Positive Work Environment

One of the secrets to a positive work environment is to find and appreciate reasons for the employee to be motivated beyond the routine work activities. 

A sense of loyalty is one of the best motivating factors for delivering results. Loyalty is induced through activities that rise from an honest effort at understanding what the employee’s needs are, and making them feel understood.

Each of us wants to feel recognized as individuals, to be appreciated, and given opportunities for advancement and growth. But when we are engaged in our worlds of deadlines and targets, it is easy to miss this most essential ingredient of a cohesive and growing team.

In here we have tried to identify some simple ways to reach out to your employees, to appreciate and motivate them in the work environment. These ideas are not comprehensive, but you may like to take cues from them to make a beginning.
 

Praise something your co-worker has done well. Identify the specific actions that you found admirable.
Celebrate birthdays, marriage anniversaries, and special achievements with dessert over lunch or perhaps go out to lunch as a group. How about celebrating the date on which a person was hired!
 

Encourage employees to thank one another in fun ways:

• Pass on helpful articles that could benefit employees and attach a note that says, “Saw this and thought of you” – This is so much more positive than a bland “FYI” we’re so used to!
   
• Learn about their hobbies, families, children, pets, etc. showing interest in what matters most to them. So when their birthday comes, you know what to gift which will bring a true smile!
   
• Get a motivational speaker to speak on subjects of interest to employees like goal mapping, stress management, team building and improving relationships, etc.
   
• Create light-hearted awards that recognize something unique about each person like, “Best New Idea,” or “Best Story Teller,” and present them at a potluck lunch.
   
• Start a game of catching someone doing something right for a change! But for a fun twist, assign points to the person doing the catching vs. the doing. This will create a habit of looking for what is working and going well!
   
• Allow and encourage employees to attend seminars and ask them to make a presentation to others sharing what they learned.

Get back to the basics! Focus on how you can make your workplace a more pleasant, inspiring and FUN environment for all-bosses, employees, and customers. Acknowledge each person you meet with an open hand-shake, eye contact, a nod and a smile. So get appreciating!