How to Promote Optimism in the Workplace

Infographic Transcript

Optimism Can Enhance Your Business

Being positive has numerous mental and physical benefits, but did you know promoting optimism in the workplace can help your business too? Owning a business can be overwhelming but promoting optimism in the workplace is an excellent way to start off right.

Optimism in the Workplace Can

• Increase vitality in the workplace
• Create a clear vision of what your company’s mission is
• Make your employees feel like they belong
• Happy employees are 20 percent more productive than unhappy employees ^[1]

Enhancing your company’s atmosphere can help your workplace flourish. People work their best when they feel comfortable and validated. Being optimistic will help inspire new and old workers alike to become more productive.

Steps to Promote Workplace Optimism

Rewarding Your Employees

Rewards are an excellent way to promote optimism. Our brains are hard-wired for rewards and seek them when they are available to us. A whopping 53 percent of Americans claim they are unhappy at work. ^[2]  Highly engaged employees have been known to work at a rate 38 percent higher than non-engaged employees. ^[3] You can engage them by offering rewards that serve as a motivating factor in their performance.

• Always make sure to celebrate workplace victories. This will help boost morale.
• Reward success. Give your employees a small reward when they complete an important task.

Create a Company Workout Program

Regularly participating in fitness is a great way to promote optimism in the workplace. Exercise has many mood-boosting effects on the human body and mind. Here are some health benefits to regular exercise.

• On days when they exercise, people concentrate 21 percent more at work. ^[4]
• Workers can improve their ability to do daily activities by exercising regularly.
• Overall motivation at work has been shown to increase to 41 percent for those who exercise. ^[4]

Create a wellness program at work that regularly rewards your employees for participating. Their health will improve as well as the work they do daily.

• Create a newsletter in your workplace that advertises your wellness program.
• Be consistent! You must regularly show up to exercise with your employees to set an example.

Become a Mentor

Acting as a mentor in the workplace is a fantastic way to boost optimism. You will act as a guide for those who need it professionally and it helps nurture workplace relationships.

• Don’t just have new employees shadow veterans. Have them follow employees with experience that match their specialties.
• Hold a staff meeting and allow people to buy-in to the idea of the program. Remind them that it is voluntary, but it can greatly improve their skills.
• Create goals. Always set goals for your program to keep mentors and mentees accountable for growth.
• Millennials who plan to stay with their employers for more than five years are twice as likely to have a mentor (68 percent) than not (32 percent). ^[5]
  • Millennials will be 75 percent of the workforce by 2025 and have statistically been more productive when they receive mentoring. ^[6]

Give Your Employees Ownership

A boss who micromanages can be doing more harm than good. Did you know employees who have ownership over their ideas and methods work twice as hard?

• Encourage your employees to come up with creative solutions to problems in the company. This helps them feel validated.
• Have an open-door policy for idea discussion. Don’t make your employees fear the idea of communicating with you.

Have Regular Corporate Events

People who like each other will always work better together. However, it is oftentimes difficult to get to know someone if the only relationship you have with them is work-related. Holding regular company events is a great way to promote optimism in your workplace and build relationships after hours.

• Corporate events give back to the employees and make them feel happy.
• Hold a potluck or an activity-based event to bring your employees together regularly after work.
• Make sure to define the purpose of the event to the employees. Special events can be in support of charities, special celebrations or holiday parties.

Transparency

Providing some transparency for your employees can help generate trust.

• Thirty-one percent of employees said more transparency would help them understand their employer’s goals. ^[7]
• Transparency helps your employees become more involved in the decision-making process and builds a relationship between the employer and the employee.
• It prevents your employees from working aimlessly, which can hurt productivity.

Green Up Your Scenery

Did you know that adding some greenery to your work space can liven it up? Plants have a positive benefit on enhancing mood and concentration.

• Those who are often around plants experience an increased reaction time of 12 percent. ^[8]
• Blood pressure and stress recovery time are improved thanks to plants.
• Plants can increase the air quality in your building, which can prevent your employees from becoming sick.

Collaborate More

Many employees are tasked with jobs that only require one person, and 39 percent of employees believe their organization isn’t collaborating enough. ^[9] Working together is a great way to complete tasks more efficiently and build healthy relationships.

• Seventy-five percent of employers rate team work and collaboration as very important. ^[10]
• Working in a group has been known to increase productivity and performance between those involved.
• Collaborating with others has social benefits that can enhance participators’ moods.

Persistence and a passion for helping others are at the core of creating a happy and healthy work environment. As employees thrive both in and out of the office, a business will enjoy an assortment of benefits, including improved office morale, increased productivity, superior transparency, and ultimately, a well-respected reputation. What are you doing to increase optimism in your workplace?

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Sources

1. http://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Social-Market-Foundation-Publication-Briefing-CAGE-4-Are-happy-workers-more-productive-281015.pdf#page=9
2. https://www.qnnect.com/blog/8-eye-opening-employee-productivity-statistics
3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsturt/2018/03/08/10-shocking-workplace-stats-you-need-to-know/#3447f97df3af
4. https://productivityist.com/increase-productivity-21-exercise/
5. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-Deloitte/gx-millenial-survey-2016-exec-summary.pdf
6. https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/how-mentoring-relationships-help-strengthen-your-company
7. https://blog.accessperks.com/2017-employee-engagement-loyalty-statistics
8. https://www.trackvia.com/blog/excelling-at-work/flower-power-the-surprising-reasons-plants-can-enhance-your-business/
9. https://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/ssds/studyskills/page_85.htm
10. https://blog.clearcompany.com/7-workplace-collaboration-statistics-that-will-have-you-knocking-down-cubicles