What Is Really A Productive Workplace?

Landing an exciting job can seem like a dream come true. But if the work environment is poorly structured that dream job can quickly turn into a nightmare. If you’re entering a workplace with no work-life balance, you could start missing out on other essentials in life, devoting all your time to the job. Things like missing important events in your children’s lives can start to take a toll.

Burnout

Employees work long hours and are absent from the home most of the time may soon realize that they are losing things more precious than money. But most people are okay with this, because they are working in an excellent job and they have dreams to progress.

Many people do realize what they are missing and question themselves often, but then they shrug the thought away, because they have an exciting career in front of them. They might think everything is going to be alright once that person reaches the position that they like in a year or two.

Now, there is still a risk that employees in this situation will damage their relationships with their children and spouse. And these things will affect them adversely, both in an out of the workplace. They start to vent their frustration at their office. Some of them begin to mistreat their colleagues as a result of their personal frustrations. Soon the person will end up missing meetings and not doing things at work that they once enjoyed.

This situation is generally called “burnout,” and it is prevalent in many high pressure work environments in startups and the tech industry generally. In order to escape burnout without quitting a high stress job, an employee has to make concrete changes in their day-to-day life and how they handle the work-life balance.

The Snake

Many people call big problems in a place that no one wants to acknowledge or solve “the elephant in the room.” For this problem, we can use the metaphor “snake in the room.” Now, almost every office in the world has a snake in the room. In some firms, the snake is super aggressive and might attack a person brutally. But in some companies, they tame the snake pretty well.

The person who is bitten by the snake usually becomes uninvolved, short-tempered, lazy and quite distracted. In most cases, people do not know the fact that the snake has already bitten them. But some smart people recognize that they are facing some challenge but do not really investigate further into the matter.

Talk More About This Condition

As per a research, around 37% of the workers in Canadian and American companies experience burnout. The primary reasons why this condition occurs is because there are heavy workloads, too much pressure and tight deadlines. Now, you cannot fix this problem with a one-size-fits-all solution, but there are some strategies that can put you on the path to success.

The Need for Hard Stops

We are making a big mistake by measuring the worth of a person only by checking the number of hours that he is busy. We want to ensure that he is having the right amount of work on his plate so that he can consistently make progress toward bigger goals. It is interesting to note that startups and entrepreneurs have now become more like a lifestyle than a business or a career. You can call it a religion as people are spending too much time on their work. Many people think being busy will somehow increase their status.

If you do not want to head for burnout, it is essential for you to take some time off your work by using hard stops. Use this time to relax and ponder but do nothing. While it is challenging, it can rejuvenate your mind, soul, and body. Many founders these days are taking a week off from their chores in the company. They call it “Think Week” wherein they spend time with their family and do nothing but relax before they return to their work.

Create a Work Environment That Boosts Happiness, Health, and Comfort

It is vital for you to ensure that the team that is working with you has flexible work hours. Because there is a particular group that likes to sleep well and prefers coming late to do the job and there might be some who want to go early to the workplace when there’s not much of a crowd. Also, people’s obligations outside work often have a significant effect on their prefered work hours.

People should be able to get the flexible time option if it is something that is doable. Some companies also allow their employees to work from their homes a few days a week. Allowing employees some flexibility in their schedule will do much more to inspire productivity than dumping money into a new foosball table in the break room.

Employees should have the freedom to speak with their employer about things that will work well for them. It is essential for them and you to enjoy your time with your family if you want to work more efficiently and to avoid burnout.