Do you have an office buzz? Do you thrive in hustle and bustle? Or, does it drive you to distraction?

The office fizz may be a good indication of a flourishing culture, with business booming and teamwork in action, but it might also be causing some of your employees to feel stressed.

Misophonia is a condition where particular sounds can trigger extreme feelings, like panic, rage or anxiety, making it hard to think straight. Everyone is unique, and people can function differently depending on the level of noise they are exposed to.

So, how can we tweak our workspaces to support our staff’s needs and keep everyone working as productively as possible?

Look at the working environment

Start by looking at the workplace and ensure it is reflective of the type of business you want or need to run. Do you want it to be quiet, or would you prefer it to have an energy that will generate noise as a by-product?

You may not have much choice – as some industries will demand a certain ambience: think a funeral parlour vs a call centre. For many, though, you will have some flexibility to cater to different working styles.

Do you want open-plan areas where people can come together to collaborate, problem-solve and bond? Do you need quiet areas or private booths where people can talk freely without bothering others?

Assessing your workplace is an opportunity to make conscious decisions about its mood. Do you want background music playing, and if so, who chooses the tunes? Optimising seating plans, heating and ventilation, will add to staff comfort.

Talk to your employees

Explore with individual employees ways in which they can work comfortably; they know their needs best!

Most people will be able to acclimatise themselves to working in noisy conditions. In other words, acknowledging the hubbub and gently encouraging them to give it a go for a few weeks might be all they need. If they need more support, though, here are some ideas:

Headphones are one device that many office workers need no second invitation to reach for to shut out the outside world. Some may choose noise-cancelling ones, or just earplugs, while others opt for music.

While listening to music is generally proven not be as effective for concentration as silence would be, the very reason we are discussing this is that you do not have silence to begin with – so it could help. The genre of music and the type of task being performed will have a bearing on whether this is a successful tactic!

Noise levels may not be consistently high throughout the day. Could people who prefer the quiet have the opportunity to come in earlier so they can have focus time to concentrate before the office fires up?

It is not just noise that can be distracting – interruptions from emails, phone calls, and messaging apps can easily derail the most conscientious of workers. Consider some training around time management here.

What about noise when working from home?

If you have staff who work from home, the summer holidays may be a time when a once quiet home office becomes overrun with noisy children!

Make it clear when discussing work-from-home arrangements that, when on the clock for you, employees need to have space to concentrate.

To protect your productivity, it is important to make clear that a working-from-home arrangement is not childcaring time. If the work rate is dropping off, take time to explore the barriers to effective home working with them and see if you can help. You could consider asking staff to show they have a strategy for childcare and maintaining a productive and distraction free home environment.

Some outside help

We all need a bit of help. If you are struggling to create the right workplace culture or need help managing staff who are complaining about a noisy workplace, consider contacting Occupational Health providers or HR experts.

Discuss with your business network and friends to see how they approach keeping their staff focused, comfortable and productive.

Read more:
How can you fine-tune your working environment so everybody can be at their best?

Waves washing over your feet, breathing in the cool mountain air, enjoying a cocktail on a warm continental evening…

Whilst annual leave is a well-deserved break, it can be difficult to deal with holiday handovers before any time off can begin. This is also applicable to team members who are also planning holidays; and those that are left behind and have to keep the show running.

A good holiday handover means you can benefit from your downtime without worrying about business. It will also take away much of the anxiety from the people you ask to step into your shoes.

Make it a great holiday handover, though, and it will empower your team – allowing them to develop new skills and experience, and possibly grow into future leaders.

The HR Dept has some top tips for your personal holiday handovers, enabling a smooth progression from the 9-5, to unwinding. These tips are also applicable to any employees who are also taking a break, as well as business leaders.

Plan early

Let key people know when you are away in good time so that responsibilities are not sprung on them. This also acts as a failsafe to ensure that holiday absences do not clash, leaving no one at the helm. There needs to be an understanding of what will need to be done while you are away, in particular, identifying any essential tasks or deadlines. Prioritise everything in order of importance and choose who to assign responsibilities to. Think about the workloads of everyone remaining in the business while there is an annual leave absence.

Think strategically about learning and development

You’ll want to choose an adequate person for the job but think also if there is the opportunity to help someone grow into a leadership role. A two-week spell with more responsibility could be the perfect dress rehearsal to see if a junior member of staff is ready for a promotion. They are placed a little out of their comfort zone and given a chance to shine. They will learn new skills and get a feel for what extra responsibility feels like. Even if it turns out they are not ready to permanently level up, they will be a step closer to it thanks to the experience.

Train where necessary

If your deputy will be taking on new tasks for which they are unfamiliar, provide them with some training so they can hit the ground running. Reinforce this with written notes which they can refer to when you are away. Shadowing you may work well for certain tasks, so they can see how you tackle them. This may be particularly apt where it involves meeting other people, say, clients or suppliers, so that you get the opportunity to introduce them as well. Also, ensure they have access to the resources they need to perform your role – whether it is user-permissions within software, or physical access to tools and equipment.

The return handover

Don’t forget the debriefing when you return. Offer praise for a job well done, and mentoring and support in areas where they need development. Review how the business coped whilst you were away and consider what may need to be put in place in the future to make future spells of annual leave even more successful.

Read more:
How to do a great holiday handover

TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and now Threads… social media provides employees with a million and one ways to bring a company into disrepute: from posing in uniform and bad-mouthing customers on a personal channel to making an ill-judged comment on their official page.

With 98% of workers saying that they have social media for personal use, it is intrinsic to a business that they have legislation in place to prevent any mishaps from happening.

Down under, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales even had to warn its members about creating (presumably adult) content on OnlyFans.

The dangers are not limited to such reputational damage. Bullying, a lack of productivity, privacy and cybersecurity issues, or more niche problems like accidental insider trading within financial services are all potential threats. Statistics have proven that one in 10 job seekers between the age of 16 and 34 have been rejected from a job because of something posted on social media. Being conscious of a digital footprint is more essential than ever.

This means that any employer should now have a social media policy for its staff. More than this, the employer needs to make sure it is clearly communicated and, if necessary, enforced.

What is a social media policy?

A social media policy sets out the rules and parameters of social media usage, both on a company’s official channels and, where it can be linked back to the company, employees’ personal accounts. It will also explain the consequences of breaches – linked to their disciplinary policy.

A social media policy will apply to all members of staff, from the most junior to the most senior.

What kind of things should a social media policy include?

There are many points which should be included in a social media policy, ones that may seem like common sense, but it is important to spell them out.

Relating to your company pages, these may include:

• Specifying who is authorised on the accounts
• A sign-off process
• Understanding copyright
• Warning against publishing confidential information
• Staying on brand (e.g., proper spellings, avoiding slang)
• Fact-checking before publication or reposting
• A complete ban on profanity and hate speech
• Careful protection of log-in details, and other cybersecurity matters
• How to escalate problems and respond to crises

There might not be as much control over personal usage, but there are important things to cover:

• Avoiding posts that will bring the company into disrepute
• Posting nothing which may be construed as bullying by colleagues
• Prohibiting personal social media use during company time
• Possibly including a disclaimer on profiles that an individual’s views are not representative of the company

What next?

Once policies have been written, it is important that they are communicated to all staff, and that it can be proved that everyone has had access. This is so that they can be referred to during any subsequent disciplinary process, and should any sanction be challenged at tribunal.

Onboarding of new staff is an obvious time to do this, as well as periodical reminders to existing staff or when an employee is newly charged with operating company social media accounts. Employees can be wonderful advocates for your business – both to customers and prospective staff. Safely harnessing the energy, they bring can give a major competitive advantage.

Love it or loathe it, social media is entwined in everyone’s lives now. The BBC/Gary Lineker/UK government episode earlier in 2023 shows just how much a few lines of text can derail operations when there is no clarity on what is allowed.

Read more:
Do you worry about your employees’ use of social media?