Quiet Hours for Better Productivity at Work

To get the best out of an employee's productivity and reduce the rate of distractions, you need a quiet time program for your office. Sometimes employees can get carried away with chit-chat, phones, emails, or a generally noisy environment. Also, as most employees are slowly returning to work as COVID_19 restrictions are being relaxed, their RTW efforts may seem distracted. It may be because some are still skeptical of being in the same space as others.

Employee distractions and low productivity is not something any business will want to deal with. So, it becomes essential and timely to implement a culture of quiet hours for better productivity. Quiet hours mean that you block out a part of the day (between 30 minutes to two hours). During this time, you can encourage working in silence by asking your staff to switch off (or place on silent) their phones, emails, and social networks. It helps the worker focus entirely on the task or project that requires their undivided attention.  

Switching off may be difficult considering that we operate in a highly digitized world. Therefore, as a manager or entrepreneur, I know you're wondering about the effects of leaving your clients hanging during such periods. Here is the thing; you don't have to shut down every day. Also, your office quiet hours can be set when the buzz in the office is low. If you're thinking of implementing a silent hour policy at your office, here is everything you should know.

The Benefits of Quiet Time

Some benefits that come with setting up a quiet time program include:

Improved Output Performance 

The ability to concentrate can significantly improve your staff output performance and effectiveness. When the worker isn't focused on mundane tasks like checking emails or filling out reports, they can perform their primary tasks better.

Excellence and optimal output are achievable only by channeling focus on one task at a time. While most employees believe they can multitask, the outcome results are often mediocre. Take, for example, a writer on a paper writing review site Online Writers Rating. If such a writer has to work on an article while responding to client briefs simultaneously, the paper's quality will be low.

Reduced Work Stress 

Stress can be a significant deterrent to achieving better productivity at work. Encouraging a quiet at work policy reduces panic and chaos and facilitates a less stressful work environment. Employees are also less overwhelmed dealing with so much at the same time. Therefore, it leaves them feeling far more motivated and inspired to go the extra mile for your organization.

Furthermore, sometimes a cramped up or noisy workspace can induce stress. It will help if you have a co-working space that can make quiet hours more effective. Such co-working spaces are serene, roomy, and can improve employee thinking. They can likewise provide you with areas that are COVID-19 RTW criteria compliant.

Improved Employee Thinking

Working in silence encourages your workers to think more creatively. During the quiet hours, they're also free from multitasking and distractions. So they don't have to accumulate a barge of information that can overwhelm them. It gives them more free time to think of innovative ideas and solutions to vital tasks. It can lead to an improvement in the execution of tasks and overall staff productivity.

Implementing Your Quiet Time Program

Having a quiet at work policy as a part of your business culture needs careful consideration before implementation. Here are some crucial aspects of a silent time program to keep in mind:

• Create a clear policy that guides group behavior during quiet hours. It should contain the number of quiet hours and what days of the week. Also, it should state what employees should avoid during these hours. It will help them transition into a quiet hour’s system with more ease.
• Employee input is always vital, especially when you're making a policy that concerns them. So it will help if you spoke to them before you launch the Working in silence program. It helps reduce the tension and promotes the acceptability of the policy. Explain to them what it entails and the benefits it can bring to the workplace. 
• When the program has been implemented, you can track weekly or monthly progress. Share out questionnaires of survey polls among the staff to get a feel of things. Also, you can measure employee performance during the quiet hours for each task. Lookout to see whether staff productivity declines or improves.

Pit-holes to Avoid When Implementing the Quiet Time Program

As a manager or entrepreneur, there are some challenges you may face when implementing a quiet time program. Thus, here are the pit-holes you should avoid:

• Encourage quiet hours rather than making it mandatory. Also, don't be too pushy or authoritative. Make them see the benefits of quiet time. It will help them buy into the policy more quickly.
• Rather than ask people to disconnect entirely. You should give some room for emergencies.
• Not every staff adapts to working in silence. So you can leave some room for flexibility. For example, a staff's productivity at a paper writing service like Best Writers Online may require them to check their emails. In this case, you can allow email checking at intervals during quiet hours.  
• Keep encouraging your employees because quiet time is a continuous program. If you want the benefits and improve staff productivity, it must be an integral part of your organizational culture,

Conclusion

Although noise and distractions in the workplace aren't entirely avoidable, it's still possible to implement an effective and healthy work time program. It helps your staff improve output, reduces stress, and keeps their minds sharp for better productivity.

However, you need to clearly state the policies to encourage and make them see the benefits of quiet time. Having a balance between working in silence and interactions can be vital to your employees' productivity and overall business growth.