This is a guest post by Evan Zhao from Phyxable. Learn more about Phyxable’s world class practitioners and virtual physiotherapy options. Phyxable solutions can also be found in the CloudAdvisors Solution Marketplace.
Workplace wellness and employee productivity have remained top of mind for most employers over the past year. As has become obvious, a mentally healthy workforce is a key element in ensuring the success of your business operations and employee productivity. Unfortunately, supporting the mental wellbeing and physical health of remote staff members has proved to be an ongoing challenge for organizations impacted by the pandemic.
Changing Workplace Dynamics
Though employees have largely adapted to working from home and have accepted the associated challenges, corporations will need to continue developing strategies that fit with new developments in workplace dynamics. Organizations must be cognisant of ongoing changes to their workplace, and adopt strategies to support both employees and management.
Going forward, organizations will likely begin to observe resistance in returning to the office. One study found 54% of employees would leave their job for one that offered a flexible or remote work arrangement. Organizations may also observe a mismatch between knowledge and required tasks, home environments that are poorly set up for work, a greater necessity to support employee social wellbeing, and a sharp decline in productivity tied to worsened mental health.
Supporting Management & HR
Though often overlooked, management and HR teams have found themselves in an equally difficult position over the last year. Largely, organizational leadership has been expected to adapt easily to managing a workforce at home. With no extra support systems or training in place, the mental health of management has been on the decline as job stress continues to rise.
Leaders should be encouraged to seek out training for themselves and their managers to make sure they’re properly equipped to support the mental health of employees, in addition to their own. Managers are not exempt from the difficulties of the pandemic, or the adaptability demanded by remote work, and therefore should not be treated as such.
Promote Productivity
Employee productivity is a measurement used to define the amount of work or output produced by a certain employee in a given period of time. It gives managers an idea of how efficient an employee is at a specific task or assignment. A recent study done by Hubspot found that office workers spend 28% of their day on unnecessary distractions. That’s more than a quarter of their day!
Your employee’s productivity is the bottom line for the success of your business. Now more than ever in the remote workforce, managers need to identify any distractions or potential obstacles their team may be facing during the work day, with mental health at the forefront. Here are 5 strategies you can use to promote productivity within your workplace:
1. Staying Connected Online
Communication is key! A great way to promote productivity in the workplace is to keep track of what other team members are doing. Managers should invest in remote communication and train employees to use tools such as Microsoft teams, slack, etc. to give frequent updates on anything they’re working on throughout the day.
2. Promote Virtual Team Building Exercises
Effective teamwork is essential when completing projects and tasks as a group. Employees need to feel that they are a part of a team in order to be engaged and ultimately productive. Virtual team building exercises can be a great way to create meaningful connections with other members in an environment where they will rarely meet face to face.
Some Exercises You Can Use:
- Celebrating special occasions, holidays
- Four facts and a fib
- Lost at sea
- Online lunch dates
- Scrabble scramble
Learn more about these activities here and how to pick the right virtual activities for your team.
3. Recognize and Show Your Appreciation
Acknowledging your employees within a virtual setting can be a tough one to handle. Employees want to feel valued and working remotely makes it difficult to show your appreciation. Staff meetings can be a great way to recognize employees for their accomplishments. Managers should find out what kind of appreciation fits best for each individual team member. If all else fails, giving a simple thank you and letting them know that you recognize their efforts will instill that they’re valued and appreciated
4. Embrace Flexibility
Consider implementing an internal marketplace where employees can trade in points for benefits. HR managers can use these marketplaces to give employees the opportunity to make decisions on how they want to be compensated. Giving your employees the chance to choose benefits that fit their personal situations best will facilitate trust and valuation in your relationship, ultimately leading to a more engaged and productive team.
5. Virtual Health and Wellness Apps
A great way to increase employee productivity is to focus on their wellness and physical health outside the office. New mobile health apps and virtual health have allowed users to track, monitor, and diagnose health problems online. Phyxable is an engaging platform you can use to provide your employees with a way to recover from any health problems through pain recovery and performance enhancing programs, both on a physical and mental level. Use the referral code CLOUDPHYX during signup to get access to the entire platform for 1 month. Get started here.
