When the first wave of COVID-19 forced the world into lockdown, business leaders scrambled to pivot out of necessity. Overnight, they had to make financial adjustments and staffing decisions to keep the business afloat. They had to reassure stakeholders, hone their public message, and implement health and safety measures. If being a great leader was difficult before, now it has become even tougher.
Have you ever considered how much time you spend in meetings each day? Attentiv reports that Americans hold approximately 11 million meetings per day, with an average length between 31 to 60 minutes. As the COVID-19 pandemic drove teams away from the office, employers had to adapt to remote meetings. And video calls and phone conferences replaced many in-person interactions.
The problem is that 33.4 percent of meetings are considered unproductive, according to the same report. Leading an effective meeting is a skill, and so is leading an effective remote meeting.
It’s time to get out of the productivity box once again in a search for surprising new elements that can make our days at work better. In the past months, we discovered how coffee influences work efficiency, exercised our way into the flow, and learned to break the mental health paradigm at the workplace. Now, let’s take a deep dive into what nature has to offer.
The current workplace environment looks caught between a rock and a hard place. With 77 percent of full-time US employees working from home, we still have record-high levels of remote workers. Yet, in-spite of distributed locations, leaders want their teams to be highly productive. And all of this on top of a sanitary crisis. So, are you ready to dive headfirst into the mental health paradigm at work? Let’s do it!
Very often, people think that a full calendar is a proxy for productivity. A daily planner packed with meetings seems to satisfy most managers. However, more often than not, supervisors and team leaders are more productive when they are not spending all day in meetings. Their time is actually better used when they are working with their team, bringing real measurable results.
You’ve heard the phrase being in the flow. It’s commonly used when you work, exercise or even when reading a good book. It turns out, it’s not just a saying, but an actual state of being. And for those who want to better focus and succeed at work, the flow state is the ideal mindset.
If your morning routine is never complete without your daily cup of coffee, then you are not alone, not even close. Around the world, it’s a $100 billion industry. A whopping 500 million cups of this caffeinated beverage are consumed each year, according to globalEDGE.
The Coronavirus pandemic has forever altered the workplace. Not only did unemployment skyrocket to 14.4 percent in April, but those with jobs have significantly adjusted their workflow and daily lives. Companies shifted to completely remote offices in a matter of days. Employees suddenly faced work from home challenges having to learn new technologies, navigate work with kids in the next room, and become a teacher (homeschooling) all at the same time. Now, as many countries around the world start to shift into the new normal, here are a few predictions about the future of work after the Coronavirus pandemic.
More than a decade ago, open floor plans were heralded as the future of workplace design. The drab walls and cubicles that conjured images from the movie Office Space were no longer the norm. By then, companies could look and feel like hip, young startups with open space plans and team members sitting right next to each other.
The Coronavirus pandemic has in a very short period of time profoundly impacted our lives, changing the very way we live, work, and socialize. These days, many employees are trying to adjust to working from home – sometimes without a proper workspace available – and being productive in the midst of it all can be a real challenge. However, of all the challenges that come with this transition, setting up an accommodating home office is one of the easiest to fix.
