Workplace Organization

According to recent numbers from Statics Canada, an estimated 4.7 million Canadians have transitioned to working remotely since mid-March. Following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Canadians are now commuting no further than their living room or kitchen. While some of us have settled into the routine of working from home, this sudden shift to a remotely based workplace presents a slew of new challenges for employers. The reality is that COVID-19 will continue to impact how we work moving forward, even after the pandemic, and the ways in which companies conduct business will have to reflect that. ‍

Flexible Working Environment ‍

Chats around the water cooler and conference room meetings may be a thing of the past. Ottawa based tech company, Shopify, has already preemptively closed their offices until 2021. CEO Tobi Lukte described Shopify as a “digital by default” company on Twitter, meaning that some 5,000 employees can continue to work remotely even once COVID-19 restrictions are eventually lifted.

While some employees have adapted well to working remotely, others are looking forward to returning to the office when life is back to some form of normalcy. However, even if your workplace does open following the pandemic it will likely look very different - particularly when it comes to enforcing social distancing measures. Many employers will shift to a more flexible working arrangement - giving employees the option to divide their time between home and in office. This compromise ensures that employers can follow cleanliness and social distancing practices and employees can still feel connected to their colleagues and pre-pandemic routine.

Related Article: Do Your Remote Employees Feel Looked After? 

Company Culture Reimagined ‍

There is an undeniable link between a strong company culture and employee success. Friday beer carts and ping pong tournaments were routinely credited for their ability to bring coworkers together. Our new reality, however, will force us to foster that same familial culture without being in the same space. Although it may feel impossible to achieve or maintain a strong company culture with the majority of your team working remotely, many companies have already found new ways to bring co workers together. For example, virtual happy hours, surprise deliveries when celebrating accomplishments, or outdoor activities (as long as social distancing rules can be applied). It isn’t impossible to cultivate or foster a strong company culture in light of COVID-19, it just takes some thinking outside of the box.

Related Article: How to Keep Your Startup Culture Thriving‍

Communications and Automation Tools ‍

If working from home has taught us anything, is that there are indeed many meetings that could have been easily conveyed in an email. This new era of remote working means that employers will have to substitute regular in-person meetings with virtual chats or messaging. Telecommunications has, and will continue to be, our new normal - whether that means video chats with our managers or prospecting clients over the phone. It will also be interesting to see if there is an increase in the adoption of automation tools during these uncertain times. Automation tools could be particularly beneficial during these uncertain times as companies try to navigate the uncharted waters of life after COVID-19. From sustainability to cost effectiveness or information management, replacing an existing workflow for an automation tool could mean one less thing a company has to worry about. 

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Based on what we have seen since March, everything points to a workforce that is open to adapting their processes so employees can work effectively from home. That being said, it will likely take some trial and error before any best practices or methods can be nailed down. While this pandemic has brought much uncertainty, one thing is for sure - the future of work will look very different. ‍

Looking for tools to engage your employees from home?  Request a Demo with Qarrot

A startup culture is often defined as one that respects the individual, values creative problem-solving, open communication, and a flat hierarchy. It focuses on its team members and promotes adaptability at every level. Having a clear vision, shared values, and a commitment to success are all likely key ingredients to early success in a startup.

But how will you maintain your startup culture as the company grows?

What is Startup Culture?

Firstly, what makes startup culture so unique? It’s about a clear identity, growth strategy and relationships, all based on the company’s core values. There are typically 4 key components that make up any successful startup culture:

1. Value of the individual

In the fast pace of a startup, it’s easy to get lost in the next milestone, or the larger goal. It’s important to highlight that each worker is a key piece of a larger puzzle, and that their contributions are valued. A timely, genuine "thank you" from a leader goes a long way toward engagement.

Startups can have high turnover rates, as their pace and structure is not for everyone. It’s important to acknowledge the value of the individuals who continuously add not only to the success of the company, but to the culture itself.

2. Flat Structure

In a flat structure, decision-making occurs at the staff level; it doesn't happen in closed meetings, reserved for a handful of execs. Employees in a flat organizational structure are given significant independence with little to no supervision.

A flat structure is often more empowering for employees. It also encourages an atmosphere of openness and transparency that speeds up decision-making and company progress faster than a rigid hierarchy.

3. Openness

From open communication to an open-door policy to an open floor plan, openness is a key element of startup culture. Stemming from a flat structure, open communication allows people in various positions to share their ideas without closed-door meetings. An open floor plan can facilitate this by promoting more interactions between coworkers.

Related article: How to Incentivize Creativity, Innovation and Out-of-the-box Thinking

4. Business agility

New startups must adapt quickly to market pressures to survive. Trends, customer behavior, and competitors can change quickly. Business agility is the ability of an organization to:

• Adapt quickly to market changes - internally and externally;
• Respond rapidly to customer demands;
• Adapt and lead change in a productive and cost-effective way without compromising quality.

This agility is also required of the team at all levels, requiring that both individual and team goals are clear and in focus. Flexibility is key, from deadlines to projects, to employees and the culture itself.

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How do you keep your startup culture alive?

As a company grows from that initial team of a handful of driven minds in a 200 sq. ft. office, to a well-oiled, multi-department machine, it’s important to keep the components of your startup culture thriving. The types of personalities that are drawn to startups are often enticed by the culture, so maintaining will help keep employees engaged, and help with retention.

1. Remain transparent

Ineffective communication is a consistent source of frustration for workers in most industries. This can be especially true in startups, where the speed with which things grow and change can allow little time for lengthy emails or meetings. The type of communication that worked when you could simply tell a coworker an update across a small office will not work for a startup that now boasts 50+ employees.

Being on top of transparent and effective communication is essential, to keep that element of openness at your startup’s core.

Utilize internal messaging systems like Slack, which allow for channels to be created for topics, teams, projects, etc. Be sure these channels are monitored for relevancy, however. An abundance of unnecessary information is just as frustrating and confusing as a lack of information altogether.

Being transparent in all communications, be it in a messaging system, by email, or in meetings, will allow your team to feel they are trusted, and that their input in valued. They may have a solution to a problem that has not been presented yet. If they feel they have the space to share their ideas, productivity will increase.

2. Acknowledge contributions

Even though startup culture is about working as a team towards a common goal, it’s equally important to acknowledge the contributions made by individuals within the organization. In fact, recognizing a team member's contributions helps to strengthen their emotional bond to both the company and its culture.

This type of recognition can come in many forms, from tangible rewards, like gift cards or paid lunches, to additional paid vacation days, work-from-home privileges, among others.

Be sure that whatever form of recognition you chose, your employee feels that their contributions are being genuinely valued by the organization. They should not be working for a reward. Rather, they should feel an added sense of accomplishment when receiving one.

Related article: Employee Recognition – It’s Not Just About The Money

3. Listen to new ideas

Many employees hesitate to share ideas with higher-ups, so hold workshops or meetings that encourage the flow of new ideas. Having designated time or space for facilitating idea-sharing shows your team that you value their input. If your startup does truly embrace a flat hierarchy, these types of exchanges will only further promote that. These meetings can be weekly, biweekly, or monthly, depending on what works best for your day-to-day.

If in-person meetings are not possible as frequently as you’d like, be sure there is a designated virtual ‘space’ for your team to share their ideas. If you have an internal messaging application, create a group or channel designated to that purpose.

4. Be constantly evolving

As is core to the business of a startup, constant change and agility are necessary for the culture as well. Your business’s core values should remain unchanged, but the way they are applied in the everyday lives of your workers must evolve. Many companies fall into the “culture fit” trap – employees who do not fit their current way of working, those to question processes and procedures, who speak up often in meetings, are not a culture fit for the company.

When a company is small, it’s easy to focus on hiring those who fit the mold, as the dynamics of the team are very close and limited. However, for your company and its culture to get better, you need to add diverse ideas, experiences, values, and personalities to the mix.

By overly focusing on candidates who are a good “culture fit”, you are likely to miss out on a lot of incredible minds. You also risk creating a monoculture – one that doesn’t evolve over time and risks leaving those who don’t fit feeling alienated. While the team needs to keep up with the growth of your business’s success, your company’s culture needs to keep up with the growth of your team.

Related article: Motivating Different Personality Types

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Easy engagement that grows with you

With the pace of your business ever accelerating, employee recognition in a startup environment can easily fall through the cracks. Qarrot makes employee recognition easy, fun, and effective for small to mid-sized organizations by providing a complete solution.

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Book your demo today to see more about how we can help you be leaders in employee engagement!

It’s a given fact that employers have a duty of care to all employees, including Lone Workers. It's the responsibility of employers to ensure that the mental and physical well-being of all of their employees are cared for, especially since there is a growing number of employees silently suffering from mental and physical illnesses. According to the World Health Organization, over 264 million people suffer from depression and anxiety, which can gravely affect their productivity and performance. Both depression and anxiety have a great economic impact, amounting to US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

Fortunately, there are many simple ways employers can look after their employees. Pain Free Working explains that surveys have found that simple things work best to help them increase their productivity. Office workers enjoy having the ability to personalize their workspaces and work in places with natural light and better air quality. While it is easy to check on in-house employees and apply policies that will safeguard their mental and physical well-being, it becomes a challenge for employers when it comes to lone workers because they can’t exactly provide these things.

That being said, employers must look for ways to make lone workers feel included, and there are multiple ways to do this. For starters, employers can have meaningful conversations with the employees about the risks of working alone and, together, come up with plans to mitigate said risks.

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Here are some more tips that employers can follow to make remote employees feel included and cared for:

Have steady communication

One simple yet easily overlooked tip is steady and open communication. With how advanced technology is today, it's very easy to maintain informal conversations and, in turn, a better connection with your lone workers. Forbes highlighted how using collaborative software like Slack or even a closed Facebook Group can help employees get to know each other, inspire one another, and also spark each other's creativity.

Remember to include and recognize them

Your remote employers may not be with you in the office every day, but they are gravely affected by every project you take on and every decision you make. When under a tight schedule, it is all the more important to ask for their participation and opinion. The same principle also applies to every company celebration. Additionally, while it is easy to give recognition to an onsite employee, say during breaks, you have to take the time to find an opportunity to recognize remote employees in front of their peers to keep their morale and spirits up.

Have longer one-on-ones

Since moments that build rapport are scarce for remote workers, as an employer, you can make up for this by having longer one-on-ones. Business2Community suggests arranging weekly team calls to help your workers feel that they're still part of a team despite working alone. For even better results, set up a schedule where you spend at least a full hour of your time talking to each remote worker every week and make sure that you ask remote-specific questions. It also pays to ask questions about their career paths and listen to their goals and aspirations. Offer advice and, if possible, work together to find ways through which your company can help them achieve their long-term and short-term goals.

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Conclusion

It's no secret that employees work harder when they know the company appreciates them, and making your remote workers feel looked after could mean the difference between developing a long-term professional relationship with them and just being another "for-the-meantime" job. It may be hard to find ways to recognize their achievements at first, but luckily you can use specialized platforms to make this process easier.

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Book a demo with Qarrot today and see how it can help you connect with your team through positive praise!

As an employer, you have a duty of care to your employees. But what exactly does this mean?

‍It’s basically ensuring that the mental and physical health & wellbeing of your employees are being protected. And with one in five people experiencing mental health issues or illnesses a year, it’s no surprise that employee wellbeing has been the focus of attention for many employers.

This duty of care also applies to your lone workers. According to employment law, you’re required to carefully consider and address any areas thought of as a ‘risk’ to their health, safety, and wellbeing.

Although this duty is a legal obligation, you shouldn’t think of it that way. As well as meeting the legal requirements, it can also bring with it major benefits to your business and workers. When the wellbeing of your staff is looked after, they’re happier, motivated and more productive. And for your business, happier employees mean better engagement, increased retention and improved brand reputation.

‍In this piece, we’ll explain who lone workers are and highlight your legal obligation to them.

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Who do we consider "lone workers"?

It’s anyone that works in isolation and with limited supervision. With changes to the traditional way of working (9-5) and the increased availability of the internet, employers must be able to adapt in order to attract the best talent. One of such changes in the introduction of lone working.

Depending on the organization, a lone worker could be anything from a community nurse making home visits to an electric company employee carrying out maintenance on meters.

Other examples or lone/remote workers include:

• Estate agents
• Salespeople
• Site workers
• Postal staff
• Self-employed
• Utilities employees (meter readers, maintenance staff)
• Construction workers (surveyors, site workers, inspectors)
• Mobile workers (drivers, care/social workers, probation officers, service engineers, etc.)
• People working outside of the normal working hours (security guards, cleaners, etc.)

Your responsibilities for lone workers

The first duty you have to your employees is to access the risks of working alone and take reasonable steps to avoid or control them.

The process involves:

• Talking with your employees about the potential risks of working alone. You’ll then create a plan to control any identified issues. It’s worth noting, by law you’re required to consult all staff members on health and safety matters that concern them.
• Implementing procedures to ensure that risks are removed and control measures are in place.
• Training, instructing and supervising the employee on lone working procedures.
• Reviewing risk assessments regularly or after major changes to work practices.

While there are many benefits of lone working, it also comes with some risks to you and your employees.

In order to reduce risks, consider the following measures:

• Training employees on the risks involved with certain work activities and lone working as a whole.
• An appropriate supervision process.
• Adequate emergency and evacuation procedures.
• An effective communication routine between supervisor and lone worker.

Remember, the health and safety process you have in place for your off-site employees will be different from the one in place for your staff based in the office. But it’s also worth noting, you shouldn’t put your lone workers at more risk than you would your office workers.

Training for lone workers

You could consider training as it’s important for these types of workers. This is especially the case for those with little to no supervision. You should also consider training that teaches them to cope with unexpected circumstances and manage issues effectively.

Because your lone workers don’t have immediate access to their supervisors or other more experienced co-workers, providing them with extra training can come in handy to understand the risks involved in their work.

It’s also a good idea to put a lone working policy in place. The policy sets out what can and can’t be done while working alone. You should ensure your employees fully understand and follow the policy and procedures.

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Conclusion

Your duty of care as an employer is an ongoing issue and not just a one-off event.

Remember to review your lone worker policy often and update to account for any changes to employee duties, legislation and business trends.

Finally, remember to carry out regular reviews of risk assessments. This is especially important after any significant changes to the employee’s work environment.

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Interested in learning how an employee recognition and rewards program can keep your lone employees engaged?

Book a Demo with Qarrot today!

The face of the modern workplace has changed dramatically over the years, primarily where the pursuit of work-life balance is considered. A healthy quality of life is dependent on balancing career, family, health, and wellness. Flexible schedules and the ability to work remotely are 2 ways in which companies are providing these opportunities for their employees.

Recently Gallup published an article that stated, the results of a study they conducted on "benefits and perks" they found that 37% of employees would switch to a job that allows them to work off-site at least part-time.

‍Now before you get the idea that working from home is just a perk that benefits the employee, consider that studies have found financial benefits to the company as well. Global Workplace Analytics released their State of Telecommunicating in the US Employee Workforce findings in 2017 and found that employers saved over $11,000 annually, per employee, who worked remotely part of the time. Savings were found mostly in the areas of real estate, absenteeism, and turnover.

‍Advances in technology have made much of what an employee can do at the office available for them to do anywhere they like; whether it’s at home, at the cottage, or at a local coffee shop. Things like cell phone plans, high-speed availability and cloud-based software have led this revolution, but it's still the desire of the employee that is driving this trend upwards.

Telecommuting amongst full-time employees has increased 140% in a little over a decade! Though this has mostly been the case for companies with more than 500 employees, many small and medium-sized companies are starting to offer this as an option.

‍As if engaging our workforce wasn't difficult enough, engaging a remote, or dispersed, workforce poses its own set of challenges. What we’ve discovered in conversation with business leaders is that they can struggle with employees that may not be as strongly driven by the company's vision, and are more difficult to motivate than others.

If you currently have employees who sometimes work off-site, or are considering offering remote and/or flexi-hours to your workforce, it is critical to think more strategically on how to involve your workforce in engaging activities that make them still feel connected to the organization.

How do we engage our remote workforces? Here are a few suggestions:

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Set up a medium for regular communication

Providing tools in which managers and team members can regularly communicate with each other is key to cultivating a culture of collaboration. We know that a collaborative environment supports employee engagement, and engaged employees provide their best work, no matter where they are located.

Let them create their own schedule

Giving control back to employees to manage their own work schedules lets them fit in the things that matter the most to them. Employees with children, for example, may struggle with pick-up and drop-off schedules for school and sports. Flexible schedules give them the opportunity to balance family and work so they can continue to provide meaningful contributions to the organization.

Recognize their efforts… Publicly!

It's been previously stated that a genuine THANK YOU can go a long way to showing an employee that they are a valued part of the team, but a common problem with employees who aren’t in the office, either regularly, or at all, is their feeling of not “being connected” to their colleagues. This can make recognition difficult or seemingly less effective since there is nobody there to witness it. A modern rewards and recognition program, like Qarrot, can provide the ability to engage and interact with an employee, publicly recognize their efforts, and offer peer-to-peer recognition that is visible in a social feed. This can foster a sense of belonging and create a greater feeling of working together.

Continue to provide learning opportunities

Quite often, simply offering professional training and development can increase an employee’s feeling of importance to a company. When an organization is willing to build the skills and qualifications of their workforce it shows the employee that you truly value their contributions. Modern learning initiatives give management the ability to track what learning content their employees are engaging in, and keeps track of what they accomplish when they are not in the office.

Simplify the process

Qarrot is the all-in-one software solution that makes employee engagement easy, fun and effective with peer-to-peer, milestone, and goal-based recognition. When you use a rewards and recognition program that is visible, transparent, and inclusive, you’ll simplify the process of motivating and engaging your employees, no matter where they are.If you have an established team of telecommuting employees, or are considering offering flexi-schedules, or even if you have a full team of dispersed, remote employees, Qarrot can help eliminate some of the employee engagement challenges.

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Recognize and reward your people on your own terms with Qarrot - book a demo today!

Despite conflicting opinions, employee engagement doesn’t only mean employee happiness. Employee engagement is also the connectedness an employee feels to their job, the understanding of their personal contribution to the process, and the motivation they feel for growth within the company. It all starts with defining your mission, vision and values. For starters, ensure that the “who, what, why” trifecta of your mission statement is answered, your vision statement provides motivation for the future, and your values define your company’s organizational culture and beliefs. Of the three, your company’s values are most connected to employee engagement by being anchored in your company’s culture. This will have a huge effect on productivity and make the most of your mission, vision, and values.

"Your Mission creates FOCUS. Your Vision provides DIRECTION. Your Values define BEHAVIOUR.” ¹

Breaking the Mold with Company Values

Values such as integrity, teamwork, and customer service encompass the top three most common Fortune 100 company values. Nonetheless, they are exactly that, common. These values won’t set your company apart from competitors, nor will they attract and retain top employees. Core company values need to be implemented into everything, especially all processes involving employees. From start to finish, your company values should be the base of every company decision. This can be particularly difficult because strong values are tough and often controversial, but in the end, they will keep the company unified. When implemented properly, strong values will actually cause pain before they do good, as strange as that sounds. This means that some employees will feel cast out or constrained by behavioral boundaries, in fact narrowing the operational freedom of your business. On the bright side, when an employee’s values do align with the company core values, higher employee engagement and productivity will thrive.

Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” answer for this, as every person has a different perspective on values. Creating clear definitions for your company values, whether they’re core values, aspirational values, flexible values, or accidental values, will help clarify the meaning of every term your company stands for. This will avoid confusion and only attract the warrior employees who strongly believe in your company. It’s important to remember that values aren’t about people-pleasing. Rather, they place core beliefs at the forefront of your company. Just as you wouldn’t implement a survey for an overall consensus on financial or strategic issues for your company, the same concept applies to values for them to succeed.

Give Them Culture and Performance Will Follow

A study from 2015 involving automobile sales challenged the question, "Which comes first, organizational culture or performance?" The results strongly proved that if an engaged culture is implemented, more consistent and adaptable performance will result. Categories such as sales and customer satisfaction increased, while absenteeism and employee turnover substantially decreased.

Company culture defines a social order that grounds behavior and clarifies what is accepted or rejected amongst a group of people. Ultimately, it culminates in a shared purpose that energizes a company to help it grow. Depending on your company values, your culture will likely thrive under one of the following eight shared company culture categories:

‍Caring

‍A caring-based culture focuses on helping and supporting one another. Teamwork is highly emphasized, alongside loyalty and positivity.

Authority

‍An authority-based culture emphasizes competition, drive, and personal advantage. Confidence and constructive criticism are highly encouraged.

‍Purpose

‍A purpose-based culture comes together by focusing on global sustainability. They are striving for a greater cause and an ideal world.

Results

‍A results-based culture is goal-oriented and success driven. They strive for accomplishment and winning to get ahead.

‍Learning

‍Creativity, curiosity, and cultivation of new ideas are highly characterized in a learning-based culture. Exploration of new knowledge is made into adventure and open-mindedness is embraced.

Enjoyment‍

Happiness, fun, and excitement are emphasized in an enjoyment-based culture. A sense of humor is welcomed and stimulation is found in play.

‍Order

‍An order-based culture thrives on punctuality, structure, and rules. Employees are cooperative and looking to conform.

‍Safety

‍Planning ahead is a big value for a safety-based culture. Risk-taking is set to a minimum, and thorough preparedness and caution are taken in any business strategies.

A recent Harvard Business Review study showed that the success resulting from a company culture is again not a magic formula. Factors such as region, industry, strategy, leadership, and organizational design all play a part in the calculation of success due to company culture. Therefore, it’s not possible to say that what works for one company will necessarily work for the next, but clarifying which category of company culture your core values align with will help you to make the most of your values. Clear company cultures help employees to feel involved, connected, and supported. Guess what that sounds like? Employee engagement. In fact, it’s a direct domino outcome of clearly defining your company mission, vision, and values.

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Harness the power of appreciation through peer-to-peer recognition - book a demo with Qarrot!

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Sources

• Cmc-canada.ca - Who's on first? Mission or Vision?
• Hbr.org - Make Your Values Mean Something
• Forbes.com - If Culture Comes First Performance Will Follow

This year, Sky Bet CEO Richard Flint was rated the number one CEO in the UK by the job rating site Glassdoor. Glassdoor’s reviews come from employees, making this award very meaningful and its recipient, a leader businesses around the world ought to take note of.

What is Flint doing that resonates so strongly with his staff? According to him, keeping work culture casual has opened up an invaluable dialogue between all levels of staff.

‍The managerial approach Flint takes to maximize employee engagement is actively creating an informal and collegiate environment.¹

“Be nice, friendly, and approachable […] and you’ll get the best out of your employees every single time...The best way to find out what’s really going on is to talk to people outside of the formal environment. In a formal meeting, people always want to tell you everything is really good.” -Richard Kent

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Operating with a less formal office environment is something more and more businesses are practicing, and it’s not just startups. From open-concept offices to employees working from home, flexible work structures seem to be becoming the new norm.

‍But where should the line be drawn? At what point does a casual work culture impede employee productivity?

‍Here are a couple of guidelines to keep in mind

Constant communication can kill employee productivity

Office chat platforms are incredibly effective tools for keeping staff connected. Different departments and team members can instantly get updates from one another and keep projects moving forward without having to call formal meetings.

The issue is that those message notifications are not always arriving at the ideal time. In the spirit of open communication and in the wake of flexible work hours, employees at all levels are making themselves available much of the time - even outside of regular hours. When chat conversations become relentless, all-day affairs, employee focus and productivity take a hit from repeated interruptions.

Accordingly, management should be aware that employees crave a bit of structure for their chat rooms. A recent survey showed that as much as 81 percent of staff expressed an interest in having guidelines around communication apps. Often, a simple acknowledgment that it is okay to set your status as Do Not Disturb will alleviate any guilt from saying “I’m unavailable” and give your workforce uninterrupted time to focus.

Employee engagement for staff working from home

There are a lot of benefits to working from home - no time or money wasted on transit and a comfortable, quiet work environment to name a few. It’s no surprise that many employees are increasingly negotiating this flexibility into their employment agreements.

With this freedom comes more responsibility. Managers or supervisors need to regularly check in and maintain a connection with those staff working from home in order to prevent employee disengagement.

These meetings don’t have to be formal—you may decide to do check-ins through chat tools, email, or even over coffee—that’s Richard Kent’s preferred approach.

Whatever approach you decide on, these status updates should include general conversation to connect with the employee and most importantly, be done on a weekly basis. By keeping your employees informed on the going-on’s of the office, you reinforce the message that they are still a part of the team and their work matters to the company.²

Concrete boundaries are key

Don’t be afraid to relax your company culture and try out a more informal approach. Trading-in rigid guidelines for a more collaborative, horizontal business structure has proven to work wonders for many organizations.

The employee engagement success of these relaxed atmospheres is dependent on having an awareness of areas where a little can turn into too much. Knowing and managing counterproductive practices that can emerge from an open culture requires an understanding of employee work styles. The more you know about how your staff like to work, the more accurately you can shape a culture that will benefit them.

An “informal and open” work culture is not all about open-space offices. Employees want a work culture that allows them to express their true selves, inspire and be inspired by their teammates, and lets them walk away at the end of the day feeling connected to the success of the business.

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Here at Qarrot, we know that communication is key - learn how we can keep your whole team in the loop!

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Resources

• Britain's 'best CEO' shares his advice for getting the most out of staff
• ‍Peoplematters.in - How HR Can Engage Salespeople To Boost Their Productivity

Why do 27% of North Americans forfeit their lunch break?

‍The answer is not that employees are not given one, but rather that they electively choose to take a shorter lunch or work through it completely. By law, all North American companies are required to allot a lunchtime break for their employees, but only one-third of them are taking this opportunity to recharge. Working through lunch, staying at your desk browsing the Internet, or cutting your break short to get back to work sooner all have a direct correlation to lower engagement and productivity!We feel the effects of working relentlessly with no breaks as fatigue, increased stress, and difficulty focusing. Consider this: ten million working days a year are lost due to work-related stress.

In 2015, only 1 in 5 office employees reported taking an actual lunch away from their desk¹. A workforce that is suffering from these symptoms is undoubtedly going to be less productive.If the point of taking a lunch break is to reset and come back to work more focused, we should all be taking full advantage.

Surveys have found that the top reasons expressed by employees for not taking advantage of lunch breaks are:

1. Having too much work
2. Stress
3. Workplace culture
4. Wanting to appear hard-working to management

In the moment, choosing to continue working seems more productive: we don’t lose our train of thought and the additional work time makes us feel we’re completing our tasks more quickly. Unfortunately, this is an oversight. We don’t see the long-term and more intrinsic effects of this choice.

Kimberly Lesbach, a management professor at UC-Davis specializing in psychology of the workplace, noted that “never taking a break from very careful thought-work actually reduces your ability to be creative².” It’s not just creativity that is affected; psychologist Dr. Janet Scarborough Civitelli says that overall marginal returns are reduced when our brains are required to exert continuous pressure during long shifts. Walking in a quiet park, going for a lunch-time workout or reading a book - anything to divert your mind from its point of focus for 8 hours a day will noticeably increase your ability to engage back in the office.

The recommended approach to decreasing sick days as an employer is to encourage a healthy lifestyle. This means: A higher percentage of employees utilizing their lunch break equals a lower percentage of disengagement and sick days. While implementing breaks throughout the day grants the opportunity to reset one’s mind, encouraging staff to take advantage of their lunch will have the same effect and more.

Time to leave the office and exercise, have a nutritious lunch, or possibly run some errands effectively minimizes stress, increases cognitive function, and just plain makes your staff happy!

As the employer, there are a few different approaches to increasing your workforce lunch-time takers.

‍First, lead by example. If employees see you taking a full lunch break, exercising, or meditating, the will likely feel more comfortable doing the same.

‍Second, actively vocalize to your staff that it is encouraged to take their lunch breaks and do whatever they feel will help them relax and reset. You could even provide healthy snacks or reading materials to entice employees away from their digital screens.

‍Lastly, ensure that your company culture is pro-breaks. Taking 20-minute breaks to practice meditation or mindfulness - even just from your seat - is a proven way to help relax and focus. Staff should take a few minutes to get up, stretch, have a glass of water or a cup of tea a few times a day. This isn’t wasted time, this is invested time.

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Book a demo with Qarrot to learn how recognition can boost productivity (without sacrificing your lunch break!)

Resources

• ‍Peoplematters - How Infeedo is Utilizing AI to Interpret Employees Emotions
• ‍Realbusiness.co - The Importance for Staff to Take Lunch Breaks
• ‍Lifehack.org - The Importance of Breaks at Work
• ‍Psychologytoday.com - Why and How You Should Take Breaks at Work
• ‍Smallbusiness.chron.com - The Importance of Employee Breaks

Warming oceans, dwindling ice caps, and noticeable shifts in weather patterns… are you concerned?

Although Global warming is on everyone’s mind these days, Canadians and Americans are not pulling their weight in the global effort to save the planet. In fact, Canadians rank in last place for municipal waste contribution out of 17 developed countries with the USA not much farther ahead!

Both consumers and businesses need to adapt. They say old habits die hard, so do your part by starting with the little changes that you can make right now. Reducing your footprint on the environment is not only possible, it's urgent.

And hey, its not bad for your bottom line either! Green business practices can improve your ROI by significantly reducing the cost of office supplies and energy consumption.

Little Things Make a Difference

• Switch out those pens that end up in a landfill for refillable ones! Just think of how many pens one person goes through in a year…
• Look for companies that make products out of reused materials. Did you know you can get paper clips made from post-consumer metals?  Well, now you do.
• No. More. Rubber. Bands.
• You’ve heard it so many times, but we have to say it again: Recycle. Even if it’s just a general recycling box in the staffroom or one for paper by the printer - it makes a difference.
• Make the leap and become a paperless office. Millennials grew up on computers and probably won’t miss it and you’ll earn points with consumers by being so green!
• If you absolutely can’t say goodbye to paper, use recycled paper. Or, save paper by not printing whenever possible and practice double sided printing when do you.
• We would never say stop drinking coffee…but think about all those filters you throw out! Thank goodness for recycled paper coffee filters. We promise you can’t taste the difference.
• Investigate what products are being used to clean your office. Eco-friendly cleaning supplies not only smell fresh but will actually leave your work space just as clean and less toxic.
• Turn off lights and computers when they are not in use. It will save you money on energy bills and decrease the overall power consumption being used by hosting servers.
• On that topic, make your website hosting green!

We know change is hard, so even if you can implement one thing from this list, at least it’s a start.

This short list reflects some of the easiest eco-friendly changes you can make. If you are ready to commit to change on an even grander scale, check out how other companies have gone totally green.

If you can’t get on board the ‘save the planet’ train, think about it this way: waste is waste, and waste means you are throwing away money.

Not only is physical waste adding up in dollars, but your company’s costs incurred by paying for health insurance and employee sick days are affected too; A healthier workplace can result in up to a 20 percent decrease in sick days taken by employees.

Whatever your reasons for going green, both the world and your bottom line will thank you.Wondering how to motivate greener behaviors in the work-place?

‍Contact us to learn more about connecting employee engagement to your drive to become more environmentally-friendly.

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Recognizing a job well done is small gesture that can drive big results - book your free trial with Qarrot today!