5 tips to overcome procrastination in the hybrid workplace
December 2021   WHOLE HEALTH

5 tips to overcome procrastination in the hybrid workplace

The new working environments have a direct impact on employees’ attitudes to their working hours.
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Now more than ever having a good organisational capability and time management are crucial to maintaining productivity. But how can you prevent employees from slipping into procrastination? Find out the main keys from Cigna Europe!

Optimising processes in the new hybrid working environment and promoting the overall well-being of the workforce are and will continue to be fundamental parts of business management. The move towards a format in which activity is carried on partly in the office and partly in the worker’s home has some great advantages: greater efficiency, adaptation and flexibility, both for the organisation and for the employees. But at the same time it also poses new challenges when it comes to time management and prioritising. For this reason, it is very important for organisations to commit to training their teams in this area to avoid the emergence of procrastination: putting off important tasks that need to be done in favour of other less important tasks.

This conduct has a direct effect on output and productivity, especially when the workforce is subject to high levels of stress. Therefore, to avoid emotional fatigue being translated into postponement of tasks, it is vitally important to adopt whole well-being policies that strengthen physical and mental health.

We must not forget that the most valuable asset of any organisation consists of the people that work for it. Therefore HR departments must respond to the new needs arising from both office and remote working. One good way of doing this is for businesses to include in their health strategies resources to help manage emotions, since this, or rather the lack of it, is one of the main causes of procrastination.

Don’t know where to begin? Cigna Europe, as a leading provider of health services, with many years of experience, will help you to overcome this challenge. Through our Whole Health model, we provide numerous services centred on the care of employees’ emotional health. Find out about it through this link.

But apart from these solutions, what key factors must be kept in mind to combat procrastination in hybrid work environments? Here we tell you how!

  • Prioritise the emotional health of the workforce. The right state of mind and management of emotions are indispensable for facing a day’s work with optimism, without slipping into procrastination. Therefore one of the great challenges for business is to make employees feel secure in their jobs and to reduce their personal worries, which they can achieve by having Cigna Europe as their partner in health. When workers feel protected, insecurity is reduced, motivation increases and with it, productivity. Furthermore, if this care of the workforce is dispensed from a global perspective, taking account of all the aspects affecting workers’ day-to-day lives, the organisation will distinguish itself.
  • Promote the effective management of working hours. Devoting effort to improving time management and the performance of work is a decision that allows positive results to be achieved. The more so if workers are also offered tools such as the coaching sessions provided by Cigna Europe. By promoting these spaces for reflection and self-knowledge, businesses will help their workforces to improve productivity, distribute tasks and develop techniques for effective planning with which to make more profitable use of the working time available. 
  • Pro-actively manage disconnection from work. The exhaustion that can result from a situation of chronic stress at work and the inability to disconnect has a negative impact on physical and mental health and leads to the less attractive tasks being continually postponed. It is therefore vitally important for the organisation to actively promote disconnection - both in the technical sense of digital disconnection and in the more general sense of getting away from work - outside working hours.
  • Provide new formulas for achieving a productive working climate. Some of the feelings that commonly occupy the minds of the worker who is about to procrastinate are fear of failure, indecision and a kind of negative perfectionism when unsure as to how to handle the situation that presents itself. To combat these situations, it is essential for the business to promote an atmosphere of trust and support among team members by means of continuous feedback and easy communication. In this way, employees will come to see the company as part of their support network.
  • Promote motivation by means of recognition. Keeping employees happy so that their performance does not flag is another of the keys to combating procrastination. It is very important to hold thank-you activities or gatherings and to make constructive comments to reward these efforts in order to keep the team motivated. At the same time, conducting working sessions to see what can be improved and to exchange opinions on the operation of the teams can be a very positive way of improving relations among colleagues.

Still have doubts? Cigna Europe has a wide range of products and services to help you find the solution best suited to your needs. If you’d like to get to know us, click on this link and we’ll offer you personalised advice. Combat procrastination by promoting the whole well-being of your team and set your company apart!

 

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