Motivating your staff during the January blues

It’s wet and grey outside and the mornings seem darker than ever. After the festive period, January can be a difficult month to get the best out of your staff and motivate them for the year ahead.

Here we provide you with five top tips to help you motivate your staff to beat the January blues.

1. Start an office-wide health challenge

Regular exercise is a proven mood-lifter, in addition to being part of a healthy lifestyle according to the NHS. After the festive excess, why not start an office wide challenge to encourage keeping fit? Not everyone is a gym buff or natural born runner, but a simple task such as walking 10,000 steps a day for a month is an easy way to encourage your staff to move more and get healthy while they're at it. Pedometers which measure steps are available for a couple of pounds or there are plenty of apps available for smartphones.

2. Give the office a face-lift

Beat the dreary weather outside by investing in a couple of pots of cheerfully-coloured paint and some office plants to immediately lift the mood inside the office. As reported in The Telegraph, research by colour psychologist Dr David Lewis on behalf of Canon found that 80% of UK office staff believe the colour of their surroundings has a significant impact on both their emotions and their performance.

3. Invest into social activities

Fun activities outside of the office can benefit team building and improve relationships. Ask employees to volunteer to form a social committee and plan regular activities and outings. For example, a varied social plan could include a monthly after work pub outing or lunch in the park, a quarterly creative activity such as painting your own office mugs and then an annual bigger outing like the Christmas party.

4. Show appreciation

Acknowledging achievements is a small but meaningful way to encourage your staff to work hard. You could set up an employee of the month scheme or monthly praise forum for staff who have excelled in their roles or shown commitment to company values. Alternatively setting specific goals and celebrating when they are reached will give your staff clear targets to work towards.

5. Encourage input

Make staff feel valued by inviting their input into decisions affecting the company to boost morale and make them feel like their opinions count. You may find that your employees have invaluable ideas on how to improve your products and services, thus resulting in better and more business for you!

Are there any other tips you would give to help motivate your staff this January? We'd love to hear from you, Simply tweet @Flexioffices on Twitter to join the conversation.