Summer may seem like an odd time of year to focus on employee wellness. After all, for many people, summer is an exciting, invigorating time of year.
However, the season can certainly come with its own challenges, leading some employees to struggle. They may have trouble juggling their personal and professional responsibilities. At times, they may become frustrated while working, longing for a chance to spend some time in the sun.
When workers are unhappy or stressed, they often have a harder time managing their responsibilities. Productivity may dip, or the quality of their outputs may suffer.
Luckily, companies can take action, allowing them to promote employee wellness and improve morale. If you are wondering what you can do, here are some tips for breathing new life into your employee wellness program.
Add Some Fun to Your Employee Wellness Program
When people think about summer, they usually focus on fun. It’s the time of year when people take vacations and spend time outdoors, allowing them to make the most of the great weather.
In some cases, employee morale falls because team members feel like they miss out on the best parts of the season. Thankfully, by adding a bit of fun into the mix, you can address that.
If your team is local, host a barbecue. Invite everyone to spend their afternoon enjoying good food and participating in fun activities. For remote teams, you can give everyone a gift card to a local restaurant and play an online game, allowing everyone to have a great meal while spending some relaxing time together.
Anything that adds something enjoyable to their schedule can be worth considering. If you aren’t sure what might work, ask your team what they’d like to do. Often, they’ll have some great ideas, giving you a chance to harness their creativity to come up with a plan.
Empower Your Team with a Positive Mindset
Negativity in the workplace can wreak havoc on morale. If you and your team get in the habit of focusing on the problems or downsides in a situation, it will affect the overall mood. Similarly, shooting down ideas without a second thought can make employees fearful of sharing, limiting creativity and innovation in your team.
If you want to improve employee wellness, empower your team with a positive mindset. Encourage your workers to openly share ideas and offer praise when they do, even if you don’t end up using them. Focus on the potential challenges can bring, particularly if they are chances to learn, grow, and innovate.
Essentially, your goal should be to put a positive spin on things whenever possible. By doing so, you can alter the mood of any conversation. In time, your employees will often adopt that mindset, creating an increasingly positive environment for everyone.
Delegate Based on Strengths and Preferences
When it comes to engagement and motivation, giving your team a chance to use their strengths can make a big difference. Similarly, aligning their workload with their preferences can have a significant impact on morale.
Ultimately, people like to spend time on activities that they are good at and enjoy. When you get a chance to delegate responsibility, consider when you choose a team member.
While you may not create workloads that only feature what they like, you can make more of their work engaging. That has a big impact on their mental and emotional wellbeing, increasing the odds that they’ll find their job satisfying.
Ultimately, all of the tips above can take employee wellness to the next level. If you’d like to learn more, the team at The Advance Group can help. Contact us today.
