Member Article

Relaxed office, busier books

It’s National Relaxation Day today - hurray!

While it may be tempting to switch off your screen, unplug your phone and book yourself into a spa, or a pub, in celebration, it would probably be more productive to take the opportunity to reflect on our working lifestyles and find ways to make EVERY DAY “relaxation day”!

And it’s important that we do so, the numbers say it all! In 2013, the UK workforce took a total of 131 million sick days, according to the Office of National Statistics; the year after, there were 440,000 cases of work related stress, depression and anxiety.

It’s not just our health that will benefit from a more relaxed working environment: numerous studies have demonstrated that people who are happiest and most relaxed at work are the most productive.

That’s all very well, but how can we achieve this stress-less state of working?

As the outsourced HR advisor for Impression, the Nottingham-based digital marketing agency, I often speak to the team members and management on this topic and always recommend a two-pronged approach that sees employees and employers alike take responsibility for creating a calm, focused and relaxed environment.

Change starts from the ground up and so here are my five ways to build relaxation into your working day:

Start as you mean to go on

The first hour of your working day will set the tone for the rest, so do everything in your power to arrive at your desk in a relaxed and happy frame of mind. This could include a period of pre-breakfast exercise, such a running, swimming or yoga, all of which will release endorphins (happy hormones), or simply just taking your time to get to work; if you arrive flustered and stressed straight from the bus, you’re like to stay like that all day.

Create chunks of time

One of the biggest stressors in the workplace is a lack of time. Get into the habit of planning out your working day into chunks of time and tackle them one at a time. Ticking off those two hour tasks will keep you more relaxed than looking ahead to those 6 hours of ‘unknown’.

Put emails in their place

Yes, it seems that emails do make the working world go round, but they can also be a distractor that causes frustration and stress in the workplace. You’ll be more relaxed in the knowledge that you’ll deal with your inbox at three intervals set throughout your day, than when trying to balance the mini-war between the task at hand and your pinging inbox. Mute the notifications, be strict with yourself and enjoy the results.

You are what you eat

ClichÄ— but true. In order to remain in a relaxed and productive state throughout your working day, choose foods that will help your body to maintain a consistent level of blood sugar. Try choosing cinnamon popcorn or green tea over sweet biscuits and instant coffee - you will notice a difference.

Prepare for tomorrow, today.

At the end of one busy working day, thinking about the next may be the last thing that you want to do - but spend five minutes writing a list of your ‘tasks for tomorrow’ will will help you be more mentally prepared and organised for the next day’s events. Relaxation is all about knowing what’s ahead and being ready to tackle any potential stressors before they can ruin your calm and productive state.

As an employer, you can help your team build these moments of relaxation into their days and therefore increase productivity across the business. Consider these five ideas as a starting block:

Lunchtime is for eating…

“Obviously!” some may say, but what I really mean is it’s meant for just that. Not for checking emails, filling in spreadsheets or continuing to work on that morning’s unfinished task.

Encourage your team to move away from their desks and either leave the office or sit in a communal space to eat lunch. Lunchtime is a natural time to relax and be social and you should make sure that your office makes the most of this opportunity.

Office Olympics

Active people are happy people, happy people are productive people. By introducing sporting activities into your office environment, you can encourage your colleagues to move more during the day and therefore stay relaxed and productive.

Aaron Dicks, MD of Impression, says:

“Buying a ping pong table was one of the first things we did after moving into a new larger office space. Next we introduced a bit of friendly competition and encouraged frequent matches; the result has been increased productivity and social atmosphere within the office - some of our best ideas are bounced back and forth over a net!”

Location, location, location

We’re all different and so that means that no matter how many measures you take to make your office a relaxed environment, some of your employees may find it stressful to be fixed in one position throughout the day.

Consider implementing a flexible working policy and let employees know that they are free to work remotely, from home, a cafe or another space, for chunks of the day when they don’t need to be interacting from others. Enable your team to be at their most relaxed, be that in the office or elsewhere, and you should see a rise in productivity.

Let there be light!

A 2013 study revealed a strong correlation between workplace daylight exposure and employees’ quality of sleep, life and activity. A well rested team will be more prepared to deal with the ups and downs of the working day and will therefore stay more relaxed and productive. It’s worth considering this when making decisions about the location and decoration of your office space.

Treats

And I don’t mean the office biscuit tin. Consider what your team might do to relax in their spare time and introduce elements of this into their working day. For example, another client of mine brought a massage therapist into their company’s HQ every week; while they didn’t pay for the treatments, they encouraged employees to indulge in this relaxing activity by making allowances for it within the working day. At another company I worked for, team members were treated to shoulder massages at their desks!

Whether you’re an employee or an employer, take inspiration from National Relaxation Day and start implementing a few of these tips into your working day and office environement - you’ll soon see the results!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Impression .