January: A Fresh Start for Employee Engagement

If you were lucky enough to get some time off for the holidays and new year, you know that once it’s over it can feel like a double-edged sword.

Taking time off at the end of the year is a great opportunity to recharge, rest and reflect. But when returning to the office, many people manage to feel simultaneously refreshed and overwhelmed. It sounds crazy, but we get it. Switching your mind and body from “vacation mode” back to “work mode” isn’t easy.

We’re a couple weeks into the new year, so you may be over the hump, but staying engaged and excited about work is something we have to keep front of mind throughout the year. Here are a few tips on how you can reinvigorate yourself – and your team – during the month of January to start the year off strong.

Team Brainstorm

Kick-off the year by getting the creative juices flowing. It’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day of our jobs, but brainstorms are a great chance to come up with some crazy, inspired, brand new ideas. Sure, some of them may end up on the cutting room floor, but the gems that you may uncover are well worth it!

A Social Event

The month of December can sometimes seem a little too full of social events, but after a little break now is a great time to get your team back together, reconnect after the holidays and start the year on a positive foot. It could be as simple as a happy hour after work, or maybe switch it up and do a team breakfast at a local café! Poll your team and see what they want – or if you’re a tight-knit group and already know their interests and habits well, make it a spontaneous event!

Out of Office Retreat

Not sure if you want to kick the year off with a social or work-related event? Do a one-day retreat and incorporate a little of both. This article from INC Magazine provides a detailed guide to planning a successful work retreat. Think carefully about how to keep energy up and your team focused throughout the day, you could end up having the most productive workday of the year.

A Competition

You know your team best, but here at the WeSpire office, we love a little healthy competition! Whether it’s a hackathon, a recycling competition, a step challenge, or something completely new, competitions have the power to excite people and hold their interest. Identify what groups of employees you want to open the competition up to, and make sure that the competition’s purpose is of interest to all your employees.

Have an idea of your own, we’d love to hear what strategies you use to engage your workforce.

Read more:

• How to Jumpstart Employee Engagement After the Holidays