Companies all over the world have become obsessed with meetings, so much so that they dedicate several hours each week to sitting in them. In US, on average, employees spend 33 percent of their workweeks in meetings and will attend between 6 to 15 meetings per week. Unfortunately, not all of them are productive. Quite the contrary! Some team meetings often pull employees away from periods of concentration where they can work without disruption.
It’s hard to make it through the workday without hearing the word busy. People talk about how they are too busy to take on extra tasks or lose track of the day because of how full it is. However, being busy doesn’t always mean being productive.
The pandemic made remote and hybrid work environments more popular than ever before. However, the location of your team isn’t the only thing that changed in the past few years. Remote and hybrid work has sent ripple effects through the workplace, impacting productivity, employee needs, and how these collaborate. As a leader, you will need to adapt to these changes.
If you’ve heard of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), you might associate it with those dark, cold winter months. However, while less common, SAD can occur in the spring as well, with symptoms like restlessness, anxiety, depression, insomnia, agitation or limited attention span. Also known by its more colloquial name, spring fever, this form of SAD can pose a threat to your concentration and productivity at work.
Effective communication drives to better performance at work while poor communication costs money. According to a 2023 report, miscommunication costs companies $12,506 per employee per year. This is significant considering 72 percent of the average employee’s workweek is spent communicating.
There’s a lot going on in the current news cycle. War rages across the world while mass shootings continue to plague the U.S. Politically, media outlets are preparing to cover the 2024 presidential election and some candidates have already thrown their hats into the ring. As for the economy, it looks very much like Schrödinger’s cat: we are in recession and not in recession, both true at the same time. This can be a lot for anyone to keep up with and emotionally handle.
For most employees, the last few weeks of December are dedicated to holiday parties, time off, or low-productivity days in the office. Very few people schedule meetings because no one would attend and those who are available often work on low-priority tasks. When not at work, people are traveling, enjoying festive events, or simply relaxing. It’s no wonder that upon returning to work, some experience a case of holiday hangover. Mild or more severe, we all need a minute to get back into the swing of things.
As the year comes to a close, many are wrapping up projects and reflecting on their achievements. This season holds a unique significance, encouraging us to look ahead, contemplate what the upcoming year holds, and assess how emerging trends will influence our businesses. Are you ready? It’s time for the 2023 wrap-up!
Consider your typical workday routine. Are you deliberately concentrating on one task, free from interruptions, or do you find yourself shifting between crucial tasks, emails, chats, and sips of coffee? For many individuals, the latter scenario is more common, and it directly mirrors the trend of shortening attention spans.
No. It’s a simple, small, two-letter word and yet so many people have trouble with it. One of the hardest places to say no and set healthy boundaries is the workplace. Some people fear saying no to their boss because that person is an authority figure. Others don’t want to say it to their coworkers for fear that they won’t be seen as a team player.
