Tips to keep your team positive through the upcoming blues
We’re just over a month away from the saddest day of the year.
It can be tough coming back to work after the Christmas holidays.
And that’s just one factor in so called Blue Monday.
The weather, holiday debts, and broken new year’s resolutions are also part of the equation.
Plus, of course, no one likes Mondays, do they?
But even with this date looming in the calendar, you can take action now and set your team on the right track to avoid the January blues and have a positive experience instead.
Next year, Blue Monday falls on January 20th, so you have just over a month to prepare for it.
Address the elephant in the room
The first step is to make it clear why you are putting these measures in place. You can take a lot of the effect out of the day by mentioning ahead of time that Blue Monday will be a focus this year.
You may even find that simply the act of focusing on it helps you and your employees tackle the day in a lighter mood. It may become something of a workplace joke and people will turn up ready to be positive no matter what.
By making your plans now, you will lay a solid foundation for having a productive day next month.
Make it an event
Rather than something to dread, imagine if Blue Monday was actually one of the highlights of your employees’ calendars? Use features like Findmyshift’s employee notice board to organise a January party to brighten the mood.
You could even consider having your Christmas party the following month to cut down on the costs and busyness of festive bookings.
Set goals
Blue Monday often coincides with a lack of workplace motivation, and so using it as a time to set goals can re-energise you and your team. Take the time to discuss with your employees and build clear objectives that link to their future development and aims.
After the chaos of the holiday season, January is often a great time to reflect and look ahead, so having these conversations early in the year will show your employees that you are invested in their long term future.
Offer recognition
Congratulating and celebrating employees for a job well done is one of the easy ways to boost team morale. This can range from a simple thank you to rewards and opportunities.
However you decide to recognise good work from your employees, doing it in what is normally a depressing time of year will help lift their spirits.
Allow flexible working
Achieving a healthy work-life balance is a top priority for many employees. As such, going into the office or workplace every day isn’t always convenient when they have everything else in their life to juggle as well.
Even if you don’t normally offer regular flexible working, consider whether there are ways you could implement it as a one off or infrequent perk for your staff.
Maybe it’s just having one person at a time do their work remotely, or perhaps you can find other creative solutions. Using intelligent shift scheduling from Findmyshift will likely prove helpful!
Encourage employees to take breaks
Happy employees are more productive. And mental health and burnout are key factors in that. Limiting workplace stress by ensuring that your employees take breaks when needed is a key factor.
Consider as well that your customers may well be suffering from the January blues as well, and you can see why some extra rest might be necessary to deal with them.
Healthy snacks and discounted exercise classes could be other great ways to invest in your employees and reap the rewards through their improved performance.