A Happy Work Place is Possible When You Do This
Looking to create a happy work place? Take these ideas and put it into action with a daily giving routine at work. It will work magic not only for yourself but also your colleagues with some really easy giving ideas implemented every day. Giving increases motivation, positive attitudes. happiness and overall productivity. Think about this. Can you remember completing something, a project, a work out, cooking a great dinner, or saving for something that you really wanted, that made you happy. Do you remember how easy it was to complete this task. You were creative, energetic, focused, and felt ready to tackle the do another one.
Now think of a time when you struggled to do something, something that made you unhappy. You dragged out the timeline, perhaps did not even complete it. You dreaded having to do the task. You did not even want to think about it. Every step seemed like a challenge, solutions were hard to find, you could never see the end.
Businesses are catching on that this feeling of happiness is a good thing for the workplace. They are creating cool ways to make your workplace happy so employees feel happy at work. It started out as free food, free gym memberships, cool games rooms, alternative work stations, and lots of group activities. But wait, as great as all this is, the light bulb still had not gone on. In the last few years some workplaces have caught on that giving is a great way to make employees happy. Yes, giving is a great morale and productivity booster for employees and businesses are supporting their employees giving with great results. Increased productivity, focused work, less absenteeism, less sick days, and solution bound employees.
How Some Employers Are Supporting Employee Giving
Many companies match employees donations to charities that their employees personally support. Even more companies run corporate wide employee giving campaigns like the United Way. Other companies would donate funds to charities that employees volunteered at. Now companies are paying employees for a ‘volunteer’ sabbatical, meaning, an employee can request time off with pay so they can volunteer at a local organization full time and share their skills.
Who is doing this? Google just started this initiative in 2018 and has paid for 7 employees for up to six months to volunteer at an organization. The Canadian Company Sales Force supports pro bono work their employees complete – up to 56 hours per employee. Apple uses their resources to support employees who work on volunteer driven events. Twitter hosts an annual #Twitter for GoodDay where employees can volunteer for a day and be paid. They realize that giving back makes their employees happy and support giving in their workplace.
But what if your company does not have these giving initiatives? How can you make your work happier by giving? How can you make your work day happier so you feel focused, empowered, creative and….happy.
Use These Giving Ideas to Make Your Work Day Happier!
Giving in the workplace is all about creating a positive environment that leads to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, customers, clients and your community. Through giving you create positive emotions and well-being which amplifies abilities and creativity. Competitive workplaces squash all of this, so lets start giving small things every day to create and maintain a happy workplace.
- Leave positive notes in the employee washroom or locker room – Put things like You Rocked It Today, or Thanks for Your Contribution, or Wow, thanks for your best effort!
- Ask a fellow employee out for lunch
- Introduce yourself to a new employee even if they are in a different department
- Like a clients social media page and leave a comment
- Send someone a thank you email, a boss, a colleague, a client or a customer
- Bring in treats – donuts, homemade cookies, a veggie plate, or favorite dip with crackers
- Smile at everyone you pass in the hallway, whether you know them or not
- Give out a bunch of high fives because you can
- Take a walk with a colleague at lunch
- Pick up garbage you find a communal workspace – the photocopier, the kitchen, board room
All of these gives are small, and are intented to be small acts of giving. Choose sustainable, easy ways to make your day and someone else’s will make your workplace happier, more productive, and a place you want to go to every day. Your giving can change the mindset of others who will see the effects of your giving. When your giving makes them feel great, they will start doing the same, small acts of giving that make others in the office feel happier.
Sign up for your 365give membership as an office or as an individual and start giving every day. Find new ideas for giving, be inspired by others stories and document your daily gives so others are inspired to do the same. Stats on happiness are great, but you will only remember how great it feels to be happy, when you start giving every day.