As December approaches, the looming increase in workload threatens to overwhelm you and your team, risking errors and draining morale.

The added pressure of the short December month and the upcoming ITSA deadline put tremendous strain on your tax and accounts team to get their work done quickly and effectively.

But when things go wrong (and they sometimes do) the office can turn into a seriously negative environment for your staff. 

Why morale matters

According to a survey conducted by Peldon Rose, 49 per cent of workers said an increased workload running up to Christmas Day was the main reason behind their festive anxiety.

Over 60 per cent of employees are mentally distracted by Christmas as early as mid-December, according to Peakon.

There are also 50 per cent more sick days taken in December than in January.

On top of this, research shows that productivity is generally lower in December.

This effectively creates the perfect storm:

• High anxiety
• Distraction
• More sick days
• Low productivity

While this might not seem much of an issue, the research suggests that happiness and an absence of stress are major factors in a productive workforce.

Why a happy team is a better team

A 2019 study undertaken by Oxford University found that workers are 13 per cent more productive when they are happy. The University of Warwick said they’re 12 per cent more productive.

Higher stress was also associated with lower productivity in a 2021 study performed by Kansas Journal of Medicine. 

In summary, many firms could be getting hit by lower morale, lower productivity and higher anxiety during the December period which is likely to have significant effects on their team’s overall productivity.

The message is, therefore, clear, a happy team is the route to easing the December workload – or at least it’s a good start!

How to increase morale by streamlining workflow

One way to improve team morale is to reduce the stress associated with work and create a more streamlined and satisfying work process.

A quick way to reduce the number of employees taking time off and their overall morale is to increase job satisfaction, which impacts employees’ psychological well-being including their sense of identity, health, overall happiness.

Upcounsel says that increased job satisfaction creates harder working employees who take fewer sick days than their less satisfied counterparts.

Dr. Brent D. Rosso, and his colleagues discovered that ‘meaning’ in your job increases motivation, engagement, career development, individual performance, and fulfilment, all while decreasing absenteeism, stress, and turn-over. 

So, how do we create meaning at work?

Perhaps a good first step would be to increase the amount of work getting completed through an improved and more organised workflow.

Afterall, a team with a strong sense of cohesion and an organised workflow is like a well-oiled machine, happier and healthier.

A quick way to do this would be to improve the information-gathering processes you are using so that the client documents you’re handling are organised and exactly where you need them to be.

In this case, an easy-to-implement digital tool like Glasscubes may prove to be a huge gesture of care to your team.

To try an information-gathering tool for free, consider Glasscubes.