Thanksgiving wasn’t always on the fourth Thursday in November. For many years, the president simply issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation deciding where Thanksgiving would fall that year. It wasn’t until 1939 that Franklin Roosevelt announced his intention to fix a permanent date; in 1942, he officially designated the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving in perpetuity, chiefly to help boost Christmas season sales during the early period of World War II.
Reception to FDR’s move wasn’t universally positive. Republican critics called the move rash and ill-considered, while one “small merchant” wrote the president about the loss of overflow shoppers. It seemed that, for some, the spirit of charity had a hard out. Since then, however, Thanksgiving has continued to be a holiday of reflection on what we have and positivity for what may come our way, no matter the circumstance or location.
This charity and positivity doesn’t have to stop at the workplace. In fact, since the office is where many employees spend a good deal of their waking hours, the workplace is an excellent space to practice positivity. Here are some tips to help you create and maintain a positive office culture.
Why Does Positivity in the Workplace Matter?
Besides increasing overall productivity, maintaining a positive office culture creates many benefits for businesses. When employees are happy, that is reflected in the service they give your clients. No one wants to visit a business where the employees are miserable and rude.
Positivity has additional internal benefits, too — like better employee retention, higher workplace efficiency, and improved inter-departmental communication. To make it short: a positive workplace is a working workplace.
Keys to a Positive Office Culture
A positive work culture starts at the top – don’t let negative emotions spread around the office and permeate your employees. By modeling a positive attitude, you give your employees important signals on how they should behave as well.
1. Show Gratitude
Many of our parents raised us to always say please and thank you, no matter how big or how small the favor was. This holds true at work – showing gratitude is one of the easiest and most important parts of maintaining a positive office culture. Whether an employee goes above and beyond in servicing a client, or they simply take a moment to refill the coffee machine, it’s important that you thank them.
For small stuff, a simple and genuine “thank you” is sufficient. But for bigger actions, consider showing your appreciation on a grander scale. If you don’t already have one, consider a weekly shout-out for those employees who went above and beyond to make a difference in their role. Recognition doesn’t go unrecognized!
2. Celebrate the Wins
What better way to show appreciation for your employees than by celebrating? From team outings to taking an especially successful employee out for lunch or coffee, celebrations are big in positive work cultures.
Celebrating is also important when it comes to achieving goals. When you recognize and reward your team for hitting milestones, it helps keep people motivated to keep moving. At Impact, we enjoy celebrations like office happy hours, food trucks, and even the occasional weekend getaway.
Every celebration doesn’t have to be a big blowout affair. Even simple gestures like closing the office early can go a long way.
3. Grant Grace
Your employees are only human, and they have lives outside of work. Be understanding when they share hardships or shortcomings with you. Understand that no one can operate at 100% at all times. In short, be empathetic. If an employee needs some personal time, don’t be afraid to give it to them. We all need a break every once in a while.
4. Communicate & Listen
Similar to building relationships with your clients, you need to build relationships with your employees. Strong communication can help keep your employees engaged and motivated. It encourages them to come to you when there’s a problem, enabling you to solve it quickly and fairly.
Employees today want a workplace where they will be happy and feel valued. Many people rank wellbeing as one of their top priorities when looking for a new job, especially millennials. To attract and keep the best employees, you need to create a culture where people feel welcome each day. Connect with your team through open, honest communication. Be transparent whenever possible and clue them in on important business developments.
When you create a positive office culture, your employees will be more excited to come into the office. They’ll treat one another better, and they’ll treat your clients better, too. That’s what we call a win-win situation.
