Keeping spirits bright is not just a holiday slogan, it is actually a great reminder to not overwork yourself or your employees. An overworked staff can be more detrimental to your company than you may think. If your company is understaffed and your employees are putting in more hours because of it, you could be putting your company’s spirit in jeopardy.
Low Morale Leads to Less Productivity
Overwhelmed staff paired with low morale will lead to a less productive work environment. More hours does not equal better work, often it is exactly the opposite. Increased work hours can cause fatigue, making it hard for someone to concentrate. Maybe yourself or your employee will be producing larger quantities of work, but will the work be quality?
A great way to ensure quality work from your employees is by allowing breaks! Allowing someone to leave the office for an hour to get some fresh air, move their body, and fuel their body will greatly increase the quality of work they are producing as well as their spirits. Their time in the office will be much more efficient and will create a positive environment for all.
Longer Hours can Put your Employees at Risk of Getting Sick
Especially during flu season, and in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is an important reminder that overworking your employees can put them at risk of getting sick. Overexertion weakens your immune system. A weakened immune system makes someone more susceptible to becoming rundown and to all types of illnesses. Having sick employees can snowball into a whole mess of problems for you and your company. Things can become very challenging when other employees have to pick up the slack of the one sick person.
One way to combat this is to allow your employees to work from home when they are feeling sick, instead of coming into the office. While they take the time they need to recover they can still contribute. By doing this, your employee will not fall behind or infect anyone else in the workplace.
Overworked employees can ruin your company’s reputation
While at first employees may be willing to put in the extra hours, the burnout can mean some not so good additions to your reputation. In addition to a high turnover rate, reputation ultimately suffers when your company is known for overwhelming its employees. Knowing where the line is between putting in the man-hours to get the job done and over exhausting yourself and your staff is key to maintaining a healthy work environment and a quality reputation.
A potential solution to avoiding high turnover rates, employee burnout, and reputation damage is to check in with your staff. Having your employees fill out a quick survey that allows them to have a chance to speak up for themselves can be the saving grace for a company’s longevity.
Remember to keep spirits bright all year round. Overworking yourself and your employees can do more harm than good. Overworked employees can ruin your company’s reputation with an increased turnover rate. Longer work hours can put yourself and your staff at a greater risk of getting sick, and ultimately burnt out employees create lower company morale and low productivity. All of these outcomes can be avoided, and if your company needs help staffing contact Performance Staffing Solutions today!