CPA & Accounting Firms: 6 Tactics for Better Work-Life Balance (During Tax Seasons)

We have officially bid farewell to our vacations and seized the tax season bull by the horns. The energies are high at first, but how long can everyone endure before succumbing to burnout? After all, it is not a matter of a few days, but of a few months! While all firms operate on a year-round basis, the volume of work accomplished during tax season is unmatched. Some of you may be able to disconnect from everything except taxes until April 18th, but still, we believe that a work-life balance should always be maintained, even more so on the busiest of days.

Consider implementing one or more of these six ways to simplify and enjoy your work. After all, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is critical for employee retention.

1. In-office meditation

Imagine being in all-day-long meetings with your clients and teams, you have been staring at the screen for no one knows how long. Your mind is getting hazier with every second and your body can no longer sit in the same position, and the same goes for your complete team. All of a sudden you ask everyone to take say a 10-minute break and do absolutely nothing but close their eyes and breathe. You slowly start feeling your blocked channels opening up, your body losing its tension and your mind feels re-energized.

Trust us when we say this, but even a 10-minute simple meditation break can change the way everyone has been working and out a whole new perspective on everything.

2. Introduce ‘Employee of the Week’

Appropriate appreciation boosts productivity. When employees are aware that their efforts are being recognized and appreciated, they develop a sense of worth for their work. And this serves as a motivator for them to continue and improve their outstanding performance. Appreciating an employee has a cascading effect on the workplace. When an employee feels appreciated, he or she is more likely to express appreciation to co-workers and other team members. Along with increasing productivity, demonstrating appreciation in the workplace increases employee engagement and commitment. According to the Robert Half study, 66% of employees leave their jobs due to a lack of appreciation.

3. Work Happy Hours

Happy hours at the workplace are all about having everyone together, to drink, or just chat light-heartedly. However, sometimes just chatting and drinking may not be enough and you might need to come up with exciting ideas to break the ice or just make working more fun and lively. You can go all out and plan formal events, host outdoor activities, involve amazing food and plan events like Potluck, use music, initiate fun topics, bring in guests, host a town hall, and whatnot. There is no reason why you should limit yourself, after all the more effort you put into the team, the more effort will everyone put back into the work.

4. Encourage breaks during work

When you’re constantly juggling spreadsheets and meeting deadlines, it’s hard to remember to take a break. A culture of overwork and stress can develop when people fail to take breaks to eat, drink, and refuel during the day. Your employees’ satisfaction and productivity could be vastly improved if you encourage them to take lunch breaks, brief walks, and a minute away from the computer.

5. Outsource Services to reduce workload

Outsourcing enables a business to maintain a laser-like focus on its core business while delegating various jobs to others. It is also a strategic move by many businesses seeking to improve customer service, reduce costs, and maintain high-quality work.  Outsourcing work can be permanent or temporary, allowing you to fill gaps without having to hire or lay off permanent employees as the seasons and workload fluctuates. This is done so that employees can concentrate their efforts on the critical tasks at hand, while the outsourced work is completed by experts, ensuring that the end product is flawless and of the highest quality. Outsourcing Tax Services can help you and your teams achieve a good work-life balance even in the hardest of the tax seasons.

Bonus Tip:Ultimate Guide to Survive Tax Season for CPAs

6. Set up Internal Fun Brigade Planning Teams

You can form a small team of creative minds and set aside a small budget to plan minor or major fun activities throughout tax season, ensuring that your work culture is no longer all work and no play. When employees realize how much effort is being made to make even the most difficult workdays more enjoyable, they will also want to give their all.

These were a few of the many tips that we are not simply sharing but have also seen prove successful. Some of these tips are what make the TAX SEASON a festival for our US Tax And Accounting Outsourcing Company.

So, if you want to celebrate the Tax Season together, we are right here to take the load off your plate!