Workforce Guides

Fostering a productive workplace is the ultimate goal of any manager, no matter the industry. Keeping your employees engaged and inspired definitely helps in this regard. One of the ways to ensure team morale stays at its highest involves minimizing the adverse effects of stress in the office.

What follows are a few tips and insights on keeping the stress levels low in your factory or office. These ideas are likely to help boost employee morale as well as the bottom line of the business.

Focus on the Important Items on Your Task List

Your managers need to help your employees focus on the most vital items in their workload. In many businesses, it is too easy to get distracted by other tasks not on the critical path. Keeping your team members in the loop regarding what’s truly important helps everyone from becoming overworked and stressed out.

Liane Davey, vice president of team solutions at Knightsbridge Human Capital comments on this approach. “It’s the manager’s responsibility to develop an action plan that allows everyone to be more productive and to insulate their teams from low-priority work that may trickle down from senior management,” said Davey. In short, let your middle-managers manage.

Minimize Distractions Through Scheduling

Another way to keep distractions to a minimum is to schedule periods of uninterrupted, focused work. A few hours each morning with no meetings or other activities is a smart idea. Of course, this approach ultimately depends on the nature of your company’s business.

Since studies show it takes around 20 minutes to refocus after any distraction, leveraging this idea likely provides a productivity boost. Also, break up larger tasks into more granular items able to be completed during this morning “focus period.” Your employee’s sense of accomplishment is improved, while their stress levels are lowered.

Limit Afterhours Work Activity

Employees need a good balance between their personal and professional lives. Take steps to ensure they leave their work at the office at the end of the day. Don’t require them to answer emails from home unless it is a vital issue. While technology allows workers to stay connected to the office on a 24/7, this actually can be counterproductive when considering the resultant increase in stress.

If you need additional insights on growing the best possible team at your company, talk with the group at PrideStaff Houston. As one of the top staffing agencies in Texas, we can help you become more successful. Contact us as soon as possible.