Don’t lose the fun

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.” – Maya Angelou

Joyful workplaces perform better than others. They’re more productive, less stressful, energetic, and downright fun. They attract fresh talent. People who work in a positive company or organization look forward to their jobs and usually want to stick around.

These companies stand out, grow, and often beat the competition. Joyful workplaces don’t just keep the positivity on the inside – they spread it to their customers and to everyone they encounter.

After reading this series and learning from the research, stories, and examples of how to bring joy to the workplace, I must leave you with an important final point. Once you have that positivity at work, you and hopefully the others you’ve spread that joy to must make a commitment to ensure it continues and grows for years – no, hopefully decades – to come.

Don’t forget what you’ve learned in these columns, toss your notes, and ignore everything. Start your plan tomorrow, even if it’s just a small step, and don’t let up.

Mark your calendar to remind yourself to bring joy to your surroundings, a coworker, a customer, and/or a networking event at least once a week. Set up weekly, monthly, or yearly reminders until bringing joy becomes a habit.

As I said in the beginning, you don’t have to do everything in this series to make a difference both in and outside of your workplace. Pick what’s right for you and what’s appropriate for where you work. But don’t forget to sneak outside your comfort zone once in a while! That’s how we all stretch and grow in life.

I firmly believe the more joy we can spread to our workplaces, the happier we’ll all be. I wish you much joy and love on this journey of positivity and would also like to hear your stories. Let me know if you try something from this series and how things turn out! I thank you for reading it and making a commitment to spreading happiness while on the job.

Next week I’ll return to my (almost) empty nest adventures, including a not-so-happy update on my adoption and reunion story. Stay tuned.

Amy Shankland is a writer and fundraising professional living in Noblesville with her husband John, two sons, two dogs, and a cat. You can reach her via email at amys@greenavenue.info.