Reimagining Organization Culture to Boost Productivity
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations have shifted most of their work to the Work From Home (WFH) module to continue smooth functioning of the organization, thus creating a remote working environment. This unforeseen change brought about numerous challenges not only for the employers but also for the employees. For institution of smooth workflow for the management and efficient working of various employee processes and training, instantaneous changes were made in the company policies overnight. Even though the organizations briskly adopted the WFH environment, the levels of stress and anxiety among the employees kept soaring higher and higher.
Apprehension & Stress: Overriding Reasons of Decreased Productivity Among Employees
As per the 2020 report by ADP India, Indian professionals were found to experience utmost stress when compared with other regions due to work in the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, statistical analysis by the WHO confirms that workplace anxiety or apprehension has been one of the leading causes of decreased productivity among employees which has been, in turn, costing the global economy nearly $1 trillion annually. Consequently, stress, apprehension, and anxiety have been bothering the employees much more since the onset of the pandemic.
With increasing levels of chronic stress, the employee's emotional well-being is disrupted. In the long run, it has been proven to show undesirable effects in terms of not only mental health but also physical health. Persistent exposure to various stress factors definitely makes an individual unwell, while also scarring the body with grievous effects if left uncontemplated. This makes it necessary for the organizations to focus on the overall well-being, that is, physical, mental, and emotional well-being, of each of their employee by conducting sessions which will help in relieving their stress levels among the manpower.
Sure-Shot Techniques to Boost Employee Productivity in Remote Teams
Now that we have addressed the problem, let us now focus on imbibing those techniques, which have been proven to give sure-shot outcomes, that have already been adopted and practiced by several organizations to set up an efficient and productive remote work environment.
1. Monitoring your employees' mental and physical well-being:
In order to continue promoting the essentiality and importance of overall well-being, it is necessary for the organizations to take up the responsibility of conducting interactive sessions wherein each and every one from the company participates in a session with the experts from the specific niche and interacts and engages with them by discussing their ongoing problems, and arrives to a solution for the same. These sessions must be conducted in such a way wherein healthy lifestyle must be promoted by aiding them with life-altering habits. For example, any one of the following topics could be taken up as a session and followed up by the employees to battle stress and anxiety concerns:
Sound Therapy-Patterns of musical notes, commonly known as "Ragas", have proven to a show soothing impact on the listener's psyche, while also having therapeutic properties for numerous mental conditions. Research shows that sound therapy, as a stand-alone therapy or along with guided imagery, has been effectively used to treat depression. In accordance with the Indian Journal of Psychiatry article published by S.L. Saniyarapu, the proper sort of music has the ability to bring out the best in every individual, which, in turn, helps them realize their exceptional unmatchable potential. Thus, undergoing the right kind of sound therapy at the workplace will definitely help in unleashing one's hidden talents and calmness.
Such activities are bound to be helpful for the employees since it will help them get accustomed to a lifestyle that will promote increased productivity in the long run.
To make this a win-win situation for both the employers and the employees, the institution can bring up some policies wherein those who adopt such a healthy lifestyle are rewarded with incentives, which will further encourage others to adopt the same.
Meditation-Science has very clearly proved the magic that meditation does in an individual's overall growth. It is proven that meditation helps with not only anxiety issues and discomfort but also chronic stress and depression, wherein it acts in a similar way as an antidepressant. What's more-meditation also helps in regulation of the 7 energy centers of the human body, commonly known as the "7 Chakras". Regulating these chakras helps an individual to lead a healthy and reposeful life by fortifying the body, mind, and soul.
Healing via Symbols/Numbers-Numbers, their sequences, and symbols have been believed to be containing immense amount of qualitative, value-added information, which are similar to concentrated "packets of vibrational energy" via which a living body obtains a particular frequency from the universe. This understanding also serves as the universe's language for generating and organizing matter. When used in a specific way, these information fields can generate vibrations that are good to both the mind and the body.
Yoga-Yoga has been proving its importance over the years by keeping an individual's physical and mental health in check through its properties of providing agility and flexibility to an individual's body. As obvious, the remote working environment has left every individual stuck to their seats, with them barely moving about, even in the room, to get themselves water or food. Here, yoga will definitely help those individuals beat their laziness and dullness, and help them regain active body functionality.
2. Establishing clear lines of communication between team leaders & members:
In a WFH environment, due to the lack of facial emotions and body language over a telephonic conversation or through chats, the clarity in communication sometimes decreases. During such times, it becomes necessary for an individual to understand if texting is enough or a phone conversation is necessary. In such situations, the usage of emojis can bring about clarity during chat conversations, which will help the opposite person to understand the context of the text. In situations wherein texting gets difficult, the individual can opt for conversation over a call to explain things in a better and lucid way. Also, one simple thing that every individual should practice is confirming the receipt of the message and replying back in a suitable manner instead of leaving the message unacknowledged so that no misunderstanding arises due to lack of communication.
3. Creating a positive work environment:
Creating a positive work environment at the remote workspace is equally important as it is for traditional offices. To create a more inclusive workplace, following the guidelines mentioned below will prove to be of immense help in the short as well as long term:
" Particular days can be fixed on which the entire team gathers virtually and discusses about anything and everything, from workload to their plans for the upcoming weekends, from giving their ideas for improvement in performance to movies, songs, etc.. This will help them relax and unwind after a long day at work, thus calming them and thereby increasing their productivity in the upcoming days.
" Engaging the employees in activities such as creative arts, dance or music workshops conducted by through the company over the weekends will help them to not only relieve themselves but also to bolster their morale.
" In a remote working setting, an individual may be able to use a different way to deliver the desired output.. In such situations, instead of focusing on operations, the employer should consider the outcome. This innovative technique should be admired and studied to determine whether it may assist in increasing and enhancing production.
The development of three fundamental principles-trust, communication, and a healthy work culture-is the key to a better operating company in a remote setting. Organizations can help develop teams with contented staff members that work to produce the greatest results for a brand/process by following these three fundamental principles.
