5 things to do to make your workplace balanced and supportive

Workplaces have gone through a drastic transformation in the past decade. The number of factors that define "quality work" in any organization has increased significantly. Growing demands in the workplace can have a serious impact on the employees of the organization, often affecting their physical and mental health.

81% of employees face some sort of burnout or mental health issue.

This means it is imperative to foster a balanced and supportive work environment to help employees not just to catch up with the growing demands, but to encourage performance and well-being too.

Welcome to another blog from Zoho WorkDrive! Today, we're focusing on workplace tranquility. Even though we all have an idea of what that means, it is time we dive deeper to understand it better.

What is a tranquil workplace?

A "tranquil" office helps employees approach their work with confidence and encourages them to maintain their well-being, both mental and physical. The ways to accomplish this can range from how the company does business to the values that make up the company culture, to how the employees work with each other.

Here are some of the benefits of a positive workplace:

• Attracts talent:

Even though there may be a lot of factors that lead a person to choose an organization, a pleasant workplace can have an immense impact on their decision. A Reuters survey suggests that employee happiness is often linked with collaboration and workplace experience.

• Enhances employee engagement:

Most employees spend the majority of their workday at the office. Maintaining a happy workplace that an employee respects and enjoys is directly linked with better engagement. Ultimately, a happy workplace boosts morale, reduces stress, and leads to better engagement.

• Increases performance:

A positive environment encourages employee growth, and fosters confident mindsets and attitudes. Having such a workplace enhances employees' satisfaction and encourages them to work with more enthusiasm and efficiency.

Here are 5 simple actions you can take to ensure tranquility in your workplace:

1. Maintain an organized desk(top):

Your desktop is the launchpad for your ideas, and from a well-maintained launchpad, successful ideas take flight. A cluttered and disorganized desktop can get you stressed. Consider using document management software to categorize and store your files in the cloud. This not only makes your desktop look neat, but storing files on the cloud saves disc space too. As things get organized, you'll likely notice an improvement in your productivity.

2. Encourage two-way communication:

Both employees and upper management have to be mindful of how they interact with each other. When employees receive positive feedback and are shown how their work contributes to the organization's success, they become more driven and feel more motivated. At the same time, managers should be open to feedback from employees, encouraging two-way communication within the organization.

3. Build trust with your colleagues:

Open communication, a focus on employee development, and constructive criticism are hallmarks of good leadership. These behaviors can help you build trust with coworkers and employees. By acting as a trustworthy mentor or assigning mentors to budding teammates, you can help employees confidently work towards their goals and extend their trust to different levels of the company.

4. Listen to and respect others' opinions:

A workplace will consist of people who sometimes have similar and different perspectives towards events. To bring out the best of these varying perspectives, you can foster an environment that respects individual opinions and active listening. When differences in opinions occur, it can be viewed as another perspective to help reach goals.

5. Have things planned beforehand:

An hour of planning saves you hours of doing. Everyone in an organization wants to feel that what they do matters to the company. To help teammates feel fulfilled about the work they do, it is helpful to discuss goals and tasks in detail before starting the work. This helps to mitigate stress and anxiety, and also paves the way for effective and successful execution.

Focus on small changes

Everyone desires to work in a peaceful environment. But the dream of creating a positive and supportive workplace turns into reality only when we focus on small changes. Help your coworkers understand that their activities and mindsets in the workplace have a direct impact on their environment. Encourage them even for their small successes, and inspire them to take a more active role in changing their workplaces to suit their needs. This will add to a sense of positivity, agency, and confidence in the workplace.

So how far would you go to make your workplace tranquil?