Better Productivity: When Lethal Work Drives People Berserk

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In a world which demands more and more of us on both a personal and a business-based level, it’s no wonder that stress levels are so high and health issues are arising in numbers we’ve never encountered before. The problem is that we try to function into a mechanical and robotic way within business, but the machinery on which we depend is very much alive and very much human.

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Mental health care is important. That’s something we forget all too easily, and your company might be suffering because of it. Neglecting your employees is a certified way to decrease your organisation’s level of productivity, even if you don’t realise the potential for increased efficiency. Your business can be productive, but it depends on your workers being viewed as more than cogs in the system. Here’s some advice on ensuring your employees feel a little less overwhelmed by their workload and actually end up working more productively.

Value your employees.

This sentence can mean so many different things, but it all comes down to the same core piece of advice: treat your employees well, and they’ll treat the company well. It’s quite a simple technique, but it’s one which could have countless benefits for your organisation, if you truly do learn how to communicate and reward your workers.

For one, you could learn to hone in on people’s individual or collective strengths. Different people want different things from a workplace, and the sooner you realise that, the sooner you can start to make better workers of the people you employ. As an example, you could do something to which so many businesses within so many industries fall foul and stop devaluing the female employees within your organisation.

A smart machine uses its components to the best of their ability, so the machine which is your business needs to do the same. Women and men within your company may have different strengths, so utilise those skills. Workplace studies have shown male workers to be very competitively aggressive, whereas female workers often opted for collaborative and communicative approaches. Of course, some employees will always fall into one side or the other, so understand how each worker thrives within your company – or delegate that task to management.

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Play an active role in safeguarding the mental wellbeing of your employees.

Mindfulness is a technique that we should all be practicing, but I think this becomes more relevant than ever in a high-stress, fast-paced workplace. Simple meditation and breathing exercises are concepts that you could suggest to your employees, as they can calm an anxious, overactive mind.

You could also get CISM help from Health Assured, and you’ll not only be caring for your employees, but you’ll be showing them that you care about their wellbeing too. On-site counselling could completely change the mindsets of your workers. Sometimes people just need someone to talk to. Perhaps, as a business owner, you do too. Thinking of the minds of all those working within a company offers nothing but upsides, as a level business head can only be achieved through a level head in general. Remember, you hired people and not robots.

Make the workplace fun.

It’s no secret that our surroundings greatly affect our mood. The final thing I can suggest to create healthy minds is to foster them in a healthy office environment. Ditch the blindingly-bright white lighting and the dull, dreary grey that may have swept across your office. Offer something interesting (it could be something as a simple as a TV or as crazy as an ice cream stand) for employees to sink their teeth into during breaks, add a little colour to the office, and create a clear divide between work and relaxation time.

Here’s How You Can Make Your Small Business Appear Professional

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So you devised a killer product or service and now you’ve set up a business. It wasn’t easy, but you’re there. You have avoided failure thus far and are now starting to deal with clients and suppliers. Being able to do so while appearing professional is extremely important. You’ll get better deals from suppliers and your customer base will have more faith in you and what you do, meaning they’ll be more inclined to spend money with you. It can be quite tough to maintain a professional facade though, so here are some tips to help you on your way.

Use Quality Paper Materials

You’ll need all of your paper based dealings with other companies and indeed clients to appear professional. Check your invoices and make sure you’re using a good software to process them, if you are doing them yourself, make sure they’re done on a computer and look good, you don’t want to end up looking amateurish. The same applies to your payment systems, if you send cheques, use a company like http://checkomatic.com/ to ensure they look of good quality. You can really give a good impression by maintaining these good paper based materials.

Get Your Website Developed By An Expert

You could do it yourself and save some money, sure. But if you want it to appear expertly developed then getting a developer is the way to go. They will build it to your specifications and ensure it looks great. Use the same colour scheme as your logo and branding to help it tie it all together. They can ensure your website is easy to navigate and that your customers don’t get frustrated by an overly complicated website that ends up taking them through too many clicks to get them to where they need to be. You can find some great freelance web developers who can do it for quite a competitive rate. Just be sure you tell them exactly what you want before hand and if you aren’t happy with their work tell them, they can amend it as needed.

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Carry Yourself In An Appropriate Manner

If you’re the boss and the owner then you need to ensure your customers and indeed your employees respect you and take you seriously. Don’t take anything personally. It’s just business. You need to carry yourself in a way that radiates professionalism. Clients are more likely to do business with someone who appears serious. Wear a suit, speak properly, don’t be late and always fulfil orders and promises. Setting this example means your employees will follow suit, driving your business to success.

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Write Quality Content

If you have a blog on your website, whether to improve SEO or just as a reference point for your customers then make sure it is written well. Again, you can hire a freelance writer to do this for you. The same applies to the general writing on your website and company lettering. Having spelling errors or grammatical mishaps in your text won’t put too much confidence in your potential customers.

How A Lick O’ Paint In The Office Can Foster Creativity

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Forget about your office for a moment, and think about how you personally would design the perfect space in which to work and play. What would it look like? The chances are that it wouldn’t look much like modern offices today with all their fluorescent lights and gray paint. No – it would be colorful, well designed and bright – an environment that was conducive to human flourishing on a basic level.

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Companies realize that the old ways of constructing offices just aren’t appropriate in the modern world and don’t cater to modern forms of work. Work today isn’t repetitive and dull. It’s creative, dynamic and challenging, and it requires an office to match.

Here we’re going to look at how different people have experimented with design in their offices to foster creativity and haul their business out of the 19th century, Victorian factory model.

Let Your Employees Bring Their Own “Stuff”

It turns out that you probably don’t need to do all that much to make your workplace a more human and playful place for your staff. All you need to do is open the floodgates, and they’ll find a way to fill the space.

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Personal artifacts not only enliven dull spaces, but they also help people act like themselves which helps to foster creativity. When people feel as if they are able to act more naturally, you build authenticity, which in turn fosters closer collaborative partnerships between team members.

Be The Anthropologist

The advice from top office suppliers, like Arnolds Office Furniture, isn’t to constantly ask employees about what they’d like changed about their office. Instead, it’s to simply observe their behavior and see what’s working and what isn’t. Suppose for example that you’ve got four “chill out” seats in your office where employees can go to mull over their ideas and think outside of the box. If you simply ask your employees whether there are enough of these seats, they’ll probably answer in the affirmative, out of pure habit. But if you watch them, then you may discover a need you weren’t previously aware existed. Perhaps four chairs aren’t enough, and your employees require six or more.

Use The Concept Of Urban Zoning

Top office planners say that the concept of zoning is critical for generating a creative space. Like a thriving city, a well-planned office needs different zones for eating, for privacy and for working with the rest of the team. The key with zones is to make them flexible. Employees need to be able to take advantage of different spaces for different purposes.

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Make Use Of Iconic Objects

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Many innovative companies make use of iconic objects, like motorbikes on the wall or giant stuffed bears. Why do they do this? Well, according to Inc., it’s so that they can create a mood in their office that reflects the personality of the company. Office managers want to inspire their employees to be more creative will often include dramatic props, just like you might see in an artist’s studio. These props help to create links in the mind that would have otherwise remained dormant.