With companies cutting back on staff, the employees that remain are often asked to handle more tasks and work overtime. However employees who put in extra time nights and weekends can quickly get burned out. Overtime pay bump is certainly helpful for hourly employees, but salaried employees are often asked to go the extra mile for the good of the team. As an employer, it’s a smart and responsible choice to go the extra mile for your team as well. In this article, we’ll look at some ways that you can create a more welcoming, appreciative work environment.

Creating a Comfortable Work Environment

Unless you own the building, you may not have any control over the HVAC system. These systems commonly don’t run after hours and an office can quickly get overheated even in winter from the heat the electronics pour out.

Portable air conditioning units provide much needed relief. They can be leased as needed and set up to provide cooling during overtime periods that the building’s main cooling system is offline. The comfort provided by portable air conditioning improves morale and production and are well worth the investment.

If overtime is a frequent occurrence it may be worth purchasing portable air conditioning units. This allows them to be deployed as needed and they are available for other needs such as supplementary cooling during heat waves or in server rooms.

Roll Up Your Sleeves

When the staff finds themselves arriving before and leaving after their managers, they can get resentful. They feel like they are the only ones putting out extra work and frankly they are right. If employees are frantically piling up sandbags against the rising floodwaters, management should in there standing with them shoulder to shoulder.

In many cases, managers many not know how to do their employees jobs. That doesn’t have to be an obstacle. Learning to do the same work as their staff gives managers an opportunity to understand the workflow better and that means more insight into departmental strategies.

However, to be fair there are cases where it’s not reasonable for managers to learn the same duties. In those cases they need to find something to do that directly supports the employees even if that means filing and making copies. The goal is not the work produced, but the image of solidarity it creates.

Gifts Are Appreciated

Paychecks are impersonal. Gifts make employees feel valuable and are more motivating. The gifts don’t have to be expensive. Buying pizza for lunch during a weekend shift or a thank you card after a big project is finished buy far more goodwill than extra pay that is just going to get spent on the cable bill anyhow.

The perceived value is more important than the actual cost. Remember how your mother told you that ugly pencil holder you made her was worth more than any store-bought gift? It works that way with your staff as well. Something that reflects you also reflects your genuine gratitude.

Pizza lunches and portable air conditioning are small gestures that carry a lot of weight. They say you value the staff’s efforts rather than taking them for granted.