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 As offices re-open and businesses take on a new lease of life, business owners are keen to have a happy workforce back at work. Covid-19 has previously sown unhappiness and stress everywhere: society is now looking for the holy grail, the concept of wellbeing and serenity amid the chaos. Wellbeing at work can be promoted through technology and careful planning. We can still build up a happy team. We need to create a positive, safe and healthy environment for employees in order to boost morale.  The definition of wellbeing goes beyond that of traditional health to include physical, social and mental wellbeing. It's all about choices and activities to achieve physical vitality, mental alertness, social satisfaction and personal fulfilment. This seems like a big nebula in a post-Covid world: how can we have safe social interactions as well as being physically on form and mentally alert? Is the concept of personal fulfilment still achievable? Stress at work is estimated to cost the UK economy £30billion per annum in terms of sickness absence, labour turnover and less productive value. The new office space has less employees physically present but at the same time is less compact in order to meet the two-metre criterion as desks are distanced. People in the office might miss the immediate proximity of their colleagues and want more small, talk. The business owner will have to reorganise life in the office: √ Presentations via large screens in bigger rooms √ Document exchange via the intranet or Microsoft Teams, etc. √ Quality email service √ Office perks and top office equipment e.g. sit-stand desks, ergonomic chairs, soundproofing, air quality and ventilation and the right lighting, outside work areas, staff discounts for gym memberships or onsite gyms, fresh fruit in the office, videos of self-massage or yoga √ Accessible and clean sanitising stations for all √ Monitoring of data relative to sanitiser use and sound health √ Provision of masks and lateral flow Covid kit tests The objective is to keep people mentally stimulated and physically alert while keeping everything Covid-safe and maintaining the communication among colleagues inside the office. People will be happier, with greater peace of mind and less stress, and all this will bring about higher productivity.  It's a usual thing for projects to be worked on with optimised efficiency and co-workers want to bounce ideas off each other. Unfortunately, working from home, people can feel unmotivated and very isolated, as compared to those working in the office. Having the same KPIs for home workers and office workers can be beneficial, as long as focus is on output and not hours worked. The old clock-watching era is gone. Once again, to promote teams and wellbeing at home, the office manager or business owner can: √ Allow real-time data updates and communication √ Enable viewing and communicating using Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, Microsoft Teams, etc. √ Have a feedback system for a constant reminder of how people working from any spot might feel about some tasks √ Promote automation of some marketing, customer service and admin tasks so that staff can focus on quality human interactions instead of repetitive tasks √ Have an accessible online thought diary regarding moods and feelings during the working day √ Have a new online system for rewards and recognition People inside and outside the physical office will learn how to be responsible for their output and hours worked while the business owner will set up an eco-system to enable each and everyone to feel safe, flourish at work, communicate how they feel, and feel part of a team. No one should feel isolated and unappreciated. Micro-management is dead. Jobs are well-designed and flexible and staff have gained more control and autonomy. Managers and leaders are engaging in a "praise and reward" management style as opposed to a "command and control" or bureaucratic one (Source: Gary Cooper, RoSPA Occupational Safety and Health Journal, Oct 2015 Vol 45 Issue 10). Work-life balance is improving. Here, at Associate Planet, a boutique IT and technology consultancy, we are ready to help set up the new hybrid office with enhanced safety measures and quality communication capabilities. While staff members learn to change their work habits and rely more on technology for quality communication, we are happy to work with managers to set up an efficient action plan for a new work style. The new office is all about wellbeing and team-building. Focus is on self-care through technology. Please do not hesitate to contact Richard for a no obligation chat about the numerous possibilities for your business and let's move forward. Richard M.Inst.D Blog Archive:Blog: Choose Ai In The Workplace For A Meteoric Boost In Company Productivity - May 2021 Blog: Cloud Computing - Make it easy to work from anywhere - April 2021 Blog: Should Micro Businesses Worry About Cyber Security - March 2021 Blog: Flexible Working - The Future of Work - January 2021 Blog: Parental Controls - December 2020 Blog: Video Conferencing Etiquette - November 2020 Blog: Flexible Working - October 2020 Blog: Dont Be Alone - May 2020 Blog: Is your IT behaving itself? - May 2019 Blog: Lets do it - The Integrated Business - May 2018 Blog: Technology-What can we do to help ourselves - December 2017 Blog: Let's Simplify Technology - November 2017 Blog: Marketing and the SME - March 2017 Blog: Stay Safe - January 2017 Blog: The Year - December 2016 Blog: Marketing - September 2016 Blog: Digital Marketing - August 2016 Blog: Integrated Technology - June 2016 Blog: Cyber Security - March 2016 Blog: Introduction - March 2016 |
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