A new year presents an array of possibilities, especially within our careers. It’s a time for setting new goals and making resolutions. When January 1st hits, there’s an overwhelming sense of excitement and passion around us.
As business professionals, you’ll want to keep that excitement and passion when the team heads back into the office after their Christmas break.
In this article, we will share a handful of tips on how to start 2023 off right in the workplace. We’ll share office wellness tips, productivity hacks and different activities to offer.
- A clean space brings in a productive mind.
Before your team heads out for the holidays, ask everyone to ensure that their space is tidy. Not only will this ensure that there’s no rotten food in their desk drawers, but it will be nice and clean when everyone returns to the office.
No one wants to have to clean their space once they have sat down to start their first day back in the office. If their space is clean when they come in after the holidays, they will feel eager and excited to get right to work.
With this, ensure that all common areas are clean as well. Clean out the fridge and restock your work kitchen with all of the needed things. Make sure plants have been watered and aren’t dried up and dead. Check that couches and chairs are tidy and there isn’t any garbage lying around.
When your team heads into the office on their first day back, they will have a productive mindset with a nice clean space.
- Spend more time in the kitchen.
The kitchen is the heart of any home, so why not make it the heart of the office too? The office kitchen is a great place to build camaraderie and engage with teammates. Having coffee and drinks for employees encourages employees to talk to one another.
Another great thing to have in the kitchen is a large kitchen table where people can eat their lunches. Having a space to come together and eat together will create workplace bonds. In no time, you will see teammates having lunch together every single day and laughing and connecting about non-work topics.
These are the connections employers should be after!
If your office doesn’t have space for a table, encourage employees to invite each other out for lunch or find a place in common areas or the park to eat and connect together.
- Set monthly employee challenges.
A fantastic way to start off the year right is through monthly challenges. Monthly wellness challenges with employees are not only a great bonding activity, but they also promote living a healthy lifestyle.
During your first big team meeting after the break, decide on a January challenge. Make sure that everyone feels on board and comfortable with the challenge and find a way to tally the scores.
Some great examples include a steps challenge, a meditation challenge, a water intake challenge, a no elevator challenge (if your office is on a higher floor of a building), and a healthy eating challenge.
There are so many great ways to bring the team together through a monthly challenge setting.
- Have set meeting times and places.
Let 2023 be the year of less anxious employees and more structure in the workplace. One idea to help with this is to have set meeting times and meeting places. If people know what to expect, they will feel better going into the office and into the meeting.
For example, having leadership meetings on Monday morning and a full team meeting on Tuesday morning in the boardroom. If you’re having employee one-on-ones, have those also in the morning. No one loves to sit and wait around all day thinking about an afternoon meeting that has to happen.
Having a private space for a one-on-one is also nice. Whether it’s in the CEO’s office or at a coffee shop. This allows there to be more open space to become vulnerable and discuss things openly.
- Improve communication.
Great communication is vital to business success. As a business professional, it’s on you to encourage your employees to share their thoughts on past success, failures and ideas for the future.
To improve communication, you can set up different ways to communicate with you. This can be team meetings, one-on-one meetings to a private/anonymous online chat platform.
Make sure that employees know you have an open door policy and are one to listen, receive honest feedback and be open with hearing everything. It’s up to you to set the tone for transparent communication.
Ready for more ideas?
If you’re looking for more ideas on how to start the new year off right, reach out to us! At Navy & Sage, we are here to help our clients in any way we can. We have numerous ideas, wellness platforms and tips when it comes to employee connection.
We can’t wait to hear from you and help your office succeed in 2023.
