Five exercises to boost productivity in the workplace
As the year draws to a close, the pressure starts to pile up on your staff from all sides. Getting through the last four months of the year with a smile on your face and theirs, while remaining productive, is going to be tough, but it has to be done. Instead of suffering in silence, why not glide through it? Use this blog as your anchor to help you remain focused and boost productivity in the workplace.
Recognise daily achievements
As the year draws to an end, it’s the perfect time to praise employees for their hard work. However, you shouldn’t only praise them at the end of the year. Focus on recognising them throughout the year. Simple words of appreciation like: “You did a great job on that project, thank you for your hard work,” can lift your employees’ spirits.
Get your staff moving
Fitness is key to workplace happiness and can boost brain cell activity. Check to see what type of exercise is popular in the office. You might discover you have keen runners on your staff. You can always turn this into a team-building exercise like a fit-a-thon with prizes to be won. It doesn’t have to be too strenuous, even a foosball competition will do. The main thing is that you’re giving your team the opportunity to step away from their desks for a while to focus on something other than work.
Master the art of time management
Time is a commodity we all wish we had more of, but there is no way to gain extra minutes in the day. Make the most of what you’ve been given. If your employees are complaining that they don’t have enough time to get work done, ask them to reassess their work processes. Time management and organisational skills go hand-in-hand, you might find that they are giving themselves too much work to do. Improving productivity in the workplace is not about trying to get as much work done as possible. Start with the bigger picture, then fine-tune each task and set realistic deadlines for them. Offer training for employees who struggle to do this on their own.
Give their brains a break
At some point, winding down is going to be inevitable. Ask athletes who train year-round, they know the importance of valuable rest and recovery. If your employees are pushing too hard to get all work done before the end of the year, and take no time off, how are they expected to bring a fresh mindset next year? Give your employees the opportunity to take a few days off, especially if you see the signs of burnout. Tell your staff to do their very best and let life and the universe take care of the rest. Teach them to focus on what they can control and put all their efforts into the execution of it. If no more can be done on that day, leave it until the next day. According to Entrepreneur, “Continuous time on-task sets off strain reactions, such as stress, fatigue and negative mood, which drain focus and physical and emotional resources.”
How to boost productivity in the workplace
On average, an office worker will spend 45% of their day working with documents. If you want this time to be as productive as possible, you need to ensure your staff has the correct tools available to facilitate a smooth transition between digital and print throughout the day. We are talking about the use of the proper office printer.
The latest Xerox® multifunction office printers expose your business to a new world of possibilities, thanks to ConnectKey® technology. This is an intelligent, app-based operating system that gives you an entire gallery of apps with the freedom to add, remove and swap tools as you see fit. To find out more about this system, download our infographic.