Surviving Winter Blues
Tis the season to shine!
It’s been a long winter. Spring feels a long way off. Reaching summer seems impossible. The skies are grey. Oomph is in scant supply. So, at this time of year how can you brush away those winter blues and motivate your employees with a dash of happiness and a little bit of cheering up? Sometimes the simplest of changes can have significant effects.
Think “Spring Clean”
It sounds too obvious but just having an early tidy up can raise the tired morale in your workplace from its hibernation. A good clean can remind everyone that Spring is close, and can create a fresh attitude as well as a fresh office. Don’t just rearrange things either; get rid of old files and paperwork. Bring in newer, brighter things– out with the old and in with the new!
I like to move it. Move it!
When trying to uplift the mood, a little exercise goes a long way; releasing feel-good endorphins and improving productivity. If you can, encourage your workers to step outside and enjoy the naturally uplifting, mood-enhancing benefits of sunlight. If you can’t step out, encourage your crew to take laps around the office. Make it fun – create a contest and reward the highest weekly number of steps.
Let the outdoors indoors
Long hours of darkness create a monotonous sense of dreariness. Throw open the blinds to let in the daylight. Less sometimes actually is less, so spruce up your lean, sparse office and enrich your work landscape. Invest in some flowers or leafy plants to brighten up the work environment; to increase employee’s levels of happiness and even reduce stress. (You could also enjoy productivity gains of up to 15%!)
Tune!
The mood-lifting benefits of music have been studied extensively. One study concludes that creativity is improved when light music is played in the background. Repetitive, monotonous tasks become less so. Performance improves. Interestingly, loud music has the opposite effect. Loud music can stifle creativity, affect concentration and hinder productivity.
Share the bigger picture
Employees are more likely to follow a leader when they know which direction they’re going in. It’s not about giving orders. Rather it’s about sharing your view on the company direction, your hopes for, and concerns about the business and how your employees fit into that picture. Sharing this information lets employees know your hopes and aspirations, and involves them in the success of the business. Remember to share company successes too.
Let them try
Involve your team in how-would-you-do-it discussions. Ask them for ideas about how they’d run the business. Ask them to try bigger thinking than they’re normally tasked to do. Expose them to as much of the business as possible. Challenge them and stimulate them even if they haven’t had specific training for the challenge.
Get in touch
Drop us a line if you’d like to find out more about how you & your employees can survive the winter blues and get that spring back in your step.
