By Lauren Schoener-Gaynor - TMG
Before this past year, boxes of communal morning donuts and lively breakroom chanter were just two of the many ways to boost employee morale. However, with companies transitioning back into physical office spaces, employee enthusiasm may face challenges posed by floor decals and sanitizing stations. As this new type of work environment adds to the long list of unprecedented changes in one’s work life, one important question arises: how can companies improve morale among team members?
It is imperative to figure out how to implement morale-building tactics in a new, safe way.
“Just Because” Day Off Surprise employees with a day off or shortened workday, allowing them to take a mental health break without feeling as though they are wasting one of their PTO days.
Provide Opportunities to Celebrate Failure In order to reduce the pressure on a team, fostering a workplace culture where failures are talked about and even celebrated is the better approach. By creating a safe space for failures to be explored and understood, employees will feel motivated to correct their mistakes while striving for success.
Company Lunch/Food Gift Cards The days of group lunches in the office with sandwich trays and bowls of salad to share on going to be on hold for a while. Many companies – AFAMCO included – have virtual all-staff gathering times. Each team member is emailed a gift card to Grub Hub or Uber Eats and our team then “comes together” and has lunch or Happy Hour when the day is done.
Give It a Break The work-from-home lifestyle has allowed employees to control their workday and break schedules. In order to help transition our team back into the office while maintaining employee happiness, we’re encouraging short mental breaks. Anyone can do this by blocking out certain times in the day where meetings cannot be booked, encouraging team members to take a mental break during that time.
The transition back into the office will definitely be a learning experience for everyone, so it’s important to find new ways to boost team morale while keeping people safe.
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