Lean thinking is a method of production inspired by Toyota to identify and eliminate wasted effort in the workplace.

It is aimed not only at producing a better product that will be more satisfying to the customer, but also facilitating a workplace environment that is as satisfactory as possible to employees.

The goals of lean thinking are to:

• define value;
• map out how to achieve this value;
• eliminate flow bottlenecks;
• avoid overproduction; and
• always be improving.

Here are the steps for creating a workplace environment that is more productive and less stressful:

1. Set clear goals

The first rule is to have clear, well-defined goals. From a productive standpoint, this is crucial to make sure there is no wasted effort.

In a production line, as with Toyota, the goal is usually clear-cut: to make a car. In other workplaces, it might be trickier to define. Is a marketing firm’s goal to create the best ad, or is it more of a numbers game?

Once you have an answer to this question, the work environment becomes less stressful. Employees do well with clearly defined goals as it clarifies how they should be applying their efforts throughout the day.

2. Align processes

Having gone through step one, companies should map out how to actually achieve these goals. This empowers employees to know what their precise roles are, and moves the business towards productivity.

3. Be more efficient

The notion of efficiency has been reshaped over the past several years, thanks largely to the pandemic. Nevertheless, many workplaces are still not operating as efficiently as they could.

Unnecessary meetings, needless training exercises, small talk, even commutes all add up to hours wasted every week.

Lean thinking allows businesses to eliminate efficiency bottlenecks, trimming the operational fat so only productive workflow processes are left.

This means not only is the time spent by employees more fruitful, it might also be more flexible. They get more done while simultaneously improving their mental health.

4. Focus on the necessary

The average worker often feels they have more work than they can handle, which results in them bringing it home or working on weekends. Not only is this stressful, it’s also bad for mental and emotional health.

Lean thinking focuses only on what is necessary. Employees are not forced to overwork; rather, they are encouraged to simply do what is needed, and do it well.

5. Produce high-quality work

Producing high-quality work is important to most people: employees don’t want to simply clock in and out every day, following a monotonous routine. They want to feel like they are contributing to something good and meaningful.

It’s important to always be improving. Employees could experience reduced stress simply from the fact that they are taking more pride and satisfaction in their work.

Why it’s important

Mental health in the workplace matters and is a significant boon for skilled and valued workers. You want your organisation to be a productive one that people will be loyal to for the long haul.

By optimising processes in a way that is aligned with both employees and customers in mind, you can create a sustainable environment within which people will be happy to work.

Dennis Relojo-Howell is the founder of Psychreg. Connect with him on Twitter @dennisr_howell.