In days gone by we used to go to work, do our jobs and then go home. We disconnected the second we walked out the office door and we entered a zone where time was ours to do with as we wished.
Today, we're surrounded by technology and connected 24/7. Now, we walk out the office door and our work and our colleagues walk with us, connected through the techno gadgets in our pockets. For those of us who are extroverts, we thrive in this environment because we constantly regenerate our energy by being around, and being engaged, with others. For those of us who are introverts, this situation drains our energy and causes us to experience exhaustion and overwhelm.
This overwhelm is exacerbated by open-plan style office layouts, where we are forced to exist in the hype and buzz of others around us... with no opportunity to disconnect, to sit and be quiet for a while.
Some organizations say that they combat this by having separate meeting rooms so that some of the noise is removed and sectioned off. But what about those individuals whose role means they aren't involved in meetings? Further, for those who are involved in meetings, they are still surrounded by people, noise and buzz whilst in the meeting -- it's just moved to a different location.
It seems that we always have someone in our space, and the pace of modern day society demands that we push ourselves to continue even though our energy battery is drained. The result of this can be seen in the alarming rise in heart attack and stroke statistics, which are showing significant increases in the 30-50 age bracket internationally.
If we don't un-plug ourselves regularly we can very quickly drain our energy supplies... and then we're operating on the equivalent of a dead battery.
Teams operate at their most efficient when ALL team members are operating on peak energy. Highly motivated teams are high energy teams; and high energy teams are teams who have regular, scheduled down time and/or quiet time.
Organizations that thrive are the ones that look after their employees, and the most effective way to look after your employees is to teach them simple ways to protect their energy and efficiently reenergize themselves.
It's important to program some down time into every day for each member of the team. This may mean quiet time away from the rest of the team members. Or, you might introduce a team meditation or yoga practice into each week. You could even encourage each team member to get 15 minutes outside in the fresh air. All of the above, perhaps?
There are lots of ways to provide an environment that reenergizes your team. You can access lots of simple tips and tricks in 'Keep It Super Simple' (you can buy a copy from http://www.sheiqlife.com/shop or from http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AAG0QJI), or call me on +61 438 624 868 to discuss how I can help you to implement simple steps to re-energise your team.
Bronwen Sciortino is a global thought leader who empowers simple connection. She is the author of 'Keep It Super Simple - Tips from a Recovering Perfectionist'. Join the conversation by subscribing to the tribe at: http://www.sheiqlife.com, http://www.facebook.com/sheiqlife or https://au/linkedin/com/in/bronwensciortino