5 Workplace Enhancements For Boosting Productivity

Hey, it happens. Your once inspired company is suddenly stuck in a non-stop lag, where employees’ productivity is at an all-time low. How does it happen? Well, it could be many things. Perhaps employees have individual situations outside of work that are pouring into their work hours, or the monotony of the job has turned them down a notch or two. It’s not a time to panic; if anything it’s a time for action. There are many ways to enhance productivity in the company and breathe some new life into the work environment. Here are five ways to achieve that goal effectively.

Ease up on the meetings.
Have you ever seen the meme that says “I just survived a meeting that could have been an email” circulating around the internet? It’s sarcastic, yet true. Oftentimes companies get stuck in this vacuum of having meetings about meetings where employees aren’t spending nearly enough time doing their actual jobs. By the time they return to their desks, they’re already drained. A simple solution is to change the meeting schedule to either less meetings or shorter ones.

Implement a break routine.
Working non-stop is actually far less productive than taking breaks in between. Some employees feel guilty about break time and may power through, only to be less productive than they would be with a break. The same way children in school have recess or teachers have prep time, you and your team can have preparation time as well. These can be coffee breaks, decompressing breaks, anything you’d like to call them. The important thing is to urge them.

Offer productivity courses.
There are many types of courses designed to boost creativity. However, some are more complex than others. Many are short online seminars to be watched a few times a week for enhancing creativity. If you feel that approach may help your team, then hold productivity “power hours,” where your team can either watch videos independently at their desks or in a group. Here are some options to choose from, ranging from minutes a week to hours. Every little bit helps.

Don’t hover.
The kneejerk reaction to noticing employees lacking productivity is to start policing their everyday routine. Don’t do it. Monitoring employees can lead to a toxic work environment where they feel that they’re never doing enough when you pace by. Yes, you’re the boss and you want work done, but treating your employees like they’re children is not the way to go. If anything, be more sympathetic. Hold a discussion over lunch where they can voice their frustrations. Listen to their concerns. You may find that you can change your company’s productivity with a simple attitude adjustment for your employees and even yourself.

Accent your office.
Change the “ambience” as they say. Maybe add some inspirational messages to the walls, hang some photos, play calming music, and even add aromatherapy. While some find these tiny changes to be more aesthetically enhancing than anything else, they do add a change to the work environment. These accents say “new,” which can change an employee’s outlook on where they work. Some job, new attitude.