This is the deal. Five days of work and two days of peace. Most of us spend a decent part of our week thinking and preparing ourselves for the hard-core unwinding that the weekends will bring. Then the Monday morning blues start popping in their head and all of a sudden, it’s “gloomsday”. As most employers will tell you, Monday mornings prove to be the hardest day for them to convince and motivate their staff to be in office on time.
But contrary to what past experiences might have told you, those Monday morning blues aren’t impossible to beat down. How you ask? Well, here are five tips that can help you motivate your employees to come to office on a Monday morning with a giant grin on their faces.
Everyone likes to win
Arrange for a couple of special Monday contests. Keep small awards for The Most Punctual Man of the Day, The Best Performer of the Day, The Most Well-dressed Person of the Day, and maybe some other categories specific to the kind of work your company does. For the winners, rather than giving them random boring gifts, give them certificates or vouchers, giving them the freedom to get anything they want (within the budget, of course)
Get them excited for the weekend right as the week starts
The employee who shows up to work first on Monday (the ultimate Monday morning blues conqueror) can be gifted with ‘Friday Night’ and ‘Saturday Night’ passes to restaurants, movies or pubs. This exciting build-up for the weekend joy will definitely get them in the mood to not just survive but actually enjoy the upcoming Mondays.
Ban Monday Reviews
It may be a simple, smart idea to keep the work load on Mondays a little light as and when possible. Nothing makes a Sunday more stressful than the thought of an impending Monday morning review. As an employer, it shouldn’t be too much trouble to switch the review to another day but for the employees, it’s one less worry on their minds.
Whenever possible, arrange for a Monday special lunch buffet
Keep a varied platter and at a subsidized rate. Mondays don’t seem so bad when you have “stuff my face with deliciousness” on your to-do list for the day.
Make Monday ‘Motivation day’
Write nice little motivating messages for everyone in your team and put these up on their desks. In these messages, you can recount your team’s awesome achievements from the week gone by and in the sweetest way, inspire them to think about new ideas that can help the company grow even further. With this little staff engagement, you can help them start the week on a positive note and come up with fresh, innovative ideas.
There are several things in life that we give in to without a single thought, considering them to be universal truths. That a battle against Monday morning blues will surely be lost, is one of them. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be that way. Neither for you as an employer, nor for your hard-working team. Little rewards can go a long way in giving employees a sense of purpose and keeping them happy. All it needs is a little effort.
If you too are on a battle against the Monday morning blues, feel free to drop in a line at info@willnevergrowup.com for ideas.
