Employee Wellness

Balancing professional and personal commitments can be challenging for employees. The demands of work can impact family responsibilities, relationships and commitments to volunteering or hobbies. And personal commitments can impact an employees’ ability to fulfill their work responsibilities. However, managing this balance is an important aspect of employee engagement, productivity, and contentment. There are several factors which influence work-life balance including long working hours, insufficient time-off, overtime, and stressful working conditions. Taking a pro-active approach to managing these issues may include: 1. Ask your employees Conducting a survey of your employees to understand their preferences for schedules, hours, workload management and the general working conditions. Reviewing the survey results will help your business understand the needs of your employees. 2. Education Providing education to employees about how to manage work-life balance through personal development training is a positive and pro-active way to manage your employees’ wellbeing. Training can include professional advice and tools to manage and review wellbeing. 3. Offer flexible hours Employees generally prefer a flexible work schedule as it offers greater freedom to balance their personal life and work life. Offering flexible hours may mean flexibility in working days and hours, as long as a minimum number of hours is reached, and work requirements are met. Offering this flexibility may make an important difference to employee wellbeing. 4. Promote breaks Taking regular breaks is associated with better wellbeing. Encourage your team to take breaks from work and set the expectation that everyone prioritises their own wellbeing. 5. Regularly review workloads Reviewing each employee’s workload is an important part of work-life balance. Team meetings can assist in allocating and sharing workload. Checking in with employees can avoid burn-out and reduce stress. 6. Flexible support for parents Flexible working arrangements make life for parents much easier to manage. Parents have a lot of responsibilities and can feel overwhelmed by their commitments. Balancing work-life balance for parents is incredibly challenging, especially during the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Offering equitable benefits for parents including parental leave, childcare, flexible hours and job-sharing would greatly benefit parents. 7. Lead by example Encouraging work-life balance in your team may be as simple as setting the example by working reasonable hours, taking breaks, avoiding emailing after hours and showing your own balanced commitment to your work and personal life. 8. Encourage taking time off Encouraging time off for your employees can avoid burn out and worsening stress. Conclusion Managing personal and family commitments is crucial for employees and with these simple strategies your employees and business can strike the right balance. Ask your employees Education Offer flexible hours Promote breaks Regularly review workloads Flexible support for parents Lead by example Encourage taking time off

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of everyone and through efforts to contain the virus’ spread, businesses have been closed. For those with small businesses reliant on foot traffic, the stress of the pandemic has greatly impacted wellbeing. Further, the requirements to comply with safe operating guidelines have created more work, significantly impacting the already time-poor schedules of small business owners. However, business owners can improve their wellbeing in six key ways: 1. Mental health True wellbeing includes both mental and physical health, and during this pandemic, this has never been truer. Prioritising your mental health through daily meditation offers many benefits. Using an app such as Calm or Mindfulness.com can improve physical pain and relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety. 2. Time management Running your own business has numerous advantages, and one of them is the privilege of time. While having control of your own time and work is a major benefit, the responsibilities of time management can create uncertainty and stress. Managing your time through apps or alarms, diaries and reminders can significantly improve your productivity and reduce stress by reducing your to-do list. Allocating time for rest and breaks throughout your day can establish a boundary between your professional and personal life, ultimately improving your wellbeing. 3. Practice a healthy lifestyle Have you experienced pain in the form of a back or headache? Are you wondering why this pain is appearing so suddenly? If you are not taking regular breaks, you may be able to relieve pain by moving regularly. A healthy lifestyle is as important as your profit margin, as ultimately your long-term wellbeing plays a key role in your success. A balanced diet, movement or exercise, doing something you enjoy, and enough rest are key aspects of your healthy lifestyle. During the pandemic, prioritising your wellbeing through reducing tension and stress is more important than ever. 4. Finding support A strong support system is valuable for any small business owner. However, the need for support is significantly higher during a global pandemic. Asking for help is a positive step if you or your business are struggling. Don’t hesitate to seek help for your mental health, or research resources for financial support. By reaching out for help, you can reduce stress, improving your long-term wellbeing. 5. Connect with employees or colleagues If you have employees, remember to connect regularly even if you are working from home. Social connection is vital for wellbeing and can alleviate stress. If you work alone, reach out to colleagues or friends to keep social relationships. Further, through building connections, your business stands to increase future possibilities 6. Keep a mood diary Keeping a mood diary is a powerful tool in managing your wellbeing. By identifying and recording emotions and triggers, you may be able to address the issues causing distress and improve your future wellbeing. Conclusion The global pandemic has impacted small business owners through reduction in profits, safety legislation and operating requirements and changing environments. Business owners can improve their wellbeing by prioritising their mental health, good time management, having a healthy lifestyle, accessing support, social connection and recording their daily emotions and triggers. Mental health Time management Practice a healthy lifestyle Address instances of absenteeism as they occur Finding support Connect with employees or colleagues Keep a mood diary Conclusion

Each of us has our own definition of success. For some, it is a new car, a business making profit, or a management position. Defining success is personal and can be influenced by external opinions. Harvard Business Review studies found ‘busy culture’ or the concept of busyness dramatically impacts productivity and personal growth. Further, by constantly prioritising work, boundaries with the personal lives of employees erode and impact wellbeing and relationships. Successful people avoid busy culture Successful people aim for maximum productivity and effectiveness, prioritising tasks based on their importance and expected impact.To address busy culture in your own life, try these six steps: 1. Redefine productivity Busy culture drives an obsession with the appearance of being busy, encouraging individuals to generate tasks as a marker of success and hard work. Therefore, conquering busyness requires resetting your mindset. By changing how you think, you can change your perception of success. Redefining what productivity means to you opens up the opportunity to refocus your daily schedule. 2. Consider your own values Your own values should guide your decision making about your career, home life and personal view of success. Busy culture relies on the cultural impact of following the lead of others, which can be disrupted by choosing your own path. Determining your own version of success can redirect your time and energy, leading to increased creativity and happiness. 3. Make time for nature Taking time to be outside, whether for exercise, or just with a cup of coffee, can help to improve relaxation and creativity, and reduce stress. Remember to take breaks from your computer, for your physical and mental wellbeing. These breaks are instrumental to staying true to your values and personal goals. 4. Create a personalised schedule Good time management skills are imperative to defeating busy culture. Balancing your time with family, work, exercise and fun is critical for happiness. Further, allocating time for tasks leads to improved effectiveness. Track your time for a few days to see where you are spending too much or too little time. This practice may help you to use your time more effectively. 5. Make time for fun Don’t forget about the activities which you enjoy or are passionate about. Perhaps it is sport, baking or music… When you spend time enjoying yourself, you may be more relaxed, reduce stress and become more able to manage time effectively. 6. Prioritise rest and time away Busy culture relies on the idea that we can work endlessly. However, rest and relaxation are crucial for your wellbeing. Take time with your family or friends, plan a vacation or break. A break from digital devices and social media may help to reduce stress and help your body to recover from particularly challenging periods. Being people-centered means that you should avoid frustrating employees because you’re too strict and avoid them from taking advantage of you. You should know how to balance flexibility and expectations. Conclusion Busy culture impacts productivity by prioritising work for the sake of appearing to be busy and successful. Redefining success by your own values is associated with better wellbeing and improved satisfaction with life. Taking the time to prioritise your work activities, balance your time and increasing rest, is likely to increase your success in the future. Redefine productivity Consider your own values Create a personalised schedule Finding support Make time for fun Prioritise rest and time away Conclusion

Motivating staff to submit accurate timesheets on time, is a challenge for nearly every industry and business. Inaccurate time tracking is estimated to cost over 50 million hours in productivity in the USA alone (Market Research Future, 2020). Timesheet mistakes can usually be attributed to staff being: forgetful, not filling them out correctly, or in the worst cases they think they are a waste of time (even when it is a requirement needed for billing clients for their work). Technology will help avoid timesheets mistakes. Apps or scheduling software help analyse and automate reminder send-outs. Using a collaborative system, where staff can see the value and it matters to them, is far more motivating and inspiring, than getting a big stick. Here are 3 easy tricks you can use at your work to help prevent timesheet mistakes. Whether you want to use the carrot or the stick, depending on your industry and team. 1: Check if Your Scheduling System, Rostering App, or Software Is Difficult or Out-of-Date Many businesses are using out-dated systems, often because they have invested many thousands of dollars for the hardware and/or software. These systems required a steep learning curve to make them work. Whilst most of yester-years’ timesheet software may do the job – just not well! Often at a high cost in man-hours. Timesheet mistakes and issues can easily be traced back to difficult software or apps that are still being used that could easily be replaced. This can save more money in the first 2 months in reclaimed productivity, than the entire cost to switch. Some easy ways to determine if your timesheet system is out of date include: The software or app is no longer supported by the provider. Timesheet app takes forever to load when completing. The software or app crashes frequently. Staff tell you it is difficult to use and navigate. It works to a degree but is limited, dated, and leaves room for errors. Doesn’t have smart features to assist staff when completing their timesheets. Timesheet tracking isn’t its main focus (is an extra feature with other software) such as QuickBooks, SAP Success Factors, etc. Doesn’t offer an app available on mobile devices Team members are growing less engaged. Going for big names or sticking to the same scheduling apps may seem the quick and easy solution. Many times, this turns into a costly decision. Businesses aren’t aware of how far scheduling apps and timesheet software have come, through cloud options. Tommy provides a simplified timesheet App that can be used on your mobile with smart features to help staff. By automating or replacing many of the manual tasks that old timesheet software made so time consuming. The majority of our clients were shocked with how many other issues in their business were resolved (like reducing staff turnover or improving job satisfaction) by just upgrading their software for an app. 2: Time Out Method & Session It might be tempting to send out e-mail blasts about the common errors team members are making with timesheets. But if you are using an out dated system this is just a time wasting exercise. If you are the type that would prefer to be feared and use the stick when it comes to timesheets, why not use the Time Out Method? What is the Time Out Method? Organise a training session for everyone to come together. Make it mandatory while also fun and inviting, call it the “Time Out Session”. This makes it inviting and seem less like a boring work training session or meeting. Structure the session to be informative yet involving, practical and concise yet demonstrative and lively. Address the costs to the business and how it affects them and their raises or pay. Address the common errors people are making and show them the correct way. Have everyone sign a form addressing that they attended and know the right procedure and how to complete it correctly now. Inform staff, now that they are sure of how to complete the timesheets, penalties will occur moving forward for not having accurate timesheets. Use the timeout method (3 strikes in 3 months): 3 strikes – they can’t attend functions, events, work parties, or other critical events. 6 strikes – Goes against them for their next raise or appraisal. 9 strikes – your out. The policy regarding penalties for not completing Timesheets should be harsh enough to motivate them, but not strict enough that it prevents them from focusing or completing their other work. Calling it something like “Time Out” can be used in any way you feel would motivate staff that it is important yet taking into account, some weeks they may slip, so having a system that is compassionate yet stern is the key. 3: Turn It Into A Collaborative Timesheet System Creating a collaborative timesheet system between staff & management means sharing accountability while also making it easier for both. As the saying goes, you can get more bees with honey than vinegar. The same is true for creating a positive culture and buzz around completing timesheets accurately and on time. Some ideas on how to create a collaborative system for accurate timesheets are: Make it Fun Send funny memes or timesheet puns, perhaps jokes to get staff attention. This makes it fun, reminds them, and they may start looking forward to getting their timesheet reminder email if it comes with a laugh. Timesheet Competition Prizes Perhaps the staff member that has the highest accuracy can get a gift or prize? Maybe a dinner voucher, company item, or ½ work day. If company culture permits… pick an outrageous outfit the boss has to wear for a day in the office! Nothing motivates staff more than the chance to share a laugh with the person they respect (and perhaps fear) the most. Timesheet Awards Perhaps a noble or funny title for the best timesheet will work like the “Time Wizard of the Month” for the best and the “xyz” award