Joy in the Workplace?

Joy. It’s not necessarily a word that people think of synonymously with the word “workplace”. For the purposes of this article, we are going to use the word joy as defined by Merriam-Webster, “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires”. Why wouldn’t we want that in the workplace, considering that we spend about 1/3 of our waking hours there?

And then there’s the number one killer of joy in the workplace – fear. Have you ever worked somewhere where you felt your every action was scrutinized, you were in a state of constant worry over keeping your job, or where you were openly reprimanded? These are all symptoms of fear-based workplace cultures, also known as joy-killing environments. How do you let go of fear and find your joy in the workplace? The truth is, it all starts with you.

The energy you bring into a situation has a profound impact on those around you and most importantly, yourself. That’s not to say that if you walk into a room with a smile, you’re going to single-handedly change a toxic workplace culture. But it may just take the edge off for you and a few of your coworkers.

Allow me to share a recent experience. I was asked to “test-drive” a horse named Colton, who I’ve only ridden briefly once before, and who is known to be quite a handful. My instructor wanted to assess how he moved as we suspected he may have an injury. First, she asked me to walk then trot, both activities I’m comfortable doing. Then she asked for a canter. I said “yes”, pushing past my fear of losing control of this frisky 1200-pound animal beneath me. As he swiftly transitioned into the canter, my mind took over, pumping fear in the form of adrenaline through my veins as I went through my mental checklist: my feet weren’t in the right position, my hands were tense and moving way too much, I was leaning forward, I felt like I was bouncing all over the place. All while listening to my instructor say, “soften your hands”, “breath”, and my all-time favorite, “relax”. And for some reason, in the moment that she said that it triggered me to remind myself to smile. Because even if I was outside of my comfort zone and not performing the task at hand perfectly, I was having fun. When I smiled, it changed my energy. My hands relaxed, then my body relaxed, and then, stunningly, Colton’s head went down into a beautifully-collected position. By changing my energy, I changed Colton’s energy too. It was tangible and magical.

Since then, I’ve honed my awareness of the energy that I bring into my workplace interactions, to the extent that I’m even conscious of smiling while I talk to people over the phone or on a conference call. It sounds different, try it sometime when you’re chatting with a friend or family member. It’s certainly a work in progress for me, but if we all can make an impact on increasing the levels of joy in the workplace by doing our part, small or large, it seems to be a worthy pursuit.

How do you bring joy into your workplace? Do you have a candy jar at your desk, or offer a helping hand to an overwhelmed coworker? We’d love to hear examples in the comments section that we can share with our Teams InBalance community!

-Amy Hill, Teams InBalance Director & Facilitator