Mood in the Workplace
Managing Employee Mood Pt. II
Socialize
Get to know each other
Create opportunities for people to meet and work with each other outside their usual teams. Create task forces, project teams, connect people based on their learning objectives or interests, maybe even organize a mentorship program! The better people know each other, the more comfortable they feel in the company!
Offer lunch alternatives
Lunch and learns are a popular way to help employees learn over lunch, but also meet new colleagues and socialize!
Make sure everyone has enough time at lunch to squeeze in a workout or a run. Showers in the buildings are a plus!
Be inclusive to families
Invite partners or even families to company retreats or social gatherings, get to know them, include them in conversations. Don’t forget about pets too! Bring a dog to work day makes (almost) everyone super happy! But maybe give others a chance to work from home that day — not everyone is excited about animals.
Control the Outcomes
Feeling control over work reduces work-related stress significantly and helps improve overall mood.
Here are some things you can do:
- Have clear roles and responsibilities
- Set clear goals
- Have clear deadlines and milestone structures
- Be clear on what employees will be assessed on
Clarify career paths
Create a clear and transparent promotion structure or a career development path within each function. Be clear on what is required of candidates to move forward and when they can be considered for a further role. Knowing about opportunities helps maintain a feeling of control over career overall.
Don’t create last minute disruptions
Nothing causes more disruption as a last minute task that needs to be done ‘yesterday’. Even if it doesn’t happen often, it causes employees to cancel personal plans or work late hours. But especially if it happens too often — it only creates more frustration over work.
Increase Positivity!
Create fun team goals
Creating non-work related goals helps people to bond over something else at work! Goals can also be work-related, but not something they’d be seriously assessed on, like a number of times a customer calls them a ‘rockstar’ in an email, or number of times someone accidentally “replies all”.
Take ‘toxic people’ complaints seriously
A lot of companies tend to value results over personality, however, having a toxic person on a team can cause others’ mood and motivation to decline. Take complaints of someone being toxic seriously, investigate and create an action plan.
Involve Employees More
Crowdsource ideas
Whenever possible ask your employees for ideas! It’ll help everyone feeling heard and potentially can harvest some really original ideas too!
Explain decisions
Communicate company decisions, and the reason those were taken, regularly. Keep a line open for questions to ensure everyone understands where the company is going and is on board with it.
Remember:
- Create a culture, not a short term fix. Employees can get in a good mood with short term fixes, but only positive culture will create a truly positive workplace.
- Make it a strategic priority. Positive work environment is not only about smiling at work. It is about constructing initiatives and action plans to create conditions where employees can be happy.
