Over the winter months, it’s no secret that worker productivity can fall as the nights draw in, temperatures drop, and thoughts of the festivities are at the back of everyone’s mind and when the festivities are over, you always get a slight drop in morale as staff prepare for the year ahead. Anticipating this drop in morale and productivity is advantageous for businesses as they can start discussing options with their staff and introducing processes that help keep staff happy, active and motivated in their work, even after Christmas has been.
Winter blues may be a term that is loosely thrown around at this time of year, however, there is more truth in the statement than many realise, with as much as 20% or 1 in 3, individuals suffering from a mild form of SAD or seasonal affective disorder. Combined with the number of people who can’t follow or break their New Year’s resolutions within the first couple of weeks of the new year and moods soon fall to their lowest.
Here is some great advice to discuss with your teams and protect your hard-working staff from getting hit by “winter blues” this cold season;
Introduce Physical Activity
Not only great for preventing the cold setting in to your muscles and bones, physical activity encourages bursts of happy-hormones which make us feel happier, less stressed and improve our productivity levels. Whether it’s simply a case of marching on the spot for 10 minutes in the morning or afternoon, starting a lunchtime walk club or having a quick dance to something fun, getting your staff up and about will help them feel lighter-spirited and keep productivity levels stable through the winter.
Talk to your staff or colleagues about starting a small period of physical activity in the office or a lunchtime activity that you can all take part in together and motivate each other.
Keep Temperatures Comfortable
As the temperatures fall outside, it becomes even more important to keep a consistent temperature indoors or allow staff to wear extra layers to keep warm while working. It’s difficult to please everyone, especially when dealing with medium or large teams where everyone will have different preferences. Keep in mind that it is easier to warm up with extra layers and heated accessories such as microwavable wheat bags and hot water bottles than it is to cool down when you are in shirt and trousers.
Find a happy medium with staff, ensuring that at the very least they feel warm without overheating anybody in the office. It might be more cost-effective to offer thermal work clothing than trying to accommodate everyone with fluctuating thermostat settings.
Offer a Fun Activity to Look Forward To
Christmas and New Year parties are fun but short lived and usually happen for businesses earlier in the winter season, leaving not much for staff to look forward to in the New Year. Organise a get together with staff to recollect themselves, this could be an evening meal, family fun day or team building activity, go to this site for further inspiration on the types of corporate events management can offer staff to boost morale and improve productivity.
Give Staff an Extra Day Off
While not suitable to every industry, plenty of businesses notice a slow down across the festive period, particularly between the Christmas and New Year holidays. Gifting your staff an extra day off during this time is sure to boost employee appreciation and their dedicated to the company and you don’t have to close entirely, just plan ahead and organise a skeleton staff rotation. Half days also work and will be gratefully received by staff that have worked hard during the past year.
There is still time to plan ahead before the end of the year and ensure your staff feel appreciated and their hard work during the year is not going to go unrewarded so get planning and get your staff involved too!
