It’s no secret that a company cannot run without its employees. The skills and knowledge that they bring to the table are crucial to running a successful business and it would be difficult to do so without them. With that being said, caring about your employees goes beyond just making sure they succeed in their jobs and prove to be an asset to the company.
Looking out for your employees’ health and wellbeing and giving them a support system to rely on during hard times is just as important. If they are sick or dealing with personal issues, it’s going to impact their work performance. Not only that but to keep the morale of the company up, you need your employees to be happy. Here are some tips to help you keep your employees healthy and happy during these difficult times.
Tip #1 Exercise
Although this is not something that’s directly related to work, you should encourage your employees to engage in physical activity while at home. Quarantine has people leaving their homes less and therefore moving around less often. It’s easy to sit on the couch for hours at a time without getting up while working from home.
We don’t realize how much taking the stairs at the office or walking to the parking lot every day helps our physical fitness. To encourage your employees to exercise, consider reaching out to a local gym, and negotiating a deal with them. Most places will offer a discount since you are giving them business during a tough time. No need to worry about the physical location not being open right now as most gyms have virtual fitness classes that people can attend.
If you decide not to reach out to your local gyms, then you can always encourage people in your company to form a virtual fitness club themselves. Appoint someone to be in control of the group to keep it organized, and send a mass email to the entire company inviting them to join the club. Using a video chat application will allow your employees to see and hear each other when working out together all while promoting better company culture. An exercise club will help those who have trouble working out on their own people to motivate them and keep them accountable. It’s also free! All they need is an open space and a positive attitude.
Tip #2 Self-Care
Sometimes when people think about healthy living, they think it only means exercising or drinking more water. While those are both important to a person’s wellbeing, there are other aspects such as mental health that need to be taken care of too. Self-care is one way to do this.
Pandemics can cause a lot of stress, so practicing an activity like meditation is a great way to relieve some of it. Whether a person meditates for a short or long time, it still has therapeutic benefits. Having your employees meditate before their workday will help to clear their minds and get them ready to start their day relaxed and positive. You can also schedule a virtual meeting where someone leads a meditation “class” if people need a quick relaxer during work. Five to twenty minutes are all a person needs to destress and unwind.
In the case that someone from your company doesn’t want to lead the group, there are various videos available on the internet that can give everyone some ideas and provide a few meditations poses for any skill level to do.
Besides meditation, your employees should still indulge in some classic self-care activities to tend to their hair, skin, and overall hygiene. It can improve their mood and boost their self-confidence which is helpful if they’re in a leadership position. A nice warm bath with Epsom salt will help to relieve stress and soften rough, dry skin. Put on a thick body butter afterward to keep your skin feeling moisturized and refreshed.
Getting a new hairstyle or haircut is also a part of self-care because it can make people feel like a new and improved version of themselves. If styling your hair is hard due to issues like hair loss, don’t worry. There are medications like finasteride that help treat hair loss and can help you feel confident to lead a meeting in no time.
Tip #3 Eat Well
What your employees eat can influence how effective they are at their job and how fast they can get projects done. Certain foods can give people more energy, meaning what they eat for breakfast is crucial since it can influence their productivity for the rest of the day. Bananas, eggs, and oatmeal are a few examples of foods that provide long-lasting energy. On the other hand, pasta and bread can sap a person’s energy, so it’s best not to consume too much of these foods. Proportioned sizes are also important. Big meals can make people feel sluggish and tired, preventing them from being able to do their jobs effectively, so small meals tend to be better in this situation.
Besides food giving your employees enough energy to work, eating well will improve their overall health. It will help to decrease the chances of getting a variety of medical problems ranging from obesity, high blood pressure, and more. Eating well may sound easy to most people but for some, it can seem like one of the most difficult things ever. To help make it a little easier for your employees to eat right, give them a place to start so try emailing them helpful articles that highlight the best healthy foods to eat and which ones have the most nutritional value. With the help of a few beginner recipes, they’ll be on their way to eating healthier in no time.
The best thing to remember is that if you take care of your employees, then they will take care of you. During these uncertain times, your employees should be able to lean on you and their coworkers for support because that’s what it means to work at a great company.
Management Best Practices to Boost Employee Morale
During this period of uncertainty, it’s easy for your employees to feel overwhelmed, negatively impacting their morale and productivity. At present, stress is an all-time high as they are juggling multiple tasks, forcing them to mindlessly clock in and out on each workday.
Low employee morale is often a result of poor employee engagement and can have disastrous effects on your business outcomes. A Gallup report reveals that disengaged employees have 37 percent higher absenteeism, 18 percent lower productivity, and 15 percent lower profitability than engaged employees. Hence, as a business leader, you cannot afford to overlook the high cost of low employee morale.
Follow the below-mentioned management practices to contribute to positive employee morale, enabling your workforce to feel confident to perform at their best.
- Uphold a Culture of Open Communication
Fostering a culture of open communication requires constant commitment and intentional effort. The first step is acknowledging your employees’ viewpoints, ideas, and concerns.
Secondly, go beyond ‘I am always there for you!’ Engage with your people on a personal level. For instance, asking them what they did over the weekend or how their family is doing can make them feel valued.
Finally, with most of your team working virtually, it can be tough to collaborate with the team and engage them effectively. The situation may seem all the more challenging if you and your team heavily relied on in-person interactions to get jobs done. Thankfully, there are a plethora of tools like Slack, Google Meet, and Zoom that can be used to create dedicated spaces where employees can collaborate and connect.
- Invest in Your People
Countless studies have shown that investing in employees not only prepares them to take up higher responsibilities and contributes to organizational revenue but also gives employees a sense of purpose.
Source: https://chronus.com/blog/tips-revealed-employee-development-program-best-practices
Employees aren’t just motivated by a job promotion or a salary hike; they feel the need to upgrade their skills and work towards achieving their and organizational goals. Whether your team’s working remotely or in-office, make sure you offer ample training and development opportunities, allowing them to feel a sense of growth.
- Offer Employee Recognition
Offering employee recognition seems like a no-brainer when it comes to boosting employee morale. Yet, you can never go wrong with this low-cost/high-impact way to win employees’ hearts.
Recognizing your team for high productivity, an innovative idea, or a high customer conversion can make them feel valued and appreciated. When your team has high self-worth they are motivated to contribute to the company’s goals.
- Promote Self-Care Activities
As shared earlier in this post, your employees’ health is of utmost during these trying times. Also, work stress and an unhealthy lifestyle can negatively impact their physical and mental wellbeing.
Introduce health and wellness initiatives to encourage your team to adopt a healthy lifestyle. For instance, organizing virtual group fitness training sessions every weekend can help them prioritize health and take conscious steps to stay fit. Share pictures and videos of the sessions to make it enjoyable for all.
Offer a gym or sports center membership to your team, allowing them to stay active during this period. If your team members are reluctant to visit fitness centers or public gyms, encourage them to set up a home gym. Here’s a valuable infographic by Rubcorp that offers interesting tips on this subject.
The health and safety of your employees should be your priority. Make sure you promote such self-care initiatives to foster healthy behaviors at home and in the workplace.
