As employees gradually readjust to work after the holiday, business owners should reflect on what values they want to promote in the workplace. Negative (or, worse, nonexistent) communication can cause problems that will only escalate over time.
Promoting a positive and safe work environment can be hard work. In the employer-employee relationship, establishing expectations and guidelines from day one is essential. By keeping the following advice in mind, business owners and managers can start the new year off on the right foot:
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Quickly get employees involved in safety
Safety should be of utmost concern at any workplace. While keeping the work area uncluttered and streamlined can help promote safety, promoting safety truly begins during training.
There are several good practices that should be imparted to employees during training that can improve safety at the workplace. When witnessing a peer performing a task in an unsafe manner, for example, workers should be taught to avoid potential danger and explain the proper procedure — and, in certain circumstances, to report the individual.
Other expectations, like acceptable behavior at work, should be established during training. These are dependent on your industry. While phone use might be acceptable in an office environment, it can be a dangerous distraction to employees who drive frequently, or use heavy machinery. Keeping a workplace safe promotes productivity and helps business owners avoid lawsuits.
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Encourage employees to practice mindfulness
Negativity is a virus. Few things can damage employee morale like toxic emotions. Humans are naturally empathetic; if one person feels anxious, upset, depressed, or happy, peers are likely to resonate. So, when one employee consistently has a chip on their shoulder, others are likely to follow suit. This negativity can have a real impact on the work environment. Employees may report a lack of respect and appreciation, and they will likely spread this negativity further.
The answer to this concern is mindfulness. Mindfulness involves practicing moment-to-moment awareness. It allows people to separate events surrounding them from their emotional reactions. In this way, it permits us to behave rationally in times of stress. Even addiction recovery services promote mindfulness: it helps individuals to combat negativity and remain productive. This same strategy can help in the workplace.
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Focus on deterring employee theft
Employee theft can cause serious issues for any business. If left unchecked, it can result in substantial losses in the long run. It may be necessary to seek a business appraisal or valuation to determine if there are any current issues, but some changes to your employment training policies can reduce the number of instances of employee theft.
There are many strategies that managers can employ during training to promote good work habits. The use of “the buddy system” is a proven method of reducing employee theft. Enforcing a policy of keeping at least two employees near assets at any given time can reduce theft. Employers should also maintain an employee tip line, and inform new hires about this during training.
Promoting safety, positivity, and ethics in the workplace should be a part of all of our resolutions. Instilling these values in new employees during training is the best way to begin a new position, as well as a new year.