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Mental well-being is an important part of a healthy, productive workplace. It is essential for businesses to take care of the mental health and well-being of their employees if they want to create an environment that fosters success, productivity, and team building. Here are 4 key tips for Improving Mental Well-Being in the workplace.

• Create a Culture of Openness and Trust
  One of the most effective ways to improve mental well-being in the workplace is to create an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing themselves and their feelings. This can be done through open communication and feedback loops that allow employees to share their thoughts without fear of repercussion or judgement. Additionally, managers should strive to foster a culture of trust by setting clear expectations and giving employees autonomy over their work.
• Provide Resources and Education
  Mental health resources can be incredibly helpful for employees who may not know where to turn when they need help. Make sure that all employees are aware of the resources available to them, such as counselling, therapy, or support groups. Additionally, providing educational materials on topics like stress management and self-care can help employees build resilience and cope with difficult situations. 
• Promote Healthy Habits
  Another way to improve mental well-being in the workplace is by promoting healthy habits such as regular exercise, healthy eating, drinking plenty of water and proper sleep hygiene. Encourage employees to take breaks throughout the day, get up from their desks periodically, and even take short walks outside when possible. Additionally, providing access to wellness resources such as yoga classes or mindfulness exercises can help keep employees engaged and mentally healthy.
• Implement Flexible Working Options
  Flexible working options allow employees greater control over how they work and when they work, which can lead to improved productivity as well as improved mental well-being. For example, employers could offer flexible hours so that employees can choose when they start and end their day. Allowing employees more freedom over how they complete tasks gives them greater job satisfaction which leads to healthier mindsets overall. 

Mental well-being is an essential component of creating a successful business environment for both employers and employees alike so it’s important for businesses to prioritise it within their organisation. By creating a culture of openness, trust and promoting healthy habits among staff members, businesses can ensure that their workforce remains mentally healthy while still achieving maximum productivity levels at all times.

Taking these steps will not only benefit your business but also your staff members who will be able to perform better when their minds are taken care of properly – which ultimately translates into happier customers and higher profits!

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research, and development.

Contact us for more information.

Or follow us on LinkedIn, facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with all our latest news.

What are the tech trends for 2023?

Tech plays an increasingly important part of life for businesses of every size. It’s helped make everyday tasks easier, improved communication, enabled organisations to adapt quickly to global events, and meant they can look after information more securely.

Tech is also an area that moves incredibly quickly. It’s easy to get left behind. So, we thought we’d look at what some of the tech trends for 2023 are to help you understand what your business might need as we start to plan for 2023.

Joined up tech

What we mean by this is that separate technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), the Internet of things (IoT), and 5G will start to connect to each other more seamlessly than ever before. This will automate and speed up processes and create more efficient ways of working. Businesses will need to keep their systems up-to-date to take advantage of this trend.

The metaverse

Before you start thinking Marvel movies or Facebook, in this instance the metaverse is used as an overarching term for how you interact with customers and other businesses. Using AI and VR to make customer interactions more immersive is one way of doing this, such as offering virtual experiences.

This tech can also work to show customers a virtual version of what your product or service is. Some clothing retailers do this already with virtual dressing rooms or simulated avatars trying on virtual copies of clothes to see how they look on customers’ bodies.

Cyber security

Of course, you can add this to any tech list in any year. But with the geo-political events of 2023, it’s more important than ever. Keeping your – and your customers’ – data safe should always be a top priority, but it’s always under threat from increasingly sophisticated forms of attack, including rogue nation states.

The latest malware and cybersecurity systems will help, but it could also be worth hiring a consultant or employing someone to look after this area for your business too.

Superapps

These are apps that are jam-packed with features to give users everything they need at their fingertips. Users can be customers or employees, and they’ll be able to personalise superapps to create the experience they want by switching features on and off or adding to them easily.

Features can include messaging services, payment facilities, and chatbot functions, and they should give users the same experience on a desktop as on a smartphone.

Sustainable tech

The climate crisis is rightly at the forefront of numerous business owners’ minds. And while they might have thought about emissions and their carbon footprint in lots of parts of the business, they might not have thought about making sure their tech is sustainable.

This is a complex issue to discuss in detail here, but the main point to make is to consider the impact of your hardware (laptops, smartphones etc) and your software (systems).

Can you make your IT last a bit longer before replacing it, for example, and can you recycle parts rather than throwing them away?

For your software, many suppliers publish their environmental impact and goals, so it should be easy to check your own.

This is just a brief snapshot of the tech trends for 2023 to look out for. We know there’ll be lots more. Please let us know what you think the trends will be in the comments.

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research and development.

Contact us for more information.

Working near home vs. working from home

Having a place of work near to where you live has several advantages, as does working from home. But what about the disadvantages? Is one ‘better’ than the other, or does it not matter when it comes to productivity, convenience, and mental health? Let’s look at each option below.

Working from home

The advantages here are quite clear. No commute, not having to dress for work, and more time for yourself family, friends, and home commitments. Working from home usually means commandeering your spare bedroom, or the kitchen/dining room table to use as your office. Or, if you’re lucky some of you might have a purpose-built garden office. Whatever your situation is, your commute is likely to only be a few seconds.

You’re unlikely to need to pop on your suit, smart jeans, or stick to your office’s dress code either. You’re at home, so comfy sweatpants and a hoodie are acceptable attire, especially if you don’t need to speak to any customers on Zoom or Teams calls.

One of the biggest gains of working from home is time, and we all know how precious that is. Instead of sitting in your car or on public transport at the start and end of your working day, you can skip the commute and get straight to it. And once your day’s over, you can close your laptop and start relaxing. The rest of the day is yours. You can spend time with the children, go for a walk or to the gym, watch TV, or anything else that takes your fancy.

Another big saving is money. You don’t need to nip out for a fancy coffee and sandwich. Just pop to your kitchen and make them at home instead. Of course, you can always treat yourself to something once or twice a week if you’d like to. You also don’t need to buy new work outfits or other items specifically for the office, so you can make good savings there too. And of course, there are savings to be had on fuel and train or bus tickets, which can help you do your bit for the environment too.

Now. Onto the disadvantages. Working from home can be lonely and isolating for many people. Team building with your colleagues is much more difficult, and you can feel less motivated than in the office. These can take a toll on your mental health if you’re not careful.

Separating work and living areas can also be an issue if you’re tight on space, and distractions from pets and children can affect your productivity.

Working close to home

Again, there are obvious advantages here too. Being in a workplace close to home means you can walk or cycle rather than taking the car, which is also much better than the environment than driving.  It’s a great space to meet colleagues and create a clear distinction between your home and work life. Your health – both physical and mental – will benefit as a result.

Brainstorming and collaboration are easier face-to-face too. Not just with your team, but also interacting with other businesses in your building. The best partnerships are sometimes formed over a morning brew in the kitchen, or from chatting in corridors.

There’s also no more battling with technology and dodgy wi-fi connections or having to share your screen just to look at a document in the office. As well as good wi-fi, most offices have specialist equipment you might not have access to at home, like printers, projectors, and video conferencing capabilities.  The main advantage is that you don’t have to use any of your own stuff like you might at home – it’s all provided ready to use at the office.

Having onsite meeting rooms, breakout spaces, and catering facilities are an advantage too. They can help with productivity, getting your team together, or for grabbing a quick coffee to perk you up in the afternoon.

So, let’s talk about the disadvantages. Obviously, you won’t have as much time as you would working from home. You still need to travel, even if it’s a short distance. And sometimes you might need peace and quiet to get on with your work, which you can’t always get with people around you. There’s also the cost of coffees and canteen meals. They can soon add up if you’re not careful.

Now you know the pros and cons of working near home versus working from home, you can choose which one’s right for you, or whether a hybrid approach might suit you best.

Want to know more about The Base?

The Base is a Grade-A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital technology and advanced engineering companies. Whilst calling The Base your home, you will have access to free business support, including marketing, tax, legal advice, as well as help with innovation, research and development.

Contact us for more information
Or follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news

 

You might be thinking Artificial Intelligence (AI) is something big companies do, not smaller businesses like yours. You might not even be sure of what AI is, so here’s a quick explanation you might find useful. AI is basically where a machine is introduced to collect or analyse data in a faster and more reliable way.

 

This can be a piece of hardware (computer etc) or software (computer programme or app) specifically designed for a particular purpose. They also learn how to do the thing they’re designed to do better or more efficiently while they do it.

 

AI is used to help businesses reach their target audience, increase brand awareness and generate sales. So, here are some of ways you can use AI to boost the performance of your small business right now:

 

Marketing automation

The data you can get from AI will allow you to make better and more informed decisions, which can lead to increased engagement and revenue. Precise targeting, more personalised communications and efficient spending are three of the instant benefits you’ll get. Marketing automation also enables you to understand your customers’ needs and motivations, so you can service them in a better way.

 

Drive sales

Your potential customers generate data from almost everywhere they interact with you, from your website or eCommerce store to your social platforms. AI is already available that can use this data to give you insights about your leads and help you drive sales.

 

Keep up with competitors

AI can also help you track what your rivals are doing by checking their social media accounts, changes on their websites and any news activity, among other things. Some applications can even point out gaps in markets and the strength and weaknesses of your competitors.

 

Stronger cybersecurity

You’ll know what a worry cyber threats and hacking can be to business owners. The good thing is, AI can help make things more secure. By looking out for unusual patterns and any potential weak spots where you might be vulnerable to attack, AI can be a highly effective tool in the fight against cybercrime.

 

Strengthen customer relationships

As we mentioned earlier with marketing automation, AI can take your relationship with customers up a level through the use of data, so you can engage with them in a way they like about things they’re interested in, such as offers and rewards. Many customer relationship management (CRM) platforms now come with AI as standard, to help you achieve all of this easily.

 

Reduce risk

Some companies are using AI to automate risk processes to reduce human error. Finance companies, in particular, have done this for years when making lending decisions to customers. Machines don’t get tired either, so they can keep doing potentially risky processes for longer.

 

Streamline HR

This is becoming more and more commonplace with businesses now. From weeding out applicants that don’t match the job spec and onboarding new starters to gauging employee satisfaction, AI makes all these processes quicker and simpler.

 

The benefits of AI for your business are almost unlimited. It can help you become more flexible, improve your marketing and customer relationship, look after your data, and make things faster and more straightforward, so you’ve got more time to grow your business.

 

Maybe it’s time to start embracing AI for your small business.