How to reenergise a tired team

Is your team feeling a little lacklustre? Does everyone seem a bit tired, and lacking the energy and enthusiasm you know they usually offer at work? As we inch closer to the end of the year and the summer break, the months gone by can start to weigh more heavily as teams push towards the finish line. In fact, a recent report from the Future of Work Lab at the University of Melbourne found that one in two workers aged between 18 and 54 feel exhausted at work, leading them to be less motivated about their work and unable to concentrate ^[1].

"Work doesn’t have to be energy depleting, in fact it can be invigorating through offering a greater sense of purpose, achievement and camaraderie."

Work doesn’t have to be energy depleting, in fact it can be invigorating through offering a greater sense of purpose, achievement and camaraderie. Employee’s ‘worth it’ equation, where they calculate what they want from work and what they’re willing to give in return, has moved – teams want to keep working, just not at the expense of their overall health and happiness. Try these methods to help your team find new energy sources to push through to the end of the year.

Top tips to reenergise your team

Build team rituals that foster mutual care and belonging.

Regardless of whether your team works remotely, hybrid or in the office, initiating team rituals to create bonds can help guard against isolation and loneliness, which can be particularly energy zapping. When people feel connected to their peers it energises work by making it more fun. And when the whole team is involved, you as the leader are no longer solely responsible for replenishing team energy. Create spaces where people feel safe to share the challenges they’re facing or where they might be personally struggling – it will make it safe for them to ask for help when needed.

Consider opening meetings with a simple check-in exercise such as asking people to share something they’re grateful for, or how they’d rate their energy levels on that day. Hopefully, over time, the team can become a place where the members go to get restored rather than depleted.

Check the right work is being done

As organisations moved into the hybrid work model, leaders missed out on the visual cues they had when everyone was working in the office. This made it challenging for them to have confidence that employees were being productive, leading to ‘productivity paranoia’ – and the implementation of a multitude of monitoring systems. As employees started to feel pressure to prove they’re being productive, ‘productivity theatre’ was born, an especially toxic form of energy depletion where people waste time creating the appearance of productivity, rather than working on important tasks.

You can lift productivity by helping your team focus on what’s most important. Rather than just re-ordering a to-do list, try to eliminate non-value-adding activities and connect your team member’s work to the organisation’s most important priorities. When teams can clearly see how they are contributing to the greater purpose of an organisation they are more engaged and enthused in work that provides meaning rather than trivial activities that attempt to justify their value to you.

"As employees started to feel pressure to prove they’re being productive, ‘productivity theatre’ was born, an especially toxic form of energy depletion where people waste time creating the appearance of productivity, rather than working on important tasks."

Show your humanity, and your empathy.

When leaders aren’t afraid to demonstrate their own humanity, it makes it safe for others to admit when they are struggling rather than feeling a need to fake energy-draining positivity. Share how you have dealt with work stress or anxiety in the past, and if you’ve used any of the workplace assistance tools – share how they helped you. By being open with any self-care practices you’ve used, you signal to the team how important this is and empower them to follow suit.

Work is just one part of people’s lives, so if you notice that your team members are not their usual selves, be a support system and ask if you can be of any help. Recognition of employees is also great for alleviating demotivation. While there will typically be work functions towards the end of the year, it’s still important to show appreciation outside of that.

"Push that new project into the next year… Once they’ve had a break your team members will be more able to kick off new projects with enthusiasm."

Save new projects for next year

You may have some amazing ideas in the pipeline that you want to jump on before the year is out, but perhaps now is not the time. If it can wait, push that new project into the next year. It’s the time of year where staff are trying to clear their desks, and their to-do lists, and looking for extra work is most probably at the bottom of that list. Once they’ve had a break your team members will be more able to kick off new projects with enthusiasm.

Save space, and energy, for yourself

It can be hard to lift up a team when your feeling depleted yourself. Check in with yourself and assess your own emotional landscape and consider how the above actions could be applied to yourself, as well as your team.

Stay alert

Are your workers curious? Asking questions? Are they complaining or talking down challenges they are facing? These are just some key signals that you can look out for to understand where the energy levels sit for your team. Knowing what to look for and having data available through surveys are great ways to measure how your employees are feeling and effectively choosing how to bring them back into an energised state.

[1] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/633114f1cc72f51e29fbef8a/t/6413d9f5862abf22f9b6eb1f/1679210018394/StateoftheFutureofWork_2023.pdf