Get Relief Before Cabin Fever Strains Performance

We’re heading into that time of the year — when kids get excited about spring break and employees are itching to take a few days off. If your employees don’t get a chance to recharge a little before summer, they’re likely to experience some cabin fever.

Cabin fever symptoms can affect performance:

·       Constantly thinking about warm, sunny places might result in extensive daydreaming

·       The desire to get away can lead to long lunches or early happy hours

·       No R&R might make employees snippy, frustrated, or stressed

·       Too many back-to-back workdays can lead to burnout

You don’t have to call the doctor just yet, but here are four things you can do to make sure cabin fever doesn’t hinder your team’s performance:

1.     Take your team’s temperature: Is everyone stressed out? Are people working 24/7 or hardly working at all? Is a rebellion on the rise? Make sure you’ve evaluated what your employees are feeling and what their behaviors say about stress levels.

2.     Give them a break: All companies have different policies for flexibility, but if you can find some, give it to your employees. That could mean taking them out to a team lunch, or even giving them a Friday off to reward good performance. If your policies still require employees to be at work, perhaps do an afternoon activity that lets people blow off some steam (laser tag is pretty fun).

3.     Build in some healthy habits: Encourage employees to use your company’s wellness benefits so that they’re not feeling unfit in addition to feeling stressed. If you don’t have a formal program in place, try things like instituting walking meetings for your one-on-ones, or have a snack day once a week. Instead of cookies, have everyone bring in their favorite ingredient for trail mix and create a trail-mix bar.

4.     Take a breather yourself: Managers who are stressed can pass their stress on to their employees. If you’re feeling frustrated because everyone’s coming back to work with a tan and you haven’t seen the sun since October, don’t take it out on employees. Instead, take a breather. You might need to get up and have lunch away from your desk, go for a walk, or even meditate in between meetings. Literally take a breath before you react out of frustration and you won’t derail productivity because of stress.

Cabin fever may not affect everyone, but it can make performance a serious issue when people aren’t focused or energized. Follow these four tips and your team will slide through spring a little healthier and a little happier.