Employee productivity is essential for any business. Yet during the winter can cause morale to plummet for various reasons. So here are a few tips to help your employees through winter.
Try moving office furniture around
The winter slowdown can also be a useful time to change things up at work. For instance, you might want to change the way your office is set up so that workers are near strong sources of natural sunlight. There are also more efficient layouts for meeting rooms so that your message has more of an impact. This can help people think of new ideas and be more creative. You can also change where people are sitting so that they can interact with each other more for support.
Don’t waste time with unnecessary meetings
In addition to making a meeting space that works better, you can try not to waste time with meetings. Meetings are often called for no reason. So much so that 50% of employees think this. Meetings keep people from doing their jobs, which means they have less time for deadlines. Also, they can be dull. And now that there are more ways to work together and talk to each other than ever before, calling meetings can be a huge waste of everyone’s time.
Boost employee productivity with movement
In the winter, it’s hard to sit at a desk all day when you just want to get cosy at home. Studies have shown that getting out of your office chair every now and then boosts energy and improves blood flow. So you can help by asking your workers to move around more than usual. For instance, you can have them hold meetings while walking and talking, upgrade the office with standing desks, or encourage your employees to do some light exercise or yoga during breaks.
Allow more breaks than usual
During the winter, most people just want to stay at their desks and get all of their work done so they can go home. But that’s not always the best way to do things. Instead, tell your workers to take breaks, even if it’s only for a few minutes, throughout the day. Taking a break from their project will help people to clear their minds. So, when they get back to it, they will feel ready to power through once more. And it can help with repetitive strain injuries to muscles and eyes.
Consider support for SAD
Some people have a hard time with their mental health in the winter. So it’s important to give your employees more help during this time of year. Now is a good time to start a program that helps with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also called “the winter blues.” About 20% of the population has SAD. And for some, it can be just as bad as being told they have depression. Support for mental health and advice from a doctor about vitamin deficiency can help with this.
Summary
It is challenging to boost employee productivity during winter. However, you can rearrange office furniture, encourage exercise at work and offer support for seasonal affective disorder.
