Keep Spirits High At Your Office This Winter!

Although winter can certainly be beautiful at times, it can also be a real downer. The sun’s hidden away, the winds are bitterly cold, all the trees are dead and spring’s a long way off. Of course, the weather affects some people more than others. However, there’s a fair chance that the winter’s really going to dampen your employees’ moods, and therefore productivity. Here are a few handy tips for keeping everyone motivated in the winter months.

Keep the Office Comfortable

It may be freezing outside, but that doesn’t mean the office has to be! I understand that as a start-up, your business’s resources are going to be extremely stretched and precious to you. Still, don’t be a stingy boss who keeps the office thermostat just high enough to prevent frostbite, and flies into a rage if anyone touches it! Your employees are already going to be a little down with how dark it’s getting in the afternoons, so keep their spirits up by creating a warm and comfortable workplace. Lighting is equally important for keeping spirits, and therefore productivity, high. Take a look at your budget and try to find other areas where you can trim back to mitigate the cost of heating. It’s also a good idea to have a number for an emergency boiler repair if and when disaster strikes!

Fill Up That Downtime

As much as you try, winter may inevitably make operations at your business slow to a crawl. The general, lethargic malaise that comes from the colder months is going to mean that your workforce as a whole will have more downtime than usual. Left to their own devices, they’re just going to sit around, bemoan the cold, the stress of Christmas shopping, and of course the fact that they’re at work! If you tear people’s heads off for their downtime, you’re only going to make matters worse. Instead, make things a little easier for your staff by giving them alternatives to the daily grind. Perhaps there’s some training program you wanted everyone to get on with. If this would be a welcome break from everything else you need your workers to be doing, then move people onto training and development tasks instead. As long as you’re hitting your most important quotas, filling their downtime will always be a good thing.

Make it Christmassy

If you’re some bitter, dour-faced, Ebenezer Scrooge type figure, then I’m sure your profit margins are excellent. However, I’m also pretty sure that the Cratchits at your business are slowly giving up hope on your more human side, and resenting their work more and more. If there’s one sure way to inject some joy and life into your office, then it’s decorating it with Christmas stuff. Right now, it won’t take you long to find some quality, affordable Christmas decorations to make the whole office seem a little less dreary. You don’t need a tree that reaches the ceiling, but you could at least organize an office secret Santa!