The afternoon slump is often talked out, and there’s a biological reason for that. As Time magazine reports, according to the National Sleep Foundation, the strongest natural urges to sleep occur between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., and again, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., not the most convenient hours when you’re trying to get work done. While there are easy ways to combat that, from encouraging employees to take a walk to turning up the lights or even cranking up some energetic tunes, what happens if your team is in a slump all day long and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight?
Revisit and Revise Goals
By breaking targets into fun, shorter-term goals, you can help get everyone more enthusiastic again. When employees know they have a better chance of achieving goals, it helps keep them more motivated, especially when they’re broken down into week or monthly goals. That provides more opportunities for celebrating achievements, keeping everyone on a more positive note. Be sure to offer some type of reward, it doesn’t have to be pricey, gift cards for coffee and other small tokens can often keep workers engaged.
Offer More Flexible Work Hours
When your employees are stuck in the office day after day, it can easily lead to burnout. People tend to be a lot more productive when working restrictions and schedules are relaxed, providing them with more room to breathe and even come up with more creative solutions. Consider allowing at least some work to be done remotely, or perhaps implement half-day Fridays. This will help to build trust while also allowing workers time to take care of family responsibilities.
Have More Fun Together
Allowing team members to get to know each other on more of a personal level often makes for a stronger team. Occasionally plan events that don’t involve the usual high-stress and pressure, like taking the team out for happy hour, dinner or going to a baseball game. Any type of low-key event where workers aren’t expected to do anything more than enjoy hanging out with colleagues, leads to conversation and a more personal feel, resulting in better communication when you’re back at the office.
Play Games
Sometimes all a team really needs is something that will help recharge their energy. Aim to implement a regular game hour, or an occasional game day. Office games allow for more team bonding, opportunities for solving problems together and skill-building, all while promoting team work and boosting morale.
Scavenger hunts can be a great way to build team camaraderie while having fun and improving creative thinking. You can squeeze short games into the day too, like 60-Second Speeches. Choose a funny or ridiculous topic, with the goal to allow each person to talk about it for 60 seconds without stopping. It’s a great way to break the ice and get everyone laughing again. Happy employees are almost always more motivated, productive employees.
