The winter blues can hit us all at any point, especially with all of this crazy weather we have been experiencing. Winter weather can cause a feeling of isolation, unexpected financial or physical problems, understaffed work places, etc. Whatever the reason may be, as a manager we can feel when the mood changes in our office. Let your team know you care in fun and unique ways. Below are 3 ways to lift team spirits during the winter blues.

Friday Hot Chocolate Bar

Warm your teams spirits and their insides with a fun Friday hot chocolate bar! Go in early and set up all the makings for hot chocolate: marshmallows, whipped cream, fun toppings and maybe even some donuts to go with it. Allow your team to start off their day feeling warm and cared by creating their own hot chocolate delight before work starts. Leave it in the break room so they can come make another cup mid-day if they want. This allows your team to be creative, get a special treat and feel like their hard work is not going unnoticed. Regardless of what they had to deal with before work, this is a good way to restart the day on a good note before work begins.

Schedule Options

If you work in an office that allows some flexibility, offer your employees the option to choose their work schedule on particularly cold and blizzardy days. They can either come in early and leave early or come in a little late and leave late. Some employees may be worried about needing to leave early to pick up kids or they may need some extra time in the morning to get to work safely. Flexibility in their schedule may ease some stress in their personal lives, allowing them to better focus on work.

Winter Olympic Games

Bad weather may slow down production within your office. Combat that by turning daily tasks into point earning games with an awards ceremony at the end of the week.  Assign points to things that need to be done daily along with extra bonus points for side tasks (for slow times during the day) like cleaning the office, reorganizing files, etc. The highest points will be based on attendance, as it is harder for most to get to work with bad weather conditions. Therefore, the one with the highest attendance during the week will get a special prize along with their award. Make it fun, have silly awards or little trophies but also offer some prizes people want to shoot for like Starbucks gift card or a “30 minutes extra for lunch” card. This will give your team something to focus on other than the winter blues, stresses and mundane winter days.

Everyone is subject to the winter blues. Be proactive as a manger by sprinkling in some fun activities, sweet treats and easier scheduling options so your team stays in high spirits. They will appreciate the effort you put in to let them know you care and will be more likely to maintain production during the cold, yucky winter days.