’s for: People who do confidential work or who have frequent one-on-one meetings with clients like legal firms and healthcare professionals.

Advantages: Employees have their own rooms which they can arrange, decorate, and furnish according to their professional and personal needs. Privacy, quietness, and focus are the main advantages of such workspaces.

Common design mistakes: Private rooms see employees working in isolation. As such, meeting rooms, pantries, and halls should be added to enable collaboration and interaction. Additionally, pantries and hallways should have inviting designs where people can hold casual conversations, have coffee breaks, and exchange ideas with colleagues or even clients.

Another common office design are desks that are designated within cubicles. These can come in quads where cubicles are arranged in a two by two layout, or row design where cubicles are arranged horizontally across the room.

Who it’s for: Big organisations with individuals or teams who require some privacy like banks, telemarketing companies, and auditing firms.

Advantages: On the privacy-collaboration spectrum, cubicles are a good middle ground. They enable quick and open communication while offering privacy and mitigating distraction for focused work, phone calls, and sensitive documents.

Common design mistakes: Avoid arbitrary seating arrangements. For example, a company might place all its operations teams on one floor and sales teams on another. While this makes sense in an organisation chart, it inhibits workflow. For example, client managers from the operations team need to work closely with the sales team, so it’s best to arrange seating according to workflow. Fitting too many cubicles into a small space is another common design error. It results in narrow walkways, a noisy environment, and clutter.

With cubicles or not, the basis of the team-based office layout is grouping teams into clusters and designated zones in the office to ease communication and workflow.

Who it’s for: Organisations with multiple teams that have very different roles, or teams that hold a lot of internal discussions. Examples: advertising agencies and corporate companies.

Advantages: Enables communications within teams while people with similar roles and work needs get to use the same space.

Common design mistakes: Neglecting the importance of having meeting rooms and private booths on the assumption that the people who need to work together already sit together. Dedicated spaces for grouping like meeting rooms and dining areas are important to foster communication and boost social interaction between employees.

Co-working spaces are third party office providers who offer a range of workspaces for individuals and organisations. These include individual desk rentals, office suites, and even whole office floors for larger companies.

Image credit: commonground.work

Who it’s for: Freelancers, startups, small companies without office capital, and large companies who enjoy state-of-the-art facilities.

Advantages: The best facilities such as premium printers which are maintained by the co-working space providers, well-equipped rest areas, and a never-ending supply of refreshments. As co-working spaces cater to individuals, small groups, and even large companies, they usually have a wide range of workspaces for different working styles and functions. These include phone booths, small meeting rooms, event halls, office suites, and more.

Common design mistakes: Inadequate privacy and security measures. In a shared office space, privacy and security are paramount. This might mean installing lockers, locked storage spaces, and individual card access to different areas in the building.

Choosing the wrong office layout results in a loss of productivity, low employee morale, and a high turnover rate, all of which are costly to the company. That’s why it’s important to hire the workspace planning professionals at Ambient Concept.

We work with interior designers, architects, and corporate representatives to design customised offices that fit your needs. We also manage the project from start to finish, providing all your building, installation, and furnishing needs so you won’t have to search for, hire, and coordinate with a dozen contractors at once.

Moreover, whatever your furnishing needs, we’ve got you. As a subsidiary of AM Office with 23 years of experience in the office furnishing industry, we outfit workspaces with self-manufactured or imported furniture of premium quality.

Contact us now!