ARTICLES - HAPPITUDE AT WORK
Missed the International Conference on Happiness at Work?
As an independent Chief Happiness Officer, I always keep myself updated in order to learn and share the latest info / ideas / research with my network and clients.
I attended last week the International Conference organized by #WoohooInc on the topic of Happiness at work. Here are some of my takeaways:
1. LEAD with JOY
Loved the presentation of @RichSheridan, he used the example of an airplane to explain how to lead with joy:
For an airplane to fly you need: LIFT / GRAVITY / THRUST / DRAG
In leadership, you might find the same:
For your team to fly:
-> Minimize the drag of fear & the weight of bureaucracy, increase the lift of human energy & the thrust of purpose and become more performant, productive and happy at work!
More info about the work of @RichSheridan: https://menloinnovations.com/joy/happiness
2. Break the Acceleration Trap
@JochenMenges, Professor of HRM and Leadership at the University of Zurich, shared with us his model on how to break the acceleration trap.
A study conducted by the University of Zurich, Yale and Cambridge showed that 1 in 3 highly engaged employees has strong signs of burnout.
Employees are engaged, they are thriving but they have too much to do and we give them even more. They are in an acceleration trap! These employees have a higher chance to quit their job.
What are the patterns of acceleration? -> Overloading / Multiloading / Perpetual Loading
How to stop the acceleration trap?
– Stop and analyze the unnecessary work -> Prioritize
– Analyze what can be stopped to be more efficient
– Analyze how to simplify products & services
– Analyze which rules cost the employees too much energy
Once you stop the acceleration trap, make sure to focus and do one thing at a time. It will help to avoid frustrations and being more productive.
3. “FROG OFF”
-> Use a symbol (like a frog) to create time for reflection / immersion! Great Idea from @MarianneGyllingPederson
Some companies use red cards on their desks to get their tasks done and avoid distractions by others. It’s one way to show your colleagues that you do not want to be disturbed.
Let’s use a funny symbol instead 🙂 Make your workplace a funny one!
4. Share 3 good things per day and use your selfie stick for it!
@MikaelKamber is a journalist and news anchor at the Danish TV, specialist in Positive Psychology and moderator at the Woohoo Conference. Mikael shared with us his best tips to increase your level of positivity:
Share 3 good things at the beginning of a meeting or at the end of the day.
This exercise is well known and proved its efficacy:
It trains us to think and act with more positivity
-> with more positivity -> you are more creative, more productive and happier.
Here is a good tip: Record your 3 good things on your phone with your selfie stick and share it internally within the company (internal social media channel for ex.). It will be fun and create more positivity in the office.
5. Cool & Fun ideas to improve the employees relationships
- Coffee Menu
Create a menu next to the coffee machine with your colleagues’ name and their coffee preferences. It will be so easy to ask next time: “Who wants a coffee?”, no need to think who takes what! No Milk / no Sugar / Black…. Just read the menu 🙂 Thanks for sharing the idea @majaloncar
- Walk & Talk Competition
Go for a walk to make your meeting. You can even create a competition between teams. Who walks the most?
- Red Carpet for B-Day or New Employees
Red Carpet is not only for the Cannes Festival but as well for the “Newbie”!
Great idea from Electrolux Denmark: they unroll the red carpet at their entrance for every 1st day of a new employee. They display their name + picture on a news-board to wish them a good day! It allows everyone else to see who is starting today and show recognition for the newcomer. They do the same for the birthdays!
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I heard so many cool stuff happening in small or large companies, it’s really time to try new things in workplaces, it will create more fun, better relationships and a better collaboration = more happiness at work!
The conference & workshops were full of interesting facts: we learnt how to design a team manifesto, how to measure happiness at work, how to give positive feedbacks and so much more! Thank you all for the great job! Outstanding conference! more info: https://woohooinc.com
Are you interested to implement a strategy where your teams happiness is part of your company culture? Let’s get in touch!
Aurelie Litynski is a Chief Happiness Officer and the Founder of Happitude at work
Aurelie aspires to increase the awareness on happiness at work in companies and help leaders and employees being successful by creating more work-related happiness in their teams. She learnt about the topic of happiness at work from experts worldwide, became a Chief Happiness Officer in 2017 and created an approach, which tackles crucial topics such as behaviour, communication, empathy and trust within companies.