7 Ways to create a Productive Holiday Atmosphere within your Workspace
During the Holiday season there is a delicate balance to strike between embracing festivities and maintaining a productive atmosphere. Workers will be looking forward to some well-deserved time off, preoccupied with buying presents for family or potentially stressed about the financial burden.
As a business it’s important to foster a positive atmosphere during the Holidays that uplifts your workers and creates a sense of cohesion. This is especially true in a coworking environment, where there may already be a disparity between the different businesses occupying a hired office. This article will break down seven ways you can maintain productivity during the Holidays.
Flexibility
Whilst the Holidays are usually a time of excitement they can also represent a lot of stress for workers – especially those with young families and children. As a an employer it’s important to stay as flexible as possible during this time. You could discuss coworking policies such as extended hours, time off in lieu, more availability for remote working and flexible seating arrangements for accommodating different schedules.
Many companies, like the social media business Buffer, have implemented remote working policies during the Holidays and seen great results. By allowing employees to adjust their schedules around personal commitments with the family, their overall morale and productivity was maintained throughout the festive season.
Engage in Holiday Activities
A coworking space presents an opportunity to bring people together. As a business it’s important to arrange activities that generate both anticipation and conversation, especially during the Holidays. Each workplace is different. Some may respond well to activities like Secret Santa as a fun bonding experience; others may prefer collective workshops providing them with skills and career progression.
Inclusivity is key with these activities since most businesses are diverse places.
This is especially true in a coworking space. Businesses like Google are known for celebrating and organising events for all manner of Holidays: Hanukkah, Diwali and Christmas. You could encourage a cross-cultural cuisine day, where workers can bring in traditional meals from their culture. This embraces and appreciates your workers diverse backgrounds, making them feel valued for their unique point of view.
Lead by Example
Employees often look to managers and higher-ups to determine what’s acceptable. A stressed leadership usually results in a stressed workforce. As managers you should be the ones taking the first steps. Reach out to employees to determine Holiday schedules and organise events with the whole team involved. In a coworking space, you should be the ones building bridges with the other businesses with whom you share the office.
You can put your employees at ease by allowing them to follow suit. The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, does exactly this. He encourages his employees to take time off for their personal commitments and prioritise their family members. This ensures that their work commitments are manageable and they don’t wind up burnt out whilst balancing too many responsibilities.
Be Positive
Its no secret that a positive workplace is a productive one. Employees will look forward to coming to work if it’s a place they want to be. The Holiday season has numerous opportunities to embrace positivity. You could organise motivational talks for everyone in the coworking space, as well as encourage positive feedback with your peers through performance reviews.
Many businesses also organise gratitude sessions. These are events where employees are encouraged to express their appreciation for their peers through the things they’ve accomplished or the atmosphere they bring to the workplace. Looking to organise these events across the office space will build bonds between coworkers and create a more productive atmosphere.
Decorate you Workplace (If Allowed)
This is another great way to bring positivity into the office. Collectively in the coworking space you could arrange to put up festive lights or a Christmas tree. You can also allow more flexibility with your employees personal workspaces by allowing them to decorate their desks. If you’re with a daily office hire plan, you will need to first consult with your host.
This can especially help build inclusivity, by allowing individuals to celebrate Holidays like Diwali in their own way. This idea has been picked up by businesses like Airbnb. By giving workers the freedom to decorate they can make them feel more valued and trusted by the business, as well as build collective camaraderie in the office.
Collaborate
Giving your employees the opportunity to collaborate on projects is a great way to further build bonds for productivity. You can embrace the spirit of giving back by arranging fundraising events inside the office, or more community oriented events.
You can encourage employees to organise local litter clean-ups or even put together an office food parcel. When encouraged throughout the office space, these small gestures can really build a sense of teamwork and camaraderie which translates into productivity.
Prepare a Schedule
The Holidays are one of the busiest seasons for both work and personal commitments. Offering your employees a schedule ahead of time is a great way to let them organise their personal commitments, as well as allowing your business to adjust their own deadlines as necessary. A shared calendar between businesses operating in the coworking space is a great way to keep on top of everyone’s availability. It may even encourage more collaboration between businesses. When you let employees plan out this time of year in advance, it lets them feel they can keep on top of their workload and maintain a work-life balance.
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