How to make sure you’re getting the most from your employees.

At the risk of sounding like an advocate for burning through company time, I’ll go out on a limb and say it – relaxation is a good thing at work. Today is a miserable day outside here in NJ, and I came into the office this morning expecting the usual frenzy of activity. Instead, I found my desk, closed all of the doors, and quietly spent my morning reading updates on the latest SEO Blogs. Is that technically considered work? Not at this particular juncture, but instead of being frantic and miserable, I am now relaxed and ready to start my morning, perhaps I’ll grab some tea at some point. But the point remains, Relaxation is the best Motivation.

Before you sound the alarms, consider this: Google famously allows their employees 20% of their work week to be devoted to their own projects. Thats one full day a week where they can work on anything that they want to. That, among other many, many perks of working at Google, allows them to attract the top-level talent that they need to propel the search engine head and shoulders above the others.

But the idea that employees can devote a good portion of their work week to their own projects simply appeals to a broader idea – people will work better when given the opportunity to relax. Unlike jobs that are physically labor-intensive, people get rewarded with quality far overshadowing quantity. Take this blog for instance; would you rather me write 10 entries a day with 100 words, each pertaining to a barely coherent thought? Or would you rather me write one well thought out, interesting longer post to generate some material actually worth reading?

Allow me to tie this into Google. Google recently, and quietly, re-tooled everything under the hood of the engine in the way that they index the internet. They call this new enging “Caffeine”. The general principle behind Caffeine is that, in order for your web site to be ranked properly, there are still the same general guidelines to follow, but with one getting more emphasis: Strong, relevant content. Things like updating web pages, writing blogs, staying current in the field of a particular website, are all factors that weigh more heavily towards ranking than previously anticipated. And, as I’ve noted earlier, it is my theory that the best content doesn’t come from grinding out page after page of jargon, but more from people such as myself writing at their leisure, but with a sense of direction.

So here’s to the pioneers over at Google, understanding that allowing an individual to focus on themselves can prove to be a far greater asset than one who churns out 10x the work with 1/100th the quality.

Now that you’ve read the post, grab yourself something to eat, sit down, relax, and plan your day. You’re welcome

– Chris