The transition back to normal working after the pandemic has been tough for a lot of people. Remote working suited many people and having the flexibility to work in the way that they wanted was a huge improvement to their working lives. So, when these employees are asked to come back into the office and return to their normal 9-5 working hours, morale can take a hit. One solution to this is to maintain some level of remote working and adopt a flexible model. But even if you do this, you still need to find ways to boost morale and foster a positive working environment in the post-COVID world. These are some of the most effective ways to do that.
Be Flexible
Flexibility is so important, even if you are bringing people back into the office full-time. People are used to having more freedom to fit their other responsibilities around their work, and that ultimately means they are less stressed and their morale is better. So, you should still allow some level of flexibility so people can manage other aspects of their life easily. For example, if people want to start a little later so they can do the school run, let them. If people need to take a slightly longer lunch break to run a few errands, that’s fine. Start measuring people’s effectiveness based on the work they deliver, rather than the hours they work. As long as their productivity doesn’t drop, you can let them have more freedom with working hours and this will drastically boost morale.
Host Work Events
Hosting great events for your employees helps them blow off steam, fosters better relationships within the team, and shows them that you appreciate their hard work. Hosting corporate dinners at places like The Riverhouse
business event facility is a brilliant way to help your employees relax and unwind. You should also consider some team-building exercise days too, to help improve team cohesion. Getting your employees to vote on different ideas for work events makes everybody feel included and ensures that people enjoy the events you plan.
Invest In Personal Development
Opportunities for personal development are one of the things that are missing from remote work. When you bring people back into the office, you should take advantage of your ability to help your team grow and progress. When people feel that they are being supported and they are progressing in their career, their morale is much better and employee retention is drastically improved. Speak with your employees about what their goals are and which skills they feel they are lacking. You can then invest in training to help them fill those gaps and advance in their careers. Not only does this help you keep your best people and boost morale, but it also means that you have more skilled employees, which drastically benefits your business.
Low morale is one of the biggest challenges that businesses face in the post-COVID world. It’s crucial that you implement these strategies to keep your employees happy and productive as they return to the office
