If you’re looking to maintain positive outcomes for your business during a stressful time, you need to focus on making sure that you’re first maintaining a healthy workplace environment. Your school/staff will not be able to survive during this time, let alone provide results, if they don’t feel safe, secure, and respected.
I think we can all say that 2020 has been one of the most stressful years that we have ever experienced so far, but regardless of how stressful things are in the moment, we need to start shifting our mindset and destressing so we are mentally prepared to get back into life and our businesses when this is all over.
Since we are all leaders in our businesses, we need to recognize and be conscious of the fact that we are responsible for the happiness of our employees and that it is our job to motivate and inspire them.
We are already aware that working in child care means working in one of the most stressful industries, so we REALLY need to use the time that we have right now to focus on how we can ease the tension in our schools a little bit and create a healthy workplace environment for our staff.
I know that at the Child Care Success Company we focus a lot on this topic, but it’s because it’s the biggest factor that contributes to the overall success of your school and requires constant nurturing and attention like clockwork. Luckily though, our Member’s Area and Resource Library is full of content and resources on this topic, as well as Sindye Alexander’s book Relationship Roadmap!
Because we often focus on maintaining the emotional/ mental aspects of a healthy workplace environment, many times we forgot about maintaining the physical aspects of it – the physical environment that we work in and the physical health that we are in.
First, let’s think a bit about physical environment.
Depending on where you are located, you may or may not be open right now, or if you are open you have low enrollment. Either way, with little or no foot traffic throughout your building, this is a great time to spruce things up.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money doing this either – adding some fresh coats of paint on the wall can drastically improve the mood and tone of a room, placing a plant or two in each classroom and in the break room can provide a relaxing, tranquil feeling, switching up the music in your lobby to something soothing and cheerful will make those who walk through your doors feel welcomed and relaxed.
Next, take a look at the physical health of you and your staff.
Sadly, those of us that work in our field are notorious for not taking care of ourselves. Because we work in such a heartfelt industry, employees often put so much effort into their job that by the end of the day they are too mentally and physically drained to go home and take care of themselves.
But because your employees are the best asset of your organization, it’s important to put some thought and effort into making sure they are physically taking care of themselves. Increased health and wellness among your team will lead to increased productivity, reduced sick leave, workplace accidents, and lower turnover rates.
Obviously you can’t control how they treat their body once they clock out, but while they are working you can provide them with healthy snacks and bottled water in the breakroom, put a system in place that ensures they are getting their scheduled lunches and breaks, and hold weekly team yoga or aerobic sessions.
Maintaining a healthy workplace is key to creating positive outcomes in a stressful atmosphere. A great way to keep a pulse on this is to regularly ask for feedback or survey your staff on how your workplace could be improved or what type of stress reducing activities they would like to see.
Good luck in creating a healthy workplace environment!
If you’re interested in learning more about the Child Care Success Academy or how working with our team can be of service to your child care business, we invite you to schedule a free 45-minute Coaching Call with one of our Coaches!
