This year alone, full-time employees on average will work 261 days and 2,088 hours. Throughout our lives, this adds up to nearly 90,000 hours.
With so much time spent working instead of resting or practicing wellness, I challenge you to consider the following questions as you think about the professional and organizational culture you want to cultivate:
Do you incorporate your values about wellness and community into your company’s organizational structure and culture? Are you utilizing every opportunity to encourage and incorporate wellness and rest at work?
Whether you answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to those questions, the opportunity is now.
Connecting the Dots
Use the holiday as a launching pad to push past the potluck and serve your organization with a culture of gratitude that people can see, hear, and feel in your everyday operations. Even the most minor culture changes require time and consistency but are worth the effort.
Receiving and expressing gratitude boosts self-esteem, morale, and individual performance which contributes to the overall improvement of employee’s trust, communication, empathy, and mental and physical health.
How to Create a Culture of Gratitude at Work
To create a culture of gratitude at work, start with:
- Showing appreciation for your team with adequate compensation, incentives, and public recognition,
- Saying “thank you”, even for the little things and especially to those who don’t hear it often,
- Asking employees to share who and what they are grateful for and why,
- Offering regular opportunities for employees to announce their accomplishments and progress, and
- Paying for lunch and offering comp time when the team works beyond business hours to achieve a goal.
