According to Andrew Lloyd of Beaver, PA returning back to your workplace after the pandemic may seem hard and weird at first, as more and more people are figuring out how are they going back to normal again.
But it can be challenging for workers to have those break room conversations once again, or working with their team together on something.
As after more than a year, offices are being re-opened by the employers but the risk of infection is not completely gone yet.
And with the new delta strain, people are anxious to be getting back to the office again.
According to one report “Remote Workers are Reluctant to Return to the Workplace”
Take a look at the chart below:
The hesitation to get back to the office is increased as people can get far more benefits by working from home like Cost savings during commute, flexible schedule, spending time with their family, etc.
But even though remote work is booming some of us can’t help but feel the need to have a physical workplace,
As for some people office was the only place for their social activities or as some people prefer working in an office to manage their work-life balance, etc.
So as we go back to the office we need new changes to make things more cheerful, and keeping a “happy file” is exactly that.
What is a happy file and how it helps?
Andrew Lloyd of Beaver, PA says a “Happy file” is a collection of every positive feedback from your employer, boss, and even coworkers.
It can also contain positive and kind comments from your clients who enjoyed your service and were extremely grateful for it.
Keeping a record of this may sound silly but it helps to inspire you and your coworkers to deliver their best work whenever they feel low or gets criticized by clients for the wrong reason.
You can either try to keep it as a physical folder that can contain snapshots of client feedback, a photo of that moment, or written handmade notes from your coworkers.
Or you can use services like Dropbox, Google drive for creating cloud storage and share the access to your employees to keep things in sync!
Either way, you would be able to notice the following changes in your office:
- Better moods of your coworkers.
- A way to recharge yourself when you are feeling down or depressed.
- More appreciation and celebration of the awesome work everyone delivers.
- Increased productivity.
- Less scope of office politics.
Office politics is something that we can eliminate once we get back to our workplace, it can only cause drama and distract us from working happily.
One of the key features of a productive office environment is the happiness of your employees!
According to one study: Happy employees are up to 20% more productive!
This can be due to the following reasons:
- Happy employees are less likely to face burnout.
- These employees can perform better at teamwork which is a crucial part of any organization.
- Happy employees don’t have to carry the burden of stress and work only to work.
- Happy employees are more passionate about their work.
Passion in work is really important for your employees to persevere and deliver excellent work instead of doing an “average, ok kinda job”.
We often hear love what you do, and that is good but what is even better is doing it with people you love.
The “happy file” can create better team building as people would know how to appreciate each other and know their strengths and weakness.
Few more tips on being happy post Covid:
While the happy file is one good approach that can work for a lot of people but here are few additional tips for you and coworkers to keep yourself cheerful during tough times:
- If a co-worker wears a mask even after getting vaccinated don’t judge them or make fun of it, wearing a mask has become a lifestyle and habit that is hard for us to ignore, and with the new possibility of delta stain, it is a practical approach to wear a mask when talking.
- Ask your co-workers to be empathetic to the new hires because chances are they may have lost someone because of Covid-19.
- Don’t judge yourself if you are not happy, it’s okay to feel a little anxious with the news of the possibility of another lock down, pushing or hammering down smiles won’t make you any happier.
Those were some tips to bring more smiles to your work and being less anxious, I would love to know how are you pulling yourself together when you are going back to the office? Let us know below!