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Your employees are your most valuable asset. Keeping them working at peak performance requires keeping them at peak levels of wellness. Too many external distractions chip away at those peak levels. Fatigue, stress, money, personal problems are just some of the factors that erode employee productivity.
So what can you do to combat these distractions?
Managers/Supervisors that recognize what inhibits employee production can take steps to alleviate those things and improve worker productivity. There are excellent resources for managers/supervisors to help promote the physical health of their employees.
In addition, there is strong evidence to support that establishing emotional connections between leaders and their associates improves overall efficiency and production. Several books have been published on these so-called “soft skills”, but they all have a common theme. Employees want to be valued, respected, appreciated and have meaning in their lives.
So, how does a manager/supervisor make that happen?
Set a Good Example
Your employees spend 25 % of their lives at work (40+/168 hrs per week). Many spend even more time than that. Such devotion to ‘the job’ looks good in the short term but has negative long-term consequences. Set a good example for your employees by maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
Maintaining that balance shows that you can set and manage several important priorities (work and family) without necessarily compromising one for the other. This balance also leads to lower stress levels in the workplace and increased productivity.
Pay a Genuine Compliment
The power of a well-delivered compliment knows virtually no boundary. When a manager takes a moment to recognize good work (in a genuine, sincere way), the time and effort it took to do it and any short/long-term benefit to the company, the employee receiving that compliment will move mountains to do it again.
Increased productivity is the obvious benefit of an employee who receives a genuine compliment. However, that employee now has a brighter outlook and a more positive attitude. That attitude can extend to other employees—creating a happy, positive work environment.
Managers who fail to recognize good work or (worse) treat it in a cavalier fashion create a ‘why bother’ culture. Such negativity can feed upon itself in a vicious cycle that eventually results in a toxic environment and diminished productivity.
Combat Employee Stress Directly
Managers that communicate openly and directly with their employees regarding stress are more likely to nip things in the bud before they become problems. Setting clear guidelines regarding performance, pay and promotion opportunities in an upfront manner helps alleviate employee stress.
In the event that pay/performance guidelines were too aggressive, good managers listen to their employees when they describe feeling too stressed out at work. Good managers also initiate this discussion, as some employees are loathed to bring up such a sensitive topic on their own.
Create a Quiet Space in the Workplace
To help employees maintain healthy stress levels at work, some companies have established quiet spaces or areas that allow an employee to take a few moments to regain their mental focus or quietly reflect. Whether the employee utilizes that room for a few moments of spiritual meditation (or daily prayer, if Muslim), yoga or to simply clear their mind—rooms of this type lead to a significant reduction in employee stress.
There are many ways a company can endorse the wellness of their employees at work. Combating stress is one of the most effective ways to do that.
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Photo: Getty Images