Returning to work after a holiday can be tough. Most employees have experienced, in some way or another, a sense of uncertainty or apprehension at the thought of stepping back into the demanding, competitive world of work. Indeed, research tells us that the majority of employees feel sluggish in their return to work following holidays. Almost half of us think about looking for new employment during holidays, while even more of us feel unsettled and potentially disengaged from our work.

For some, the New Year brings a chance to explore new opportunities and set new resolutions for the future. For many of us, however, the New Year represents the middle of a long, dark winter. With the economic situation at its worst since the early 1990s and quite possibly the late 1970s, getting more from staff is more important than ever if organisations are to start the year with the momentum that will deliver business success.

Productivity at work is influenced by many psychological factors, including clarity of goals, a sense of satisfaction from doing the job and being rewarded appropriately for our efforts. Given that reward and remuneration are unlikely to be readily available, what can managers and organisations do to help their staff start the year in the most positive and productive way? Here we identify some of the major factors that reduce productivity and steps that managers should take in raising the productivity of their staff.

1. Productivity is often seriously affected by uncertainty and ambiguity. Feelings of uncertainty create a lack of focus and anxiety about the future.

What will raise productivity? Be as clear as you can about what the future holds. Of course it is difficult, at times of significant change, to be clear about what will and will not happen in the future. There are never any guarantees for the future. But that should never stop you having a vision of what your department or business will be like a year or two from now. Let's face it, without a view on how things will be you don't stand a chance of leading others or helping your team to feel more confident about the future.

2. Pessimism and negative thoughts often create a downward spiral in which doubts and concerns become self-fulfilling prophecy. The last few months have thrown many people into an optimism/pessimism dilemma, because nobody really knows how bad things will get.

What will raise productivity? Encourage optimism. Bear in mind that the things that people have most control over are their outlook and mindset. Challenge any exaggerated, catastrophic thinking ('Oh no! This is awful!') and encourage your team to look at all positive ways that problems could be practically managed.

3. Goals that have become unachievable or now feel unrealistic could seriously impact any individual's desire to achieve. Many employees will be half way through the annual performance cycle, where goals were set some time before the economic crisis emerged.

What will raise productivity? Set your team new goals and targets. Given all of the changes over the past six months, it is highly likely that goals and targets have changed considerably. So don't wait until the end of the review year, by which time it's too late to do anything about. Arrange a meeting for this week to refresh goals and set more realistic and relevant targets. At the very least, take a look at how goals might now be achieved, given the current climate.

4. A lack of ownership and accountability will significantly harm productivity. Why should your team demonstrate initiative and drive if you fail to demonstrate trust in their ability?

What will raise productivity? Make sure that each person in your team is genuinely clear about their scope of accountability. Don't abdicate responsibility, but look to challenge and stretch everyone in the team in some way. And try not to delegate to those who you trust. In times of change, many people are motivated to work in different ways, and you may find that some of the people you have written off in the past suddenly demonstrate more drive and ability to take responsibility.

5. One of the biggest psychological factors in under-productivity tends to be routine and boredom.

What will raise productivity? Boost productivity in your team with more creative problem solving. Of all times, now offers the opportunity to put the past away and break out of fixed thinking to find new alternatives. Make meetings more varied by introducing new topics. Ask your team more 'what if?' and 'what else?' questions. Use mind-mapping and analogies to spot different and better ways of working.

6. Productivity tends to be seriously impacted by people worrying, and yet people only tend to worry about future possibilities that are intangible.

What will raise productivity? Confront mental blockers. Recognise when your team are showing signs of worry - often a lot of side conversations or back-handed comments - and find ways to air concerns. From there, look at what can and can't be controlled and what can't be done to resolve concerns.

7. Bear in mind that this year will be considerably tougher than the last, so being more resilient will - for many people - be of critical importance. Productivity will be undermined if every bit of bad news knocks the team backwards and distracts them from priorities.

What will raise productivity? Consciously encourage resilience in your team. Develop a range of simple techniques to boost your team's resilience, such as learning to stand back from problems and reanalyse, learning to reflect, looking for alternative solutions, maintaining objectivity and looking for opportunities.

8. Finally, a huge factor in de-motivating people at difficult times is poor communication. Often slow or stilted communication leads to mistrust and doubt, which in turn encourages negative whispering and 'poisonous' rumours.

What will raise productivity? Improve the communication cycle. Psychological research tells us that, at times of change, people need increased clarity, accuracy and regularity of communication. Look at any area where your communications might be improved. Think about how to improve the communications from weekly meetings. Keep messages simple and try to avoid too many messages at any one time. And try to get any bad news on the table quickly. Don't dress up messages to your team - they will sense that there are still problems and anticipation is often worse than reality.

Overall, the single greatest thing that you as a manager can do is to help your team stay focused. Bear in mind that every action is preceded by a thought, and it is this thought that can be managed - nothing else. Learn to challenge knee jerk thinking. Recognise when your team are making over-generalisations. And avoid judgemental stereotyping - of yourself and your colleagues. At a time when ambiguity and uncertainty abound, stay fixed on what you can do to achieve your goals and help your people to do the same.