A happy work environment has become a myth. Work loneliness may not sound like a huge deal, but it makes a big difference when it comes to success in business. It is necessary to create a friendly work environment using happy workplace ideas.
AlignThoughts has brought to you some exciting happy workplace ideas. The research gate did a study that produced work loneliness lowers productivity and performance of an individual and the team.
When you feel lonely in the office, you tend to spend more time on social media and distracting yourself at the workplace. That takes away time to focus on work. Plus it puts a damper on how happy someone is at the office which also affects the quality of their work.
An office environment is supposed to resemble a team. There is no ‘I’ in the team. So there is no reason you should be sitting in an office feeling as if you are alone. The most important aspect companies and employees need to focus on is corporate culture.
According to Forbes, work loneliness has doubled in the last 40 years, and almost 40% of Americans suffer from loneliness in general.
We all know that one-third of our life span is spent at our jobs. Work loneliness is more severe than you think and can also lead to depression if not handled wisely.
So, if you are someone going through this and don’t know how to be more connected, you are indeed not the only one.
After all, how do you go about making a friendly working environment? How do you avoid work loneliness? What can you do? Well, if you are someone who is feeling lonely at work or someone who wants to create a friendlier environment for your employees, these are some great tips for you.
How To Create a Friendly Work Environment An Increase Workplace Happiness?
Here are some incredible happy workplace ideas that you must adopt right away to spread happiness and positivity.
1. Be Nice to Everyone Including Other Teams
A friendly work environment may seem like a simple and ridiculous thing to even consider. I mean, you are nice to everyone, right? You say hello when they say it to you. You don’t roll your eyes or make mean faces at people. In the easiest way, you are contributing to spreading workplace happiness.
However, there is a difference between being cordial and somewhat polite and being nice.
Being friendly and helpful to those around you means, in this instance, to do more than just say hello.
Ask people how they are doing. Try to connect on a personal level and befriend them.
Be that person in the office that everyone thinks is so sweet and kind because that is the exact kind of person you display.
2. Smile and Greet Colleagues
Another super simple but also super powerful thing to spread workplace happiness. When I worked in the office, one thing that bothered me was how miserable everyone looked all the time.
It never made you want to say hello or talk to anyone. It made you was to pass right by the grumpy folks and get to your designated space.
I know sometimes we don’t want to come to work, but a smile is so powerful that it changes the mood of those around us and ourselves as well. I also dislike those fake half-smiles that people gave when you talked to them.
Those aren’t genuine, so when you do them, people notice that and see that you are just polite and that doesn’t promote a friendly work environment at all. It turns everyone into half-smiling and polite robots.
If you want that to change, then be the difference and smile genuinely when you walk into the office. Smile at everyone as you pass them and make an effort to look happy until you find that it doesn’t take that much energy and effort anymore.
3. Hang Out With Coworkers Out Of Office
Another great way to spread happiness at the workplace is to spend quality time with your coworkers outside the office.
When you watch movies and stuff where people have good relationships with their coworkers, they usually spend time with them outside of work. After work, some people go to a happy hour at the nearby bar or go out to dinner together.
Hanging out after work puts you in a more relaxed environment with your coworkers. It’s an excellent opportunity to get to know the people you work with and allow them to know you.
This kind of out of office mingling makes people more comfortable with each other inside of the office which makes for a friendlier work environment and smoother productivity.
4. Listen to Your Coworkers
I realized pretty early that when you listen to people when they speak, it improves your relationship with them regardless of how it started. This is one of the best ideas to have a happy workplace.
At the workplace, there should be some healthy and open communication between employees and employers.
So whether you are the boss or an employee, listening to the needs and thoughts of coworkers is the perfect way to build a foundation and better relationships in the office.
When someone tells you concern or something on their mind listen and if it makes sense to, ask them how it is going later. They will appreciate the fact that you hear. It works if you are in disagreement also.
Things end much better when you take the time to listen to someone to gain an understanding of their perspective rather than listen just enough so that you can interrupt with your response to debunk their thoughts.
https://alignthoughts.com/how-to-speak-so-others-will-listen/
5. Help Where You Can, Without Being Asked
Offices, where people help each other even if it doesn’t necessarily benefit themselves, are some of the most smooth-running offices I have seen. The idea of teamwork is that everybody helps each other out.
If you observe a coworker is struggling with a lot on their plate, and you have some extra space and time to help out, instead of sitting on Facebook and watching them struggle, help them out.
This is, in fact, a common workplace practice in Japan. If a coworker is struggling extra time, then other team members are there to help him/her. Leaving someone behind is not an appreciated work ethic.
The critical part of this that helps promote a friendlier work environment is when you do something like this and then don’t go looking to make sure you get the credit for helping or try and boast about the responsibility you took on.
Just be a team player and watch how much more willing people will be to return the favor and also appreciate you being on the team so much more. This kind of behavior from a coworker or employer for sure makes people feel at ease and puts a light friendlier feeling in the air.
6. Don’t Gossip
Gossiping with your colleagues can be a taboo thing to do at the workplace. If you want to spread happiness at the workplace, avoid gossiping.
Talking about people behind their backs in the office creates hostility and distrust. When you hear someone talking about someone they smile at and laugh with, you aren’t going to want to spend time with them, are you?
You should respect your coworkers.
Gossip is usually fabricated stories people tell based off of a tiny ounce of actual information. It could turn people against each other and give people false ideas and trust me, the people you do your gossiping with will gossip about you if the time ever arises.
So don’t bother with gossip that will speak highly on your character. It will allow your coworkers to trust you more and feel more comfortable spending time around you.
You could honestly wrap up how to create work friendliness with being kind and respectful to others. It isn’t too much different than in high school except we are all adults now who have more responsibilities.
I think it is just as important to have a friendly work environment as it is to have a friendly class environment in school.
Having a friendly work environment also makes going to work a lot easier of a task because you know you have a positive environment to walk into.
Other Happy Workplace Ideas to Create a Friendly Work Environment:
Happiness in the workplace is one of the greatest investments. A happy employee equals higher productivity. Here are some easy and realistic tips to help combat work loneliness:
- Make it a practice to have lunch with your team. If not every day, at least two to three days a week is a good start. This will make everyone to communicate and listen to each other on a personal level as well.
- Conduct real-time team events that encourage team members to participate. You can also make those events competitive to bring healthy competition among teams.
- An example of such an event is, ‘Fun Fridays’ where team members gather every week to participate in real-time fun activities. You can also distribute candies on Fridays to make employees happier about the arriving weekend.
- Did you know that impactful interactions lead to emotional intelligence (EQ)? This is a key factor for job performance and career success. Emotional intelligence is also one of the top skills that companies are looking for. So try to have meaningful conversations with your colleagues. Try to learn about your teammate’s personal life and challenges if any. For example, Help a coworker find an apartment to the city he/she has moved in.
- Try to incorporate 15 minutes ‘no cell phone breaks’ with colleagues and team members. This will help coworkers to interact without the fear of being neglected by social media and texting.
- Compliment some at your workplace every day. Be it a nice outfit, a new hairstyle, a nice tie, or even a good presentation, don’t hesitate to compliment your colleagues. This will make them feel good and everyone in the team will eventually start this practice.
Key Takeaways On Workplace Happiness
- Work loneliness lowers the productivity and performance of an individual and the team. It has doubled since the last 40 years. Hence workplace happiness is extremely vital in today’s time to create a friendly work environment.
- Happy employees are more creative, innovative, and dedicated.
- A happy employee leads to higher productivity.
- Remember to be nice and friendly to everyone at your workplace including colleagues who are part of other teams.
- Smile, it’s very powerful.
- Spend social time with your co-workers. Have fun and relax.
- Go out for a coffee or lunch with your colleagues.
- Avoid gossiping at the workplace at all costs.
- Have no-cell-phone breaks with your teammates to have meaningful discussions.
- You can also initiate brainstorming sessions to get ideas from your team. What are the ways to have a happy workplace, according to them?
- Take advantage of the various festivals and organize parties for the same. Easter, Halloween, All Saints Day, Christmas, New Years, Diwali, Eid, St.Patrick’s Day are just some of them.
- Try to create and maintain a happy, positive and friendly work environment at all times.
Your thoughts,
How do you think a person can create a friendly work environment? What is your idea of a perfect day at the workplace? What are your happy workplace ideas to spread positivity at the workplace? Comment your thoughts on workplace happiness down below! We’d love to hear from you.
Stay tuned to our newsletter for more updates. You can also choose to follow us on our social media channels below.
