The Best Workplace Conditions For Promoting Team Spirit
When you’ve got a team to lead, it can sometimes be tricky to keep everyone on the same page. But when your workplace is set up to encourage collaboration and socialisation, it’ll be easier than ever to curate a team that rubs along well. With that in mind, here’s how to manage a task like this.
Does your workplace feel like a good place to be? Maybe you’ve designed it in such a way to promote hard and smart work, as most businesses do. Indeed, productivity is often the only thing we focus on when it comes to our workspaces. However, we do ourselves and our teams a disservice by forgetting about the team spirit – motivation often comes from knowing we’re not in it alone!
And when you’ve got a team to lead, it can sometimes be tricky to keep everyone on the same page. But when your workplace is set up to encourage collaboration and socialisation, it’ll be easier than ever to curate a team that rubs along well. With that in mind, here’s how to manage a task like this.
Lead By Example
If you show your team how it should be done, they’ll have a proper visual cue to follow. So work hard, make smart decisions using advice from other people, and always have your door open ready for a chat. Leading by example isn’t all that hard in reality, but it does take some concentrated effort; a lot of bosses can forget that strong team spirit starts at the top!
Don’t ever expect something of an employee you wouldn’t be up for doing yourself. Sure, you’ve got different qualifications and job responsibilities, but if you don’t stay late, neither should they! In business, it’s all a matter of give and take. Show that you’re the kind of manager that puts in the hard graft and you’ll get the respect you’re owed.
Make Your Employees Comfortable
Your employees need to come into work expecting a good day. To do that, you’re going to need a comfortable workspace! It’s no good setting up a small desk with a hard chair that has no ergonomic value to it – no one can do their best work when they’re constantly shifting with back and wrist pain.
It’s so important to put serious consideration into things like your Office Desking and chairs. You’re going to need pillows made for lumbar support, at the very least, as well as mouse pads and keyboards that prevent issues like RSI from developing. All in all, if an employee can comfortably sit for up to 8 hours at a desk without feeling like they’re straining their spine or wasting their leg strength, they’ll be far happier to get involved!
There’s a lot to figure out when it comes to setting up a safe and ergonomic workspace – each employee is different and will require a unique solution tailored specifically to them. From setting up the correct monitor height to providing a foot rest, knowing where to start can be daunting. You can hire a company to run Occupational Health Assessments on your employees that will mean you’re able to address their individual needs which can save you money on unneeded/unwanted equipment in the long-run while ensuring that your employee’s physical and mental health needs are being met.
Go Out on Team Days
Setting up a team day once a quarter is a great way to give back to your employees. Not only do you get them out of the workspace and into the world as a team, but you can treat them to any number of fun days out. Heading off to theme parks, funfairs, and days at the beach are all popular options, alongside having the occasional (and traditional) team building conference.
But why do such days out need to be fun more than anything else? Because having something enjoyable to do is the best way to encourage the building of bonds. Your team can have a laugh together, and build some memories through their working relationship. And even though you’re outside of the office, you can give your team something to look forward to by planning these trips together.
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Don’t Forget About Congratulations
The human element is so important in the business world; nothing gets automated without someone telling a machine to do that! So throw some congratulations out there every once in a while. Telling your team they’ve done a good job, and putting in effort to recognise their achievements, are great ways to fire them up. Show them you see and appreciate everything they do and they’ll give it back to you tenfold.
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And don’t just stop at the congratulations either. Put together some real things to get involved in, such as office parties and even training days. If a staff member has the chance to push their own qualifications forward, and all because they’ve done a good job, they’ll try even harder next time. If you set up this positive cycle, people will naturally take part in it without a second thought.
If you want to build up the team spirit in your organisation, take some time to focus on the human connections that run your business. The way you and your employees work together has a lot of impact on your overall success, and a lot of that can stem from the way you design your workplace.