Education

When you are talking about boosting workplace morale, often the blame is laid on the emotional bonds between coworkers and managers. However there is a larger part to workplace morale; it is the employees satisfaction, out look and wellbeing in the workplace. There are aspects of the employees wellbeing that do not include their relations with other co-workers. One of the largest demoralizing factors that many people do not consider is organization.

Not all workplaces have systems in place to ensure employees information is organized. This could lead to confusion between co-workers and managers, company employees and customers or employee and other employees about information, workloads or numerous other potential issues. The constant conflicts that occur will grind team members; demoralizing their mental state in the workplace.

So how can one improve their workplace organization?

A methodology of workplace organization is known as the “five s'”. Developed in Japan, it identifies and addresses the five aspects of understanding organization. These five aspects are sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. They will each be elaborated on here:

S1. Sort

Spacial Efficiency

Sorting in the workplace is the act of designating information and services appropriately. This applies to all aspects of the business: work distribution, information, supplies, equipment etc all need to be arranged in the most specially efficient way so all those in the work place understand where it is. This will prevent workers from feeling lost when dealing with their own or others information as they will always know its position in the workplace.

S2. Set in Order

Productive Effectiveness

Set in order is about arranging sections in term of maximizing productive effectiveness. This means allocating areas for possessions in their most practical position to create a seamless workflow between tasks. This could be simple changes such as moving the printer to next to the computer opposed to across the room. Employees will be more focused on the task at hand as their concentration in work won’t be broken as easily.

S3. Shine

Visually Appeasing & Accesibility

Shine is about keeping the workplace clean of clutter. This means cleaning up once a task is completed and before you begin another. This visual appeasement will also allow you to access current use items, whereas if it were cluttered it may be difficult to find files you were working on mere minutes earlier.

S4. Standardize

Consistency

Standardization is the act of keeping all aspects of the business be consistent. This means always having the item in their place proper place, exact process when performing a reoccurring task, colour coding and more. Although it may take time for workers adjust to it, it will provide them with a clear state of mind when in the workplace. This will allow them to work to their maximum efficiency!

S5. Sustain

Self-Discipline

You may have already implanted these criteria into your work but have seen little to no results. Why is this? It may because you have to stayed consistent with the implementing. Self-discipline towards being organized is very important. It is an on-going process; not a one time thing.

Now that you know the aspects of workplace organization, it is your job to find the most efficient way of implementing it into your workplace. Each situation is different so most of the workplace organization is up to your work process, however there are some tools that can assist you in your journey. For example, if you are associated in online services, there are project management software applications that can help you organize through online tracking of your resource’s workload and time sheets.

Perhaps the morale of your team cannot be raised through team building exercises; there are factors about your workplace that can be more beneficial productively and mentally to the managers, customers and project resources.