Whether you’re supervising a small department or managing a big office, it’s a good idea to cultivate a positive attitude amongst your workforce. Not only will it make the office environment a more pleasant space to work in, but it can also get more out of your staff and help your business function with cohesion and efficiency.
Also read: 4 Actionable Steps Towards A More Positive Culture
Many of us will spend a large part of our waking week at work, so it’s worth taking the extra time and effort to create a collegial atmosphere that everyone will feel better about spending time in.
1. Clean up the Workspace
Whether people are a product of their environment or vice versa remains a poser, but there’s no reason not to put some time into creating a workspace that makes life easier and more pleasant for your team. Make sure your arrangements for the following are all up to satisfaction:
- Lighting
- Temperature
- Ventilation
All these can have a considerable cumulative effect on people’s mood over the course of many hours at work. Also consider investing in some good quality office furniture to help prevent employees from developing posture problems. Plants are also a good way to subtly brighten the mood of an office.
2. Nourish Your Staff
You’ll want to make sure you’re staff are feeling good and up to the work at hand to help them deliver their best efforts to the job. It should go without saying that you want to ensure tea and coffee are always flowing as need be, but don’t forget to keep some holistic alternatives like green tea and other herbal infusions on offer.
Also read: Increasing employee morale through health and wellbeing programs
Another good idea is to always keep a supplement on hand that staff can enjoy as they please to help them stay fit and healthy and in a position to give you their all at work.
3. Keep Things Positive
As a leader, your staff will be looking to you to set the tone for the working day, and represent the business generally. Maintaining a positive attitude in all aspects of the job will prove infectious and make the working day a pleasant experience for everyone. The results will be an improved work rate, and it can also make the difference if you have a lot of customer-facing roles under your purview where you’ll want your staff to make a good impression for the company.
4. Be Respectful
Although things can often get stressful at work, there’s never a good excuse to be rude or disrespectful with staff. If you show that you value your staff and their well being then that will be reciprocated in their conduct and work, and can help a diverse team operate more smoothly when there’s mutual trust and respect at play.
5. Actively Listen to Your Staff
The cornerstone of good communication at work is active listening. Encourage colleagues to speak their mind and share their opinions whilst making sure not to interrupt them or start telling them what to think as if you never heard them in the first place. Make sure that everyone feels that their taken seriously to ensure that they feel more invested in the business, and try to avoid responding with hard “no”s to their suggestions or opinions wherever possible.
6. Socialise Your Workforce
Whilst everyone knows that they’re at the job to work, there’s nothing wrong with lightening the mood and trying to help staff develop more cordial relations with each other. It’s obvious that people will prefer spending time at work if they’re on friendly terms with each other, so be sure not to limit social activities to just the Christmas party once a year.
Also read: When Are Perks at Work Necessary?
Take your team out for lunch, organize some evenings out on the company dime and consider signing up for some team building activities. Organising staff to take part in a charity event is also a good way to strengthen relationships and inspire people for a good cause.
7. Be Liberal with Praise
When your staff does something good, let them know about it so that their efforts feel appreciated. There’s nothing that kills morale more than the feeling of good work going unrecognized. If you make your staff feel valued then it stands to reason that they’ll value their job and the feedback that you provide.
If there’s a problem that needs to be addressed, be certain to couch any discussions in terms of the solutions that can be implemented to remedy the issue.
8. Take an Interest in People
Make sure that you’re treating your colleagues like people and not just mindless office drones. Get to know them on a personal level and try and gently find out what makes them tick.
Learn about their background, families, values, interests and so forth. If they feel a personal as well as professional relationship with you, they’ll feel that management is more invested in their personal well being and feel more a part of their professional life.
9. Make Sure Your Employees Feel Supported
It goes without saying, but you want to make your employees feel confident that they’re working for a competent organization. If they’re constantly searching for office supplies or having to work around long-standing ICT issue then you’re going to be putting both workplace morale and your staff’s efficiency at risk. Make sure your workers are all enjoying adequate back-end support, and if they have any suggestions on changes or improvements you can make then take them seriously.
10. Pamper Your Staff
If you look at the some of the most prestigious companies to work for in the world, such as Facebook and Google, you’ll see that they all go to incredible lengths to treat their staff well at work. You don’t have to install a ping pong table by the photocopier, but you can put a little effort into giving staff some perks that’ll make them enjoy coming to work.
Whether it’s bringing in some fresh pastries on Monday or lining up some beer and pizza for Friday afternoons, a little goes a long way in making the office feel like a more chilled out space to spend time in.
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How about fairness, punctuality, honest, loyalty,