Here are some of our favourite articles from April:
Remote Working
5 ways to create a great remote working team
Managers must adapt quickly to the new work from home and motivate their colleagues to maintain productivity. An important aspect of this is trust.
Managers must avoid micromanagement and respect boundaries. This will help their teams to remain focused, motivated and productive while avoiding workplace burnout.
COVID-19 and Workplace Health
5 predictions about how coronavirus will change the future of work
The effects of COVID-19 will continue to be felt long into the future.
Companies must consider employee wellness in terms of both physical and emotional wellbeing.
The New Office Space: 4 Ways Coronavirus Will Change The Workplace
The aftermath of COVID-19 is expected to bring new demands from staff over conditions in the workplace.
This includes a greater demand for cleanliness and automated cleaning solutions for the office. This extends into heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
Facilities managers will also need to think about how staff interacts with the building. It is likely that smart building sensors will replace door handles, touchscreens, buttons and other high traffic surfaces.
Wellness
How to Maintain Good Posture At Home
Poor posture when sitting in on a chair leads to detrimental effects of discomfort, pain, and longer-lasting health issues.
Ensuring there is a level of mindfulness of our posture ensures we are ready to correct it if out of place.
Standing and stretching every 10 minutes after half an hour also reduces muscle strain and releases tension.
How to navigate the challenges of working from home: A practical and psychological perspective
A webinar from Office Principles analyzed various ways employees can improve their experience of working from home in both physical and psychological ways. Stress for some is at an all-time high possibly due to:
Lack of structure
Social isolation
Distractions
Small actions recommended to combat this stress includes:
Maintaining the same routine from before work from home
Find an adequate workspace other than the bedroom or else risk associating your bed with work
Creating a work schedule to use for regular breaks
The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing
One of the numerous dimensions identified was vitality. Employees must maintain a balanced diet, sleep routine, and a safe working environment. On top of this, employees should be:
Incorporating stretches into their daily routine
Setting strict boundaries for work and personal life
Pacing during phone meetings if possible
Implementing these routines will positively affect employee attitude for work at home.
Productivity
Through scientific research, it has been determined that dressing for work, keeping days structured, and work plants all boost productivity at home.
Dressing appropriately for example, even where no one can see you, aids the mind, and improves selective attention as shown in a 2012 study on the matter.
Taking time for relaxation and fresh air is essential for productivity
Employees are suggested to be less stressed and overall better prepared when taking little breaks throughout the day. A recent study found that 42% of workers think quicker when relaxed while 41% say their confidence increases following a period of relaxation.
Workplace Ergonomics
Ergonomics 101: Working from Home During Coronavirus
Donna Costa, director of the UNLV School of Integrated Health Sciences’ states “many people are struggling to make their home environments work as offices, but don’t know how to do that effectively.”
For example, working from a laptop often results in the worst ergonomic position as employees strain their neck to look down when in fact the laptop should be level with your eyes.
Health and Safety
How to avoid getting injured while working from home
“People often use ergonomics as an adjective - ’that chair is ergonomic’ - but really ergonomics is your interaction with the environment. You might have the best chair, but if you’re not interacting with it properly, you’re going to have ergonomic risk factors.”