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[kevinhodes-blog]

Should You Let Your Remote Employees Keep “Odd” Working Hours?

Today’s “remote working” can feel like a strange, somewhat out-of-body-and-mind, experience for the traditional worker and boss alike. Especially as a business owner or manager, if it’s not something you’re accustomed to — and have just been forced into it by the demands of COVID-19 — the temptation is often to expect your people to work just like they do in the office, even while doing it from home. 

However, if you’re looking at remote work this way, you might be missing out on a great opportunity to get more out of your employees and teams than you ever imagined. In recent years, those companies have embraced having some or all of their employees working from home, did it primarily to embrace flexibility and the benefits such flexibility provided to employee AND employer, alike. And when we say, “flexibility” in this sense, we aren’t just talking about starting an hour earlier to stop working an hour earlier or take a doctor’s appointment. We aren’t even talking about starting a few hours later and working later to accommodate early morning grocery shopping or a gym visit. Some companies, such as Zapier — which is 100% remote — have found that they get the greatest productivity and results from their teams when they allow and embrace even the most “odd” working hours for their employees. For Zapier, it’s all about results with their remote teams... Read more at https://www.swypit.com/should-you-let-your-remote-employees-keep-odd-working-hours/

[kevinhodes-blog]

Posture & Productivity: Can the Way We Sit (and How Long) at Work Affect What We’re Able to Accomplish?!

It’s no doubt that business owners and employees alike are feeling pretty “maxed out” today. Between work demands, family demands, and well… LIFE demands, it can feel like we are always chasing a goal post or finish line that’s constantly moving.

Since time is obviously at a premium and it often feels like we must be continually accomplishing MORE in LESS time, learning how to be more productive and maximizing productivity are vital skills for every business owner (or employee!) to learn. Yet, could it be that one simple change – that we can make in a day – can dramatically improve productivity? Many experts say, “Yes!”

Bad posture is not only bad for health, it reduces our productivity. The good news, however, is that the opposite is true as well—improve your posture and watch output get better fast!

Many people are simply in the habit of spending too much time at their desks. And they’re doing so not just for getting work done, but also spending lunch and breaks there (power surfing the Internet or even paying bills, etc.) as well. All this sitting puts a strain on the body and posture – and health – suffer as a result, even if posture wasn’t poor before.

So, how does posture impact productivity?

Posture may make depression worse and depression makes it harder to be productive.

While sitting up straight won’t cure depression necessarily, the opposite – slumping – could make it more severe. And one study did show that simply sitting up straight did assist with reducing the severity of depression symptoms that sometimes make it hard to be productive.

Continue reading at https://www.swypit.com/posture-productivity-can-the-way-we-sit-and-how-long-at-work-affect-what-were-able-to-accomplish/

[kevinhodes-blog]

How Switching to Virtual Meetings Can Save You Time and Money AND Increase Productivity

Meetings are a “must” no matter what industry you are in and no matter what you “do” for a living. Yet, many people believe meetings are unnecessary or an intrusion, leading to the common question, “Do we really need to meet?”.

The bottom line is that meetings often seem like a waste of time and nobody has time to waste. Therefore, whenever approaching meetings, the goal is to have an “effective” meeting that gets objectives accomplished as effectively and unobtrusively for participants as possible.

Today, hosting virtual meetings is an option many people turn to because it seems almost like the perfect answer to the meeting dilemma at times. Participants can attend from anywhere and so that eliminates “wasted” travel or commute time. You can even hold meetings at non-peak or “outside office” hours so that they don’t interfere with workday productivity. But of course, that does interfere with the personal time of participants so that doesn’t eliminate the desire for meetings to be conducted with as little wasted time as possible either.

Unfortunately, virtual meetings – while definitely beneficial in some of the aforementioned areas – can be even harder to make effective for many reasons, not the least of which is the myriad of potential distractions.

The bottom line is that virtual meetings aren’t a miracle answer to the meeting productivity dilemma. On the other hand, virtual meetings can save you time and money, as well as increase productivity, if they are managed well.  However, it’s critical to implement creativity, strategy, inspiration, and appropriate communication tactics into your virtual meetings if they are to benefit your overall company or organizational goals.

Here are a few tips to improve the effectiveness of your virtual meetings:

Continue reading at [How-Switching-to-Virtual-Meetings-Can-Save-You-Time-and-Money-AND-Increase-Productivity]