We live in a world where change is fast and we can’t control it. Life is stressful and sometimes we feel powerless. Families that were once around the corner, are often either fractured or distant. Even marriage isn’t the reliable safety net that it once was. We are richer than ever before and we buy more goods than any other generation, and yet statistics keep showing that we are unhappier than ever.
As a small business owner you will be working on average 63% more than other workers. Nobody ever became a business owner so they could avoid working hard.
Running your own business stretches anybody’s work-life balance to the absolute limit. And it has emerged that micro-business owners are working an average of 52 hours a week, 63 per cent longer than the average worker.
Many micro business owners are both time and cash-strapped, they need to make the most of every day because the amount of time being squeezed into the working week is enormous.‚ π
“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” Chinese Proverb
When you started up in business and thought about the perfect workplace, what came to mind? For some it may be an office that is full of chitter chatter, smiles and high levels of productivity. Others may see it as employee’s sitting around on beanbags brainstorming ideas in an open office environment. There are some that see a perfect workplace as quiet order with work being done. For me it was everything that I didn’t like in places I had already worked ‚ ¨ I wanted my work place to be fun, challenging, encouraging, developmental and with abundance of respect and loyalty. I don’t go to work to be miserable so why should others‚ π
As a small business owner you can be at the mercy of your employees. You cannot after all control how your employee’s get up each day or choose their attitude or how their day will pan out. This unknown can cause difficulties in a workplace as the different personality types, outside experiences, and choices a person makes can ultimately effect others.
What we can do however is nurture a workplace that many often dream about. From my experience of workplace’s and as a small business owner myself, I have put together 8 tips to build that mythic, dreamed about, idealized workplace from the ground up.
Essentially however, in my opinion, as a business owner the best way to get a dream work place is – treat others as you would have them treat you‚ π
Tip Number Three
Provide opportunities for growth and development.
It’s part of the human condition ‚ ¨ to be productive. People want to grow, develop and be challenged. Recent studies show that motivation increases when people are treated as partners while working together with others, even if they’re physically apart.
Through projects and training opportunities, an ideal workplace helps employees to grow individually which may great spillover for your company, culture and morale. Group projects don’t have to be grueling, slog through conflicting perspectives. Treating others on your team like they are important aspects of your project can make communication and collaboration much easier.
Growth includes future positions in the business. Learn where your employees want to go and help them to find the path. Encourage collaboration. Two heads are better than one. Let the employees work together to find solutions.
10 Reasons for Team Building
- Improving communication
- Making the workplace more enjoyable
- Motivating a team
- Getting to know each other
- Getting everyone “onto the same page”, including goal setting
- Teaching the team self-regulation strategies
- Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths & weaknesses)
- Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members
- Improving team productivity
- Practicing effective collaboration with team members
Team Building encourages the improvement of Interpersonal Skills such as: communication, negotiation, leadership, & motivation.
