When it comes to the success of our business we can suffer from anxiety in one way or another. Here are some tips for being productive with less anxiety.
Something like relocating your business can send the worries of your staff into overdrive, but it doesn’t have to be the big business changes to cause worry. Sometimes it’s personal concerns, sometimes it’s coping with the workload, and sometimes it relates to the culture. So what can we do so our staff can benefit from less anxiety, but also work productively?
Here are some tips for being productive with less anxiety.Click To Tweet
Reinvigorating The Morale
This is a direct effect of a bad workplace culture. Poor morale means your business is plodding along, and either you’ve got staff members willing to stay, but aren’t working enthusiastically, or workers who are waiting to jump the ship at the best possible moment. Either way, you’ve got a quandary on your hands. Reinvigorating the morale is the first way to decrease anxiety in your workplace. How can we do this? There are various methods to take advantage of, and sometimes it’s as simple as asking them what they need. People can’t do their job properly unless they have the right tools. So, speak to your workers, you may find that they need a little bit of extra help, or it may be something as simple as not being comfortable enough! With all the health and safety procedures that businesses implement, one of the major ones is ergonomics. In other words, the office furniture being comfortable enough so your staff can work productively. Repetitive strain injury and poor posture are two of the dominant side effects of working in a desk job for years on end. Comfortable workers are happy ones!
Encourage Work-Life Balance
Sometimes the reason your workers are so anxious is because of the environment. It may not be necessarily the job they’re doing, but the environment they are doing it in. Whether this is due to a heavy workload, so they need to work additional hours, or they feel uncomfortable in the environment, either due to personal or professional conflicts, you could stand to improve the work-life balance across the board regardless. Lots of people have lives outside of work which are overbearing and they can come into work feeling exhausted before they’ve sat down at their desk. Flexibility in terms of the work-life balance is a hot topic nowadays, and it’s something that you should think very carefully about. The 24/7 culture we have is placing a lot of pressures on our workforce. In finding ways for your staff members to work happily, regardless of the time of day, you may need to offer a bit more flexibility. Whether this is additional holidays, remote working capabilities, or simply letting them come to work an hour later than the usual start time, this could have a wonderful impact on how they perform.
Set The Appropriate Example
Remember, everything stems from you, the leader. If you walk into the office in the morning enthused and ready to tackle the day, this is starting off on the right foot. After all, any entrepreneur worth their salt knows the importance of setting a good example. It’s you that determines the mindset of, not just your office, but the entire company. People look to you for guidance, so it’s your duty to set a precedent. Making your employees happy isn’t just about giving them the perks that they deserve, although this is important, you need to be grateful to them for their continued efforts to keep your company alive. This should never be forgotten. Yes, employees can feel anxious and worry about external concerns, but if you are dealing with these concerns openly and honestly, and you are keeping them involved with every step of the process, this leaves little room for the rumor mill. By keeping your employees part of the bigger picture, this is showing that you value their input, which will help their morale, and ease anxieties. Also, an open door policy is always something that is welcomed by employees. They don’t want their boss to be untouchable and unapproachable because the sends out the wrong message. The example you set is what will keep people on sides and on board.
Workplace anxiety stems from fear, fear of the unknown. You can alleviate this by encouraging a more transparent workplace, and by setting the right example, as well as making sure your employees come first and make sure they want to come to work in the first place, you’ve got a winning formula for business success.
