It has not been a good year for anybody in terms of health, happiness, or just the general atmosphere in current events. A lot of businesses have experienced major challenges in the form of budget cutbacks, organization restructures, or business closures. Employee morale sure could use a boost as we enter the last quarter of the year and what could arguably be the busiest season for businesses, work-wise.
There is always room for improvement when it comes to creating a happier and healthier workplace. Businesses that promote health and well-being are reported to have more successful employees and have better employee retention in the long term. Improving the workplace can pose a challenge right now since there are still a good number of employees who are either working from home or working remotely. However, there are certain small changes that can be encouraged in order to create a healthier workplace be it at home or at the office.
Boost Team Health
A healthy team is a happy team. While it is not advisable for people to troop to the gym right now due to COVID-19 health advisories, we can still encourage employees to get fit. One good example is to subsidize or give corporate discounts for subscriptions to exercise apps or training apps. The DownDog app not only has yoga lessons but HIIT, Barre, 7 Minute Workout, and Prenatal Yoga as well. Other examples are Nike Training Club, Aaptiv, Lotus Yoga & Workout, Kettlebell Workouts by Fitify, and TRX. You can also hold your very own “Biggest Loser” competition as a (long-running) team building exercise. You can even create a virtual bulletin board for sharing healthy recipes.
Improve Efficiency
Check for areas where efficiency can be improved. You will find many but focus on those that have an impact on team morale. For example, are your Zoom meetings running too long? That would be a waste of resources (time, effort). Be sure to have an agenda before going into the meeting and stick to it. Don’t book it for longer than 45minutes and discuss only the essentials. Invite only the relevant stakeholders and then send copies of the summary to everyone else. Make small changes in the office, streamline your processes to avoid duplication of work or unnecessary costs.
Recognize Your Team’s Achievements
You’ll find out more about that in this article.
Career Planning
Make sure that career pathways are clear and developed. Make sure that career opportunities are available for your team. Otherwise, they will look for it elsewhere. Your team should have goals and milestones to achieve in order to feel that they are working towards a greater good. If there are no opportunities to progress or get promoted, then employees will feel unmotivated. Give them a chance to develop new skills or take on additional responsibilities to improve their status at work.
How do you improve the employee wellbeing while working from home? Share your tips with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!
Written by Jaie O. TheHelp