Surfing the net is good for the office

They used to call them tea breaks. And some folk call them fag breaks. But for the majority, it's all about E-breaks. That 10 minute surf online to get your banking done or read emails on Facebook. These mini breaks have become a life line to people in offices and helps to break up the day but as more and more companies block Facebook and other social networking sites, have they made a mistake?

According to a new report, surfing the internet actually makes workers more productive because it boosts morale and helps reduce stress.

Seemingly, the right length of break to surf the internet can be even more beneficial than the good old fashioned English tea break which has always been at the heart of successful British working culture.

This research illustrates something that we've known for a long time which is that there are two key factors to creating the ideal workplace.

1. Make sure every single person within the organisation is catered for when implementing staff benefits and incentives.
The tea break appealed to everyone in the past because:
a) everyone drank tea and
b) it was a legitimate time away from the work station. E-breaks are popular because most people either enjoy surfing social networking sites or appreciate time to take care of some personal admin online. Other popular incentives such as flexible working hours and trading hours worked for extra holiday work well because they will appeal to the majority of the workforce at some time, whether it be now or in the future.

2. Make sure benefits and incentives do actually benefit the staff and the organisation.
Every single individual likes to be recognised and appreciates being valued. Providing workers with a benefit that is all about them is the best way in the world to encourage them to think positively about you as an individual in your role in the business and to feel valued by the business as a whole. If they experience these feelings regularly, they will perform to the best of their abilities for the majority of the time. In short, the right incentives, delivered the right way mean everyone's a winner.

When we work with our clients we make sure that participants in our programmes have the opportunity to receive help and advice on all aspects of their health, fitness, diet and lifestyle. We never forget that people have equally important roles to play in their lives as well as being employees. We always try to ensure that employees have the opportunity to work on personal issues both from the workplace and in their wider world, meaning they can develop skills that benefit them personally as well as the business.

And this is the kind of feedback that tells us we got it right...

Since we began the programme, the impact to the participants at both a personal and business level has been fantastic and we're seeing a real improvement in motivation, happiness and quality of work - thus impacting on the service to customers.

If you're interested to read more about how we can achieve such results, visit our website