Many of us spend large portions of our days at the office so it’s really important to be in an environment with positive vibes. Yet it’s easy to get bogged down with work, so much so that we forget to make our surroundings more cheerful, exciting and yes, motivating. Experts believe being happy at work can lead to improved performance.
We thought UN International Day of Happiness is the perfect opportunity to curate simple ways to spread some joy in the workplace. So whether you’re an employer looking for ways to prevent your team from feeling bored, miserable or apathetic, or you simply want to put a smile or you colleagues’ faces, here’s what you can do:
1.Imagine joy. Set out to intentionally build the company and workplace that you want to work for. If you don’t try to build a joyful corporation, you’ll never achieve one by accident.
2.Build community. Good attitudes spread, so a contagious blissful attitude can spread from your employees, to your clients and even spill over to the community.
3.Foster communication. An open work environment creates natural opportunities for conversation and growth for all of you.
4.Set your employees free. People shouldn’t be so integral to your organisation that they can’t go on vacation or they have to be on-call all the time. While this could seem like job security, ultimately, it’s too much pressure on one person and the infrastructure.
5.Design for living. It seems like whatever you do for a living, design plays a role. Design helps tell your company’s story and should help create the joyful user experience for your brand.
6. Kill fear. Fear is indeed a mind-killer as well as a killer of joy, so it holds your team back from making bold decisions unless the bold decisions mirror what management wants. And come to think of it, this often means they’re not that bold.
7. Make mistakes faster. Small, quick mistakes are better than the big, slow and deadly type. You should create a culture where people can fail and succeed to survive and thrive. A small, fast mistake means you’re learning, while a huge, gradual one means you’re not catching on quickly enough.
8. Add flexibility. Over the last decade Generation Y has been complaining more and more about the nine to five work style. They are demanding more flexibility in time, place and working conditions in order to achieve a work-life balance. To many younger employees, giving up their personal lives isn’t an option any longer.
9. Make your workplace more fun. You should think outside the box for ways to make your office more appealing. Some ideas include taking it in turns for employees to bring in a pet or choose a weekly movie night.
10. Play games. Working at an office can be boring sometimes, but it doesn’t mean you have to hate your job for it. You can try playing some fun games during your breaks, which can be a great icebreaker particularly in the case of new employees.
