It’s January! We’ve partied it out through Christmas and had a fantastic time bringing in the new year! The festive period is over- and its back to work for most of us. The fun and festivities are behind us and we look forward to the next round of festivities.

So its not surprising when employees returning to work or normal life so to say are lacking a bit of motivation and focus and the dreaded ‘January blues’ is starting to set in. It doesn’t help that 50% of the staff has also decided to go on a diet to offset the holiday bulge!

At this time, it becomes important to make sure employee spirit is raised and plenty of motivation is provided, so that people are not weighed down and business does not lag, instead it sets people up for a successful and fun filled new year.

Here are some ways you can beat the January blues in the office.

Highlight 2017

Book in time with your team to go through the successes of 2017; this is good for team bonding, morale and a great way to talk about the positives you want to add to the new year.  Acknowledging employees for a job they have done well, will make them feel valued and encourages them to continue doing what they do effectively. The impact of simply saying thank you, can go a long way and is proved to have an overwhelming effect on employee engagement and productivity. This will brighten up January and set people up for a good year ahead.

Set Targets

Once you have highlighted the achievements of 2017, you can involve the team into setting targets for 2018! Working towards a shared goal as a company will keep staff motivated and in the know! This will encourage them to feel like they are part of something bigger than them and thus work harder to achieve these goals! It always helps to incentivise the set targets with special treats! Make sure you set up key milestones- so you can celebrate when this is achieved,  thus keeping staff motivated and focused.

Fuel your Health

After the festive season- everyone has a bit of junk food withdrawal, and the best way to keep everyone happy and focussed is to fuel their health by providing health snacks around the office to help them maintain their energy levels throughout the day! It also helps to keep the health and safety of the employee in mind while making managerial decisions during this time, since different people face different issues. You could use the these tools to help with keeping track of employee’s wellbeing. A Healthy worker is a happy worker and investing in them can help boost your productivity.

Lead by example

You are the leader, whatever you do at the workplace will trickle down and affect how your employees behave as well. Keep your staff motivated by generating enthusiasm throughout January by engaging with staff through social media, having regular meetings through the month to highlight achievements of employees. Keep your own morale up and be infectious in your enthusiasm to achieve company targets.

Communication

Keeping communication channels open is very important for the morale and cohesiveness of an organisation. You could use HR software to keep all your employees informed about your policies with regards to holidays, attendance, sickness etc. This keeps the employee in the know and reduces post holiday isolation thus motivating them to be on form and focusing on being the best.