4 Ways to Energize Your Exhausted Team

Contributed by Tina Relampagos

Mid-July everybody! We’re officially half-way through the year. The fun part about the first half is all the occasions we got to celebrate: New Year, Valentine’s Day, Graduation, summer, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and so much more. The second half makes the year even better because it goes by so fast. Just think about it: Ber months are going to knock on your door in just a few weeks. That means Christmas preparations will be underway, whether you’re ready for it or not.

But at work, the next six months is going to be the most exhausting part of the year. Stretching what energy is left in your burned-out and overworked (stop denying this) team is a tricky task. Many online business and people management gurus suggest reiterating your team’s goals and vision, joining them in the front lines, practicing positive leadership, etc. But even they know these already and you’ve done these all before. It’s not too late yet to make a good year out of 2016!

We, at Gifted.PH, believe that with a little change in behaviour, we can accomplish and discover new and more effective ways of doing things. So with our work experiences combined, we’ve come up with four creative ways to motivate and re-energize the team as we enter the second half of the year.

You’ve been spending a lot of time working together – in the office, overtime, during client meetings, even weekends. While spending time together as a team develops better work intercommunication, it decreases their time for relaxation.

David Chatt of Entrepreneur.com suggests to plan Non-Work Team Days.  As he puts it, “Everyone needs time to rejuvenate and social activities encourage friendships among co-workers.” Team and company outings are not the right answer because it’s more time away from their loved ones. David recommends that you “invite families to team days or even those boyfriends and girlfriends who are also affected by long working days.” Here are some Non-Work Team Days with the Family ideas: Indoor staycation at Aruga by Rockwell, Learning archery at Benel Archery, Adventure vacation by Uncharted Philippines, Yoga lessons at White Space Mind and Body Wellness.

If your work requires being on the field almost every day – like visiting sites, monitoring stores and merchandise, doing on-site construction – and you see each other a lot but only because you have to do overtime for paperwork, your team only needs one thing.

What your team needs is to R E L A X. Vacation leaves, sick leaves when you’re not sick at all, and work-free weekends are relaxing but not necessarily rejuvenating. We suggest going for a relaxing and rejuvenating team pampering. Elizabeth Scott, MS writes at verywell.com that, “taking a break amidst a tub of warm bubbles or under the warm hands of an experienced masseuse can help you feel like you’re escaping a stressful reality and taking a mental and emotional vacation. [I]t triggers the relaxation response and allows you to come back to the reality of your life feeling refreshed and relaxed.” Sounds soothing doesn’t it? There are three places we can think of: New ‘do’ with some hair spa at Felipe & Sons, Hand & Foot deep sea soaking with massage at Nail Spa, Healing massage and body treatment at Transcend Spa & Nails. For more pampering ideas, check out these health and wellness brands.

Some work requires dealing with one type of thing or process over and over. They may be crunching numbers, filing important data, coding, etc. It’s a passion for most but it does get into your team’s skin believe it or not.

What your team needs is constructive entertainment and distraction – a new source of inspiration, so get creative! Yes, they may not all be the next Van Gogh but they can sure try to be for a judgement-free few hours. Serenityyou.com points out that arts and crafts improves Mental Agility. It quotes Psychologies magazine in saying that “making things is an accessible means of asserting control within an uncertain environment.” The magazine interviewed a female store manager who found that turning materials into useful things “increased her confidence in her skill at adapting and dealing with things.” There’s two ways you can go about it: One, hands-on arts & crafts with materials from The Craft Central; two, get funny and creative by getting the wackiest find from Quirks.

Some teams don’t go through much drama but it does get tedious if it’s all work, no fun. It’s generally a good thing – no issues, no problems, everything going smoothly. Sometimes, we anticipate that it is the calm before the storm. But you should take advantage of these calm times to motivate and get to know the team.

Lunch outs and evening drinks are the usual activities for times like these but this year’s going to be great, right? So do something different. Give your team health, wealth, free and delicious food for a week!!! You heard me right. Then talk about how it changed everyone’s diet and health at the end of the week. Adam Fridman of INC.com says, “I've noticed that taking 45 minutes each Friday to regroup and relax a bit is an outstanding way to motivate the team. Even if business isn't discussed, having that opportunity to get everyone in the same room and chat results in your team going back to work with a fresh disposition.” Our best bet is a meal for each team member from Lunchbox Diet. But if you want to go for the traditional “let’s eat out” when the top boss is out, then check out these restaurants.

For more ideas on how to stay motivated in your job and re-energizing your team, follow INC. Magazine and Motto on Facebook. You can also find more ideas for rewards and activities at www.gifted.ph. Let us know how things go! We would love to hear from you.