12 Tips for Bringing New Life into a Tired Team
If the last few years have taught businesses anything, it is that things in life can be extremely unpredictable. The conditions that people go through both at work and home can bring on feelings of fatigue and boredom.
Many managers and business owners have found that while their teams are still working to meet deadlines, they seem more tired than usual. Your team may be going through the motions of work, but even this has led to either less productivity, low morale, or even massive turnovers.
Wondering how to bring new life into your tired team? Read on to find out how!
Why Do You Have a Tired Team?
The answer to the why of having a tired team is mostly multifaceted, depending on the type of business you are in. Between work demands and obligations from home, employees find themselves pulled in many directions all at the same time.
While this seems no different than years past, with the added pressures of the current workforce landscape, it is much more difficult. There are added pressures of having to work more to cover an employee shortage, the cost of living rising to extreme levels, and less of a work-life balance.
It is no wonder that employees are feeling overworked, overwhelmed, and underpaid for the amount of work they do. They are of the mindset that all they do is work, but all of the pressures they are under leave them feeling exhausted.
How Does a Tired Team Affect Your Daily Production?
When it comes to daily productivity, there is nothing worse than having a team who is overly exhausted. This is mostly because your productivity can be affected by low motivation and employees being overwhelmed.
Even in companies that make employees feel like they are a priority, if they are tired, they will not be as productive. Some of this can be coming from not being motivated by management or just having to work so much that they are overwhelmed.
In most cases, a tired team stems from one or two individuals who inadvertently affect everyone else on the team. Low morale and motivation can spread from one person to another faster than the common cold.
Why Is it Important to Motivate Your Team?
There is so much more to management than hiring the right people to run the daily operations of the business. Many believe that if you put the right employees in the right positions, the company will run itself.
This belief, however, could not be farther from the truth since it takes much more to keep everyone working together. Even your upper-level employees need to be motivated from time to time to continue pushing through the hard times.
How Can You Lead Your Team When They Seem Tired and Unmotivated?
One of the most difficult experiences for business owners and management is trying to lead a team that is tired and unmotivated. This is because no matter how you approach them, they sometimes seem to remain the same.
To lead a team that is tired and unmotivated, you have to think outside the box to reach them and show them they are an important part of the business. When employees feel like they are just a number within an organization, this can cause them to be less productive overall.
Leading a team that is tired and unmotivated, while difficult, can be resolved by finding new ways to keep them motivated. This is not something that is done on a whim now and then but is a daily task that must be tackled.
Tips For Bringing New Life into a Tired Team
As you begin to think about ways you can bring new life into your tired team, it is important to think about what the employees need and not what you need. Because of this, you will need to do your research to discover tips and tricks to help them.
Want to know more tips for bringing new life into your tired team? Keep reading to learn more.
Tip #1: Connect with Each Team Member
In most cases, employees tend to feel unmotivated and tired when they feel they are just another cog in the wheel of production. When they feel disconnected from their supervisor or the company itself, they feel less motivated to get the work done.
Managers who are successful at motivating their team members know that the best way to do this is to stay connected to them. This means that regular check-ins should be a priority for every employee.
Keep in mind that these connections are not to be viewed as micromanagement, so you will need to be careful. You can do this easily by just letting them know that you are wanting to know how they are doing and if they need anything from you.
Tip #2: Encourage Team Members to Take Needed Breaks
Oftentimes, team members just need a much-needed break from the mundane work that they do daily. In some cases, employees feel that when they are “on the clock” they should be filling every moment of that time.
Let your team members know that you value their time, but also encourage them to take breaks throughout the day. Whether they get up and move around the office or take a few minutes to do something non-work-related, let them know that it is highly important.
Tip #3: Show that You Trust Them to Get the Work Completed
Trust is one of the most important things you can instill in your team members both daily and long term. This means that you not only need to trust them to get their work done but also show them that you indeed trust them.
This can be done easily by checking in, but assuring them that you know the work is being done efficiently. Setting up due dates in advance can help ease the burden and then let them take the necessary steps to make the work happen.
Tip #4: Use a Staffing Agency to Bring in New Employees to Fill Gaps
One reason many team members begin to feel overwhelmed is that they are likely filling in for unfilled positions. This means that they are not only doing their work but the work of those positions that are missing team members.
To ease this burden, you can use a staffing agency to help you fill in the gaps. Since you most likely want to fill the positions quickly, a staffing agency can find you qualified candidates quickly based on their screening processes.
Tip #5: Create a Positive Work Environment
Another important way to help bring new life into a tired team is to bring on positivity. While your team is exhausted, showing up for work daily with a positive attitude can go a long way to helping.
Despite feeling overwhelmed, if you, as management, show positivity, then most likely it will spread to other team members. Even though you may be feeling the same demotivation, showing a positive attitude can help your team realize that they, too, can be positive through the hard times.
Tip #6: Find New Ways to Recognize Employees
Most employees need to know that they are not only an important part of the work environment but that they are making a difference. This means that you may need to be creative in finding new ways to ensure team members know you appreciate them.
Setting up an employee recognition program can be difficult since you want to show that it is a sincere effort. However, looking into what other people do can help you also be successful and keep morale high in your organization.
Tip #7: Encourage Employees to Get Up and Move
Most people know that physical exercise, of any kind, can work wonders into an individual’s overall demeanor. Because of this, you should encourage your employees to get up and move as much as possible throughout the day.
Whether you incorporate walking meetings or simply encourage standing meetings, you should make it known that physical movement is important. You can schedule various events that are designed to get your team moving without overwhelming them even more.
Tip #8: Create Ways to Incorporate Fun into the WorkDay
Work environments that are based on work all day can be draining on your team members daily. This is why many managers and business owners find themselves with employees who are burnt out in a short period.
Throughout the day, you can create ways to incorporate fun into the work to help stave off the feeling of being overwhelmed. This can be done as simply as creating fun activities or events daily or even once a week that gives team members something to look forward to.
Tip #9: Ask for Feedback
Another important tip when working with team members is that you cannot always assume that everything is fine. You need to be asking employees for feedback not only on the work that they are doing but also on how you are doing as a leader.
When employees know that their voice matters, they will be more likely to work harder throughout the day. Take the time to ask your employees for their feedback and keep the door open for them to do so.
Tip #10: Give Feedback
As important as it is to ask for team members’ feedback regularly, it is just as important to ensure that you are also giving feedback to them. When employees know how you view them and their work, they are more likely to continue working hard.
While many managers and business owners will wait until evaluation time to give feedback, this may be too late. This is because employees need to hear how they are doing regularly so they know whether or not to change how they approach their work.
Tip #11: Watch Out For Waning Motivation and Act on It Quickly
As a business owner or manager, it is important to keep an eye on the motivation of your team members regularly. This is because while they may seem okay, there are often signs that show they may be feeling less motivated to do the work.
When you see that motivation is slipping, you are given the perfect opportunity to step in and do something about it. Whereas if you are not paying attention, things can spiral out of control until you have employees who are not meeting the expectations of their job.
Tip #12: Create More Work-Life Balance Benefits
Another great way to bring new life into your tired team is to re-evaluate the benefits that are offered. People, especially in this day and age, are looking for more work-life balance and benefits that support this.
You may need to add in more benefits that will not only attract new employees but also keep your current team members interested. This can be anything from added personal time, gym memberships, paid volunteer opportunities, and much more.
Benefits of Bringing New Life into a Tired Team
When it comes to the benefits of bringing new life into a tired team, there are much more than you might expect. Keep in mind that the overall goal of remotivating your team members is to keep them on but also help them to stay useful to the company as a whole.
When you take the time to incorporate various ways to bring new life into your team, you are showing them that you care. One of the most important factors that keep employees at a company is knowing they are valued and appreciated.
Ready to Bring New Life into Your Tired Team?
The bottom line when it comes to bringing new life into your tired team is that the benefits far outweigh the time it will take you to incorporate the ideas. If you are interested in learning more about ensuring that your employees are staying motivated, you may want to consider reading about psychological safety in the workplace.