In a business environment, busy is always good. Right? Although this is the impression that many of us are left with, especially after experiencing the first exciting flush of activity when running a start up, it’s actually not correct. The level of busy in your business is not the right metric to use to gauge whether or not the enterprise is doing well. In fact, if you do rely on this as a measurement then you could end up with the wrong impression entirely.

A buzz can be addictive – but deceptive

In a constantly buzzy business environment it can be easy to get swept along with a feeling that this is a sign of a healthy business doing well. If everyone is busy then everyone is working hard and that must mean productivity and profit will follow. Unfortunately, the reality of this type of atmosphere can also be high stress, intense pressure and a workplace in which everyone is working hard rather than smart.

When the buzz becomes a problem

There may be a moment during which a healthy, busy business becomes rather frantic. You may notice a range of different experiences taking place, both in your staff and in yourself. This could include:

  • More disputes and disagreements breaking out – tempers more frayed than usual
  • Tired faces and attitudes because people are struggling to sleep as they cannot switch off after they get home at night
  • Staff putting in “face time” i.e. staying late at work to demonstrate commitment to the job but not actually being productive
  • Tasks being started but not getting completed, whether that’s your own “to do” list or that of others
  • People not really listening to each other because they are so tired and stressed – this may be something you notice within the teams or an accusation that is leveled at you

Handling the situation

If it becomes obvious that the business is busy but not necessarily thriving as a result then the first step is to acknowledge that there might be an issue. It’s always worth asking others how they feel – whether the environment they are working in feels healthily busy or just hectic and stressful. It may be that the office is too busy because existing working practices are forcing people to work hard and not smart. Is this the kind of workplace that you want to create?

Turning things around

Sit down and work out what kind of business culture you’re looking to establish. Is it busyness for busyness’ sake or are you keen for your team to take the shortest route possible to productivity and profit? Get feedback on what might be causing issues and then create a vision of the kind of business you want to run, and how you want to run it. Map out the steps that will be required to take you from where you are now to that future point.

If your working practices have begun to lean too far towards working hard, rather than smart, there is always time to change. Readjustment is part of the business journey and easy to do when you know how.

For more business tips, get in touch with Brian Doubleday today.