4 Simple Ways to Increase Productivity and Reduce Burnout for Your Remote Workforce

Has your work schedule ever looked like this? It’s the dreaded completely blocked-off, back-to-back meetings, no-breaks-in-sight workday.  

Unfortunately, most of us have endured these workdays which leave virtually no time to complete items on our to-do lists, let alone actions from the meetings.

I noticed an increasing amount of these back-to-back meeting workdays at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We quickly shifted to remote work, and to sustain productivity and continue to collaborate as much as we did in the office, the meeting invites kept piling on.

At One Call, we recognized this and worked quickly to correct it. All day, back-to-back meetings do not result in complete productivity. Meetings can wear you down and can actually cause burnout.

To help reduce burnout amongst our workforce, while still keeping employees inspired and productive, we rolled out these four simple, yet effective tactics.

No Meeting Thursday

We ask our team members to refrain from scheduling internal meetings, and external when possible, on a biweekly basis to use every second Thursday for focused work and "think time".

Thursdays are held for uninterrupted time to work on projects that require careful attention or for those smaller tasks that weren’t very urgent but are starting to pile up. Thursdays are for thinking, reviewing and taking time to understand.

Since the first No Meeting Thursday, we continue to receive positive feedback. It’s not that we don’t like meeting with each other, but it gives us all a chance to recharge and be even more present at meetings every other day of the week.

Thank You Thursday

In addition to No Meeting Thursday, we rolled out Thank You Thursday. This only happens once a month for a new, rotating group of One Call team members. This is not a typical work meeting – this is mostly social with some work talk. We share personal developments and achievements, any concerns or questions about work and what we are thankful for. 

I think we all agree that in-person meetings are much more effective, but by keeping Thank You Thursday meetings more intimate and monthly, we see greater intention, participation and connection.

Default Outlook Meeting Setting to 25 min. or 55 min.

Do you ever find yourself scrambling to prepare for a meeting when your last meeting just ended? Shortening default meeting settings by five minutes is a simple solution. 

Yes, it shortens your meeting time slightly, but it goes a long way towards avoiding potential burnout from uninterrupted meetings. It gives your employees back five minutes to stretch their legs, refresh their cup of coffee or catch up on emails that came through during the call.  

Always Set an Agenda

At One Call, all scheduled meetings must include an agenda so people can prepare ahead of time. This results in more efficient engagements. And sometimes, when the agenda is shared ahead of time, we realize that we can accomplish the intended goal without having a meeting at all. 

These small organizational changes are incredibly effective. Since implementing these changes, we have noticed lasting, positive impacts on our productivity, our company culture and most importantly, our employees. 

We challenge all organizations to take a look at what they are demanding of their employees’ time. Are you being counterproductive with your meeting schedule?  How can you reclaim your workday?