3 Ways to have a happier, more productive workplace

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash.com

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash.com

We all spend a long time at work. Having it be a happy and productive place is a great thing if you can achieve it. Here are three ways to try.Dream workplace 
What makes a dream workplace? One where you are a success and happy as well? Where you have good challenges, great pay and work in a cutting edge company? We call this engagement. It results from being connected to your peers and to a common goal or mission.

The ripple effect
Each of us in a workplace, has an effect on the others around us. Shawn Achor’s book, The Happiness Advantage, suggests our emotions affect people up to three connections away from you. They have the potential  to affect your coworkers, the friends of your coworkers and the friends or family of those friends.

Here are three suggested ways to achieve greater happiness and productivity at work.

  1. Encourage gratitude
    Find a way to express gratitude to your colleagues/coworkers. This practice strengthens relationships, develops resilience and increases happiness in others. Acknowledging your appreciation for the contribution of another has benefits for both that person and you as the person offering the acknowledgement.
  2. Give-aways
    The provision of give-aways builds a spirit of good will. This could be in the form of sweets eg mints in bowl at reception, or a fruit basket provided in the lunch room. The first step is providing the gift, the second is in encouraging others to share the gifts too. The giving and receiving experience provides something meaningful, making people happier and encouraging cooperative problem solving.
  3. Create connections
    Fostering good relationships at work is key to engagement. This happens when people find ways of connecting. That requires socialising or having a mechanism through which to socialise and forge those connections. Sometimes these need to be facilitated by others, other times connections can be made through joint projects. Forming connections is the key to developing rapport with others. With rapport, more cooperative outcomes can be developed and working together becomes easier and more productive.

Customise to suit
If at first these ideas don’t seem to suit your situation, think again. Consider the principles that underpin them, and adapt to suit you/your style/your circumstance. Gratitude, acknowledgement and generosity of spirit are at their heart, and are the nub of people engaging effectively.

Source: Shawn Achor – The Happiness Advantage

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