The little things you can do to bring joy to your work

“People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt (or one of dozens of other people this quote has been attributed to)

Now that we are more joyful at work, or on our way to that goal, we can turn our attention to spreading joy to others. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this part. Once you start to make even the occasional effort in your workplaces, you’ll get big results and feel amazing at the same time.

Let’s review why we want to spread joy to others at work. Sure, it’s a nice thing to do and I believe it is the right thing to do. But there’s so much more to it.

The reasons we want our fellow employees to be joyful are, of course, like why we are working on being joyful people – they’ll be more productive and experience less stress. I can’t say they will be stress-free because there’s no magic formula for that. Every job involves some stress.

But with the positive example you set and the joyful steps you are about to take, you’ll help your fellow employees experience less stress and handle the difficult times much better.

And it’s just so gosh darn fun. Do you ever have that wonderful feeling of anticipation at Christmastime or when it’s someone’s birthday? When you positively know you got that person the most perfect gift in the universe, and you just can’t wait to see their reaction? That’s how I feel every time I do something special for one of my co-workers. I take my life’s mission quite seriously, Folks!

Let’s look at the quote that kicked off this column: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This has been attributed to dozens of people throughout the years. No matter who the heck said it, it’s the best way to illustrate why it’s important to not just care about our work, but care about the ones doing that work along with us.

I have a feeling the opposite philosophy is one of the major reasons so many people are unhappy at work, which is why I’m writing this series. An October 2012 article from Forbes states that when people must exercise restraint, measure their words, and basically walk on eggshells around others, the results are not good. They include poor workmanship, missed deadlines, and cracks in the company or department’s culture. This negativity can affect clients and customers and create turnover.

At a time when many of us are working more than 40 hours a week as mentioned in the beginning of this series, it can be challenging to remember to take time for others. But it’s more important than ever before. Taking a moment here and there to build strong relationships at work creates high morale and leads to fun and increased productivity.

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.