Monkey Puzzle Blog

How do you maintain pace and quality of work, without burning out your staff? It’s a concern expressed by many people we work with in innovative, creative, and high pressured environments.

Many of us take stock of our careers at some point in our working lives, and not surprisingly, the impact of COVID-19 is proving to be a catalyst for change. Concerns for personal safety and worries about what may happen to job security are causing large numbers of people to re-think their careers.

The government has issued a ‘conditional plan’ to ease the lockdown which contains some guidance on returning people to work. People who cannot work from home should return to the workplace from Wednesday but avoid public transport. More detail is to be added but the call to return to work, for some sectors at least, has raised safety concerns.

Motivation is often talked about, much researched, and prized goal of many leaders. Research shows it can provide a measurable competitive advantage, improve creativity, raise employee engagement levels as well as adding bottom line profitability.

It’s been just 6 weeks since most organisations introduced mandatory working from home. It needed to happen almost overnight and, in most instances, it did. At the time we predicted that it would test organisations and their people like never before, which would require leaders to lead like they’ve never done before.

Although this is a blog about burnout, the Coronavirus COVID-19 is currently dominating all our lives, putting many of us under huge pressure at home and at work - a line that is increasingly blurred. Inevitably this additional stress may lead to higher levels of burnout, which makes this content especially relevant.

What a difference a week makes. Most of us are now working remotely and the country is in virtual lockdown - evidence of just how quickly the Coronavirus is affecting every aspect of our daily lives. If we are feeling unsure about how to respond - that’s because this is unlike anything we’ve encountered.

We are living and working in an increasingly unknown territory. No one quite knows how the COVID-19 virus will play out in the long run but what is becoming increasingly clear is this - many organisations are on the edge of mandatory working from home.

A lot of people don’t want to be ‘that person’, the one who is always bragging on about how great they are, how good their work is and the ‘proven track record’ they have. However, in our wish to avoid being seen as arrogant or stepping on peoples’ toes, we can get left behind - along with the profile our great work could have given us.

Innovation comes with an opinion - but does your culture welcome that, or stifle it?

We often see the new year as an opportunity for a fresh start or to try something new. Our new year gift to you for 2020, is to consider how you use the word ‘busy’.

If you love what you do, do you even need to think about work life balance? It’s a question many CEOs, business owners, and entrepreneurs ask us. The short answer is yes - both you and the relationships that matter to you – need looking after, regardless of how well your work might be going.