How to keep your employees focused and productive in a bad economy

I’ve heard this question presented many times in the last year: How do I keep my employees focused and productive in such a bad economy? It’s a good question. Your employees are no doubt dealing with more economy-related stress than ever, and nothing kills productivity quite like stress.

Here’s a great article on Forbes.com with some interesting (but good) advice for you. I’d like to toss another idea in there as well: Make your employees feel like you believe they are intelligent and respect their opinions and ideas. This is much more than writing those words in a company newsletter. It’s all about your actions.

Google’s Marissa Mayer does a great job of this. She holds open office hours at the end of every day. Employees can come in and share their ideas with her, and she listens to each one of them. That’s a very empowering act, much more powerful than simply saying “We respect and value our employees.” That’s doing it.