5 questions for a joyful workplace
A workplace community joy approach can be the antidote to quiet quitting and challenges recruiting and retaining workers.
(En español, gracias a Carolina Espinoza)
East Boston Social Centers is endeavoring to be a best place to work. We recognize joyful staff can more effectively deliver joyful programs and cultivate joyful community. While we have much more to do, our second staff survey showed we had made significant progress.
Today’s column shares five simple questions to increase joy, wellbeing, and engagement at work — and a bit of what East Boston Social Centers has been doing. This is a great tool for focus groups with small groups of employees. After examining results, groups can identify one or a few actions that are simple, impactful, and address the greatest identified needs. Return to these questions periodically to continue your workplace’s journey to joy.
1) Does our workplace support relationships?
For the relationship between the workplace and employees, we can ask: how do we show we value employees? How can we improve?
For daily human connection, we need tailored approaches in this age of increased remote work. For remote workers, offering reimbursement for co-working space can improve employee wellbeing by increasing employees’ human connections. For workers who are in-person at least some of the time, we can intentionally foster in-person connections.
East Boston Social Centers has found coaching, ongoing (rather than one-time) diversity training, and communications training to be key for building and strengthening relationships. Honing our skills of having difficult conversations and giving direct feedback has helped reduce office gossip and improve communication and joy.
Our first workplace community joy program: a twelve-week one-hour/ week in-person program intentionally recruited employees from across the organization — strengthening cross-organizational connections and fostering our shared culture of joy. Those employees are now joyful ambassadors, supporting collaboration on workplace art, activities, and events to cultivate community, belonging and joy.
2) Are we connecting employees with purpose?
Workplace leaders and workplace communications can consistently remind each employee of why the organization is doing its work — and how each employee is essential for that mission.
At East Boston Social Centers, we are working to develop pathways for employees at all levels to give input and implement suggestions for improvement and change; giving employees voice strengthens connections to purpose.
In any workplace, some people deliver the mission — and others make that mission delivery possible. We can strengthen everyone’s connection to our shared purpose by making time for employee volunteering within the workday and giving employees opportunities to use their workplace skills to support our mission. For example, at East Boston Social Centers, our CFO can deliver financial literacy training to teens in our NextGen Youth Program.
3) Is our workplace supporting employee fitness and wellbeing?
Within this, we can ask: are we giving employees opportunities for movement and fitness? Are we making it easier to access nutritious vs. non-nutritious food at meetings and more? Are we providing work-life balance to reduce stress and ensure work isn’t infringing on sleep?
At East Boston Social Centers, everyone who works at a desk has a standing/ sitting desk. We are developing environmental nudges supporting movement and recognizing how employees build fitness into their day in our employee newsletter.
We remind employees to get the free pair of sneakers our health plan offers to each of them each year. We have developed a transportation benefit that encourages use of public transportation (which can increase walking) and are investigating opportunities to incentivize biking and walking to work.
4) Do we provide space for contemplation?
I meditate at work — with headphones on. When possible, workplaces can benefit from giving employees space for meditation.
We all can give employees space for contemplation. We can limit email communication hours and other communication to support staff outside work. Within the workyear, we can provide employee retreats, quiet lunches, and a variety of other structures to support contemplation.
5) Are we a fun workplace?
How do we ensure work isn’t where fun goes to die? We are finding the best approach to be supporting cross-organizational employees in leading the way, to increase relevance of and engagement with any team building, retreats, and activities.
Special days and special attire are some of the ways our team at East Boston Social Centers brings fun to the workplace. Recently, our team led a special egg hunt through which all employees received an egg that contained chocolate and a joy prompt inside.
Personally, I highly recommend improvisational comedy training as a way to strengthen employee collaboration and fun.
Connecting principles and conclusion
We are finding a grassroots approach works best: supporting staff in creating the workplace where they want to work. We also are finding design nudges — like our new joyful mural at the Social Centers, and standing desks — can help make joy the downhill journey at a workplace.
East Boston Social Centers still has much more work to do. Please share your ideas and reflections here. How can we all build more joyful workplaces (and communities) together?
This is the second of four columns providing simple, powerful tools to drive increased joy. The first column focused on individual joy; this one on organizational joy; part three on joy in programs; and part four will focus on on community joy.
This also is the tenth of a series of posts about increasing joy in community: the only way we can significantly increase joy. Whether you’re seeking the best ways to increase your joy; working to make your community the next Denmark; seeking to save democracy; or just a friend who is reading along, this column is for you. If you like it, please share this work. To join our movement, please send me an email or consider supporting East Boston Social Centers: https://www.ebsocialcenters.org/support
