While I’m a huge proponent of giving your employees autonomy and freedom to work from home or remotely, not every business can operate that way. Some organizations require their employees to be in the office Monday through Friday, even though the 40-hour workweek should be dead.
The trip to and from the office can be draining for those employees. They may wonder why they have to be in the office, hearing from friends the joys and benefits of working from home. Yet, they come in every day to do their work.
You might be wondering what you can do to make the in-office experience better for these employees. You might want to know how you can bring joy to the office.
4 Ways To Bring Joy To The Office
A joyless office can be a significant issue for your team. You may have seen team members leave because they’re in the office when they feel they don’t have to be. What if you could make your office a more joyful place? What if you could make the office a place employees want to be?
Here are 4 ways you can bring joy to the office.
1. Encourage positive relationships:
Navigating office relationships can be tricky. People come in with a bad attitude because of a family or other relationshipissue. That sour attitude begins to impact the office.
When in office, help your team to encourage positive relationships with one another. You may need to encourage team members to ask how someone’s day is going, offer encouragement, or just listen.
The more positive the experience in the office, the more joy there will be.
2. Allow for flexibility:
One of the reasons people love working from home or remote work is because of the flexibility it offers. They don’t have to drive into the office, open the laptop, and hear the office chatter.
To compensate for this, allow flexibility in their schedules or time off. You might offer a late or early start, the ability to take their kids to school and then come into the office, or unlimited time off for doctor visits.
Flexibility can go a long way in reducing the frustration of being in the office.
3. Communicate well:
One of the reasons organizations push for being back in the office is that they believe it will improve communication. Communication only improves if the communicator improves.
Communicate well with your team. Answer emails promptly. Share important details about the organization. Be quick to relate news.
The better you communicate, the more your team feels valued by the organization. Make sure you’re communicating events, changes, and more. This, alone, can change the attitude of the office.
4. Allow for social interactions:
I once had a manager approach me because they heard from someone that I was chatting too much with fellow coworkers. This was during the time my dad’s health was declining. These were social interactions but they were so much more. They were interactions that allowed me to express what I was going through.
Social interactions are a crucial part of an office. If you cut off the social aspect, there’s no reason for your people to be in the office.
Find ways to make social interactions more common, more positive. When people have a social connection, there’s more joy and willingness to be there.
