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Tips for Retaining Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Retaining Employees|Tips for Retaining Employees During the COVID-19 PandemicThe coronavirus pandemic has changed the landscape of employee and employer relations. Before, the retention of employees could be greatly influenced by the environment and relationships. Yet, for many businesses, now the only interaction they have with their employees is online.

More than ever, people struggle with their work-life balance, struggle to maintain their productivity, and struggle with their mental health.

When looking to retain employees through the pandemic, hopefully to the other side, it is important to consider the specific issues COVID-19 has caused.

Excellent Communication

One of the greatest struggles employees are facing right now is feeling out of the loop. Communication may have been easier before, when you could call someone into your office and speak to them face to face. But it’s different now.

Just because you can’t speak to your employees face to face doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep up that level of communication.

Ensuring everyone is on the same page and understands what is expected of them is key. Still, in the mental health crisis we find ourselves in, communicating more generally will help too.

More people than ever will be dealing with loss, grief, and poor health. Alongside that is the general anxiety caused by the pandemic and the listlessness and depression that has plagued many due to the new lifestyle we have had to adopt.

Taking time to ask your employees how they are doing and speaking to them personally will create a working environment employees will want to stay with, effectively retaining them through the pandemic.

Compensation and Perks

This may have been easier to dish out pre-pandemic, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still consider them to retain employees. Benefits are a crucial pillar of the employee experience, even more so now than before.

In an increasingly difficult world to navigate, aspects like paid time off, health packages, and retirement plans are more important than ever.

If employees feel like they’ve been treated well over the pandemic, they are more likely to stay. However, if they feel as though you didn’t support them enough, you will lose their trust, and they will be unlikely to stay long-term.

Wellness Activities

Providing a focus on wellness within your business is essential right now. Many are suffering through the pandemic and need relief.

Wellness activities focus on keeping your employees healthy – whether mentally, physically, or emotionally. Whilst this will help you retain your employees as they feel supported by the business, it will also help you out as employer. A healthy workforce means a productive workforce.

Kill two birds with one stone, and invest in your employees’ wellbeing.

Retain your employees easily

The pandemic has thrown up so many issues for business owners. Retaining your employees through this time will be difficult, but it offers you a chance to prove yourself to your employees. If you manage to retain them through this difficult time, you’ll be able to retain them through anything.

3 Ways to Improve Quality of Life in Your Workplace

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Life in the Workplace|3 Ways to Improve Quality of Life in Your WorkplaceThe average employee spends almost a third of their adult life in the workplace. You only get one life, and all this time sitting at a desk, sending emails, and working for someone else’s dreams is stealing valuable minutes away from it.

Although paid work is essential for survival, 64% of employees are unhappy with their job. So why spend so much of your precious time on Earth doing something that makes you miserable?

As a small business owner, the wellbeing of your staff should be one of your top priorities. Some bosses see their employees as mere tools to help the business grow, but any good employer will treat them as humans and do what they can to make them happy. After all, a happy worker is a productive worker. You have a great deal of power in your hands to greatly improve your team’s quality of life. With a few simple changes, you can transform the way they feel about work, and make them enjoy coming into the office each day. As a result, they will work harder and better, and the atmosphere in the workplace will change dramatically. Their physical and mental health will improve, and you will find it much easier to attract and retain the top talent.

To get you started, here are three ways to improve the quality of life in your workplace.

Embrace flexible working

Every single one of your staff members has a life outside work. They will have family, hobbies, side projects, and other concerns that they struggle to fit in around their work. One of the biggest changes you can make to your employees’ lives is to give them more flexibility at work. By allowing them to choose their hours or work remotely when needed, they will find it easier to pick up their kids from school, go to the gym, visit the doctor, and do all the things that make their life fulfilling. And if you’re worried they won’t get as much work done, relax. Studies show that flexible working actually boosts productivity.

Promote good health

You might not think it, but office work is one of the unhealthiest professions there is. Humans weren’t designed to spend eight hours a day slouching at a desk while staring unblinkingly at a screen. The sedentary and digital nature of the work can lead to weight gain, musculoskeletal disorders, and vision problems, not to mention the mental health risks of all that stress. Help your employees to look after their health. Invest in standing desks and ergonomic desk chairs to promote good posture, and talk to them about ways you can help manage their workloads and remove some of the stress.

Make them feel safe

No employee should feel unsafe in the workplace, so do what you can to instill a sense of security. Your office should comply with all fire and safety regulations. For example, fire exits should be signposted and unobstructed, while low voltage electric appliances will reduce risk. Ensure there is always a trained first-aider in the office and ask your team for suggestions about creating a safer environment to work in.

Maintaining Mental Health As An Entrepreneur: Four Essential Rules

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Mental Health|Maintaining Mental Health As An Entrepreneur: Four Essential RulesMany individuals still believe that entrepreneurship will provide them with the freedom that they could not achieve as workers. While there are some cases where this is true, in reality, entrepreneurship usually creates higher demands than regular employment. It can be anything from stress and burnout to breakdown and depression, but running your own organisation often affects general wellness and mental health.

Whether you are working freelance, planning on launching your business or you have been running your own company for a number of years, it’s crucial to prioritise your mental wellbeing. Therefore, we have put together a few tips to help you take better care of your mental health.

Separate Work From Home

Thanks to the pandemic, most of us are working remotely these days. However, when you work from home, it is difficult to separate work life from home life, particularly if you’ve never worked from home.

To maintain a work-life balance, make sure you have a place that can be used as a dedicated office and do all your work there. When it’s time to unplug, leave the room and close the door. It will be much easier to leave work if you are in a different physical space. Also, sign out of your work email on your phone, turn off all notifications and try to resist the urge to work from your phone while sitting on the couch or laying in bed.

Additionally, consider creating a schedule for yourself and stick to it. This way, you will have less stress or mental clutter as an organised life is a less stressful life.

Decompress & De-Stress Every Day

Whether it’s reading books, journaling, meditating or even playing video games, successful entrepreneurs incorporate some “me time” into their daily schedule. This means finding moments where you can leave work out of your mind and check-in with yourself to feel rejuvenated and be better in dealing with your daily stress.

Prioritise Healthy Choices & Physical Activity

Nourishing your body through healthy eating and daily exercises is also crucial for both your mental and physical health. Eating healthy and balanced meals and snacks will prevent depression and cognitive impairment, and help you boost your mood, maintain your energy, stay focused and be more productive. At the same time, regular physical activity not only keeps your body in better shape but also helps with essential things like sleep and mood.

Incorporate CBD Into Your Daily Routine

Today, CBD oil is becoming increasingly popular as a natural and effective solution for mental health and general wellbeing. CBD is able to interfere with the receptors of your body’s endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for different processes occurring in your organism such as sleep, appetite, inflammation, stress, immune response, etc.

Intake of CBD oil for anxiety can help to alleviate anxiety and stress, improve focus and energy, boost mood, relieve pain or promote relaxation after a long day to experience restful sleep. CBD is also very versatile so that you can buy CBD oil in various formats such as capsules, tinctures, edibles, vapes and many others.

Running a Business Can Take a Toll on Your Mental Health

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Running a business|Running a Business Can Take a Toll on Your Mental HealthDue to COVID and widespread job loss, many people have decided to become entrepreneurs and start their own business. It’s a great idea to go to work for yourself and build your own dream, but unfortunately, many of these people don’t know what they are getting into and quickly find themselves stressed out, depressed and overwhelmed.

What if it didn’t have to be this way? How can these new entrepreneurs build their new businesses while staying mentally healthy? It is very doable if done right.

Hedge the downsides

You’ve probably heard the hype: Entrepreneurship equals freedom. Starting a business is the fastest way to build wealth. Build the life of your dreams. Unfortunately, it’s the biggest lie out there. The truth is that all of these things can happen, but it’s not so easy. You need to have realistic expectations otherwise you’re going to be quickly disappointed, stressed and depressed when you realize how much work is really involved to run a successful business.

Care enough for people not to fail

If failure tends to get the best of you, you might want to avoid entrepreneurship because it is filled with failure in the traditional sense. In fact, you could say the most successful entrepreneurs are really just professional failures who keep trying. But ultimately, you can relieve any stress, anxiety and depression around failure by caring so much for people that in essence, you never fail. If you show people that you genuinely care and go to bat for them all the time, you’ll never be a failure.

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Be adaptable

If you don’t adapt to change well, you might want to avoid entrepreneurship. In business, things are constantly changing. For people who like the same routine day in and day out, your emotions might start to get the best of you when you realize that running a business is filled with new and different challenges every day. Learn to accept change and don’t let it get the best of you.

Find a healthy outlet

Unfortunately, when it comes to depression, anxiety and other negative emotions, many entrepreneurs feel as if they need to appear strong and in control. As a result, they hold it all in and this makes it worse, leads to drug and alcohol abuse, and in severe cases even suicide. The sooner you can address your mental health, the better the outcome.

Focus on your health

All the success in business is meaningless if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy it. Entrepreneurship is hard work and will take a toll on your mind and body. Make your health a priority and eat a healthy diet, get plenty of exercise, get enough quality sleep, find time to relax, drink plenty of water and don’t overextend yourself.

Have a big solution

Deciding to become an entrepreneur is commendable, but you need to have real solutions for people otherwise everything is going to go astray. After all, business is all about soling people’s problems. The more problems you solve for them, the more money you make. After that, you can put your mental health at ease by answering some very important questions: How are you going to get clients? Do you need to hire employees? How will you handle cash flow and bookkeeping? Are you willing to wear multiple hats and work the long hours to build the business? Start with a solution to people’s problems, then follow up with a solid business plan.

The takeaway

Starting a business is definitely a great idea in these times when so many people are out of work and simply trying to make ends meet. It can yield great wealth, immense satisfaction and a totally different lifestyle for you and your family. Just make sure you know what you are getting into and that it’s not as easy as some people portray it to be. Entrepreneurs, in particular, need to take precautions to protect their mental health and take care of themselves.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor |Dr. Alok TrivediDr. Alok Trivedi is a health, human behavior and national stress reduction expert. He is founder of The Aligned Performance Institute and author of the book ‘Chasing Success.’ https://aloktrivedi.com/

How to Transfer Business Skills to Manage Your Life

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Business Skills|How to Transfer Business Skills to Manage Your LifeStarting and running a successful business requires a great number of skills, including fantastic organization, great financial planning, and people management. If you are an entrepreneur, chances are you have worked to hone these skills to the peak of your ability. Yet they don’t have to be confined to your business world. These abilities can help you manage your personal life, ensuring you stay on top of your finances, personal investments, and work-life balance. By taking a holistic approach to your life, you’ll find you make better decisions, and that you’re able to approach your business with greater focus and positivity.

Managing Personal Property

When you buy a new house, it is never simply a personal decision. You are also investing in a property, one that you can profit from in the future if and when you decide to sell, and it’s worth using all your business acumen to ensure you make the right decisions. Properties come in all shapes and sizes, with all different circumstances attached, and it’s worth doing your research. For example, if you’re buying an apartment that falls under an owners corporation, this can have many advantages, but it’s worth investigating strata law as the bylaws that govern these bodies can be complicated. A specialized lawyer may be able to advise you and make sure you’re getting the best deal possible in this situation. Whatever the type of property you’re considering, treating it as a business decision as well as a decision of the heart will ensure you are investing in your future.

Overseeing Your Accounts

For some reason, many business owners with an incredible grasp of their company’s accounts and finance can fail to apply this same attention to detail to their own personal financial situation. Don’t let this be you. Keeping a close eye on the state of your accounts is a vital part of living a successful life, one that allows you to plan for the future and accomplish everything you desire. There are also tips and tricks you can pull from business models to help you manage your finances more easily. Just as you may have ‘pots’ of money separated for different departments in your business, why not apply this same structure to your own bank account? Put aside a budget each month for clothes, groceries, and casual spending, and make it more efficient for yourself to keep track of your expenditure.

Scheduling and Prioritization

Do you ever feel like achieving the perfect work-life balance is an impossible task? You’re not alone. Many business owners find it difficult to make time for themselves. One solution to this is simple: schedule personal time and social events into your calendar just as you would a meeting or a work deadline. This may seem frivolous, but in fact, taking time out to destress and spend quality time with family and friends is vitally important in maintaining your physical and mental health. In turn, this will affect your ability to concentrate, and therefore the health of your business.