So it’s January, the festive period is well and truly behind us and some people are left with tighter waistlines and lighter bank accounts, the festivities have finished and everyone is back to reality with a bang. It comes as no surprise that your employees may not be feeling their very best, with most adopting the dreaded ‘January Blues.’ However, it doesn’t all have to be doom and gloom, make an impact with your employees and bring positivity to your workplace this January with these tips:
Employee recognition:
One of the vital aspects for motivating your employees is giving them recognition for their hard work. Acknowledging employees for this will make them feel more valued, while also encouraging them to continue working efficiently. Not only this but saying those two words will increase customer loyalty and overall workforce productivity. It is a good idea to develop an online recognition platform for employees. This will enable you to reward each employee individually for their achievements and this will increase your interaction with your workers.
Create a positive atmosphere:
By generating an optimistic energy in the office, you will increase employee performance and morale. A negative atmosphere in the office will curb creativity and reduce new ideas which will result in a negative start to your company’s new year. As the leader it's up to you to kick this off with a good attitude. A positive attitude will have a ripple effect on your team. Also why not organise some events? Just because it’s January doesn’t mean that the events have to completely come to a halt, organising different team building events or work dinners will give employees something to look forward to.
The third Monday of January has been named ‘Blue Monday,’ the most depressing day of the year. So to wash away the blues on this day organise a working lunch or after work drinks, this will help to keep spirits up. It may not have the same atmosphere as a Friday afternoon but it will help with the aim of a positive atmosphere.
It’s also important to introduce an ‘open door’ policy in your office, if your team feels they can approach you about anything then they will get to know you better, therefore your working relationships will improve. This will also avoid any problems that could occur if employees tried to resolve it themselves.
Help workers with their New Year resolutions:
There are a wide variety of resolutions people choose, to start a new sport, travel more and most this most common one, which is to lose weight. So it is likely that most of your workers will be aiming for this after the Christmas period. Investing in workplace wellbeing is beneficial and will enhance your teams drive. Offering yoga or work-out classes during lunch, free fruit and bottles of water will be greatly appreciated and helps to get the New Year off to a good start.
Change it up a bit:
Bring something new to your workplace so as to bring significance to the New Year. Asking employees to work on different projects will mix it up a bit for them and asking your team to give you any ideas for updating the business routine will help with creativity. Holding a ‘welcome back’ meeting with everyone will get the energy flowing again and will also allow you to ensure that everyone is aware of their aims and objectives and what they have to do in order to achieve them.
Offer running money saving schemes:
For many people in January it’s a time for people to tighten their purse strings and budget themselves. So as an added benefit for your workforce, you should consider running money saving schemes. This would be holding a percentage of your workers salary and offering an amount of interest on this. Agree with your team when the money will be released, maybe during birthdays or the Christmas holidays. This will take some financial stress off employees and create a more relaxed working environment.
Help the work-life balance:
After Christmas is a time when many employees will start to re-evaluate their work-life balance. Offering employees some flexible working hours or the option to work a couple of days a week at home will improve motivation, while also increasing the rate of employee loyalty. Making sure that employees take a couple of breaks throughout the day and have their lunch away from their desk will help their productivity.
By following these top tips you will ensure that your employees will get the new working year off to a fresh new start, banishing any ‘January blues’ before they have the chance to become ‘February blues.’
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