Make My Day: Creating a Positive Workplace

The savings a company can wrack up when employee retention is increased can be in the millions. People like working at happy places and therefore are more likely to stick around. Philip Strand, one of four authors of “Fish Tales: Real Life Stories to Help You Transform Your Workplace and Your Life” shares these five tips.

Play: incorporate playfulness into your job and your company. Spend your lunch hour enjoying yourself. Think of ways to bring lightness in to the workplace. “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.”

Make someone’s day: try doing something nice for someone who makes you feel uncomfortable, it might change your relationship. Do favors for customers and colleagues. Bring a coffee or tea to someone without being asked. Leave a post it note on their computer complementing them on a skill or a nice thing they said to someone.

Be there: Maintain eye contact throughout a conversation. Listen more intently to peoples’ concerns or ideas than trying to handle several tasks halfheartedly. Focus on conversations; don’t let emails and phone calls interrupt. Turn away from your computer when someone enters your work space. And don’t use your computer when on the phone to someone. Practice active listening skills and paraphrase requests to ensure accuracy.

Choose your attitude: rather than focusing on things you can’t control, focus on how they can make things better for you. Don’t dwell on the problem, start looking for solutions right away!

Think outside the box: practice thinking strategically. Work in the moment but think in the future. Use your creative mind to conjure up better ways to do processes and communicate. Make “what about this idea” your new mantra.

Strandsays “Take some risks and maybe get outside your comfort zone a little.” Mirror people who are most lighthearted, what are they doing?

Stop focusing on what you can’t change and start incorporating new attitudes and ideas.