Positive change is typically the goal of any New Year’s Resolution. This year, consider including the office in your resolve, improving your life and that of your colleagues, at work and beyond!
No doubt, there’s an exhaustive list of resolutions under consideration right now: getting in shape, losing weight, saving money, paying down debt, and many more.
As you contemplate the changes you’d like to make in your life for the year ahead, have you given any thought to your life at work?
Maybe this year we include our time at the office, the place we spend the bulk of our waking hours, in our resolutions to make positive changes in the New Year.
With so much time spent at work, if it’s fraught with anxiety and stress, your well-being is guaranteed to be compromised. There are ways, though, to be proactive, to make this time more positive, more fulfilling and far more satisfying.
Be the change you’d like to see at work, and help make life in the office happier and more productive for you and your co-workers this year.
Improve Communication
This particular resolution is two-pronged: speaking, and often, more importantly, listening. It’s imperative for leaders, but equally crucial among colleagues.
Fostering a sense of openness with your colleagues helps eliminate misunderstandings. It can also encourage a healthy and peaceful work environment.
Employees experience an increase in morale, productivity and commitment if they feel they’re able to communicate up and down the chain in an organization.
Nix the Gossip
Do away with the drama! One way to do this is to remove yourself from the grapevine, the scuttlebutt, the gossip mill.
The next time a colleague tries to engage you in the office gossip around the water cooler, offer a simple, non-committal response, “interesting” or “wow,” followed quickly with, “I’ve got to go. See you later.” Repeat as needed.
Resist the Urge to Complain
Some days are just bad, for sure. Sometimes it can be hard to contain your feelings about what’s not going right or the things that are driving you crazy. But, enough already!
Don’t be afraid to call yourself out on what might be a consistent need to whinge. Settling into complaining mode, whining about inequities, what’s unfair, how things ought to be different only compounds the feelings of negativity and the drive to complain.
Break the cycle! Constant whining about things that are largely insignificant serves no purpose and only serves to diminish any sense of satisfaction and productivity. It also keeps you in a bad mood.
If a proper injustice has occurred, don’t complain—be proactive. Communicate what’s wrong clearly and concisely to your colleague or superior. If it’s just the minor day-to-day offenses, suck it up, put a smile on your face and remember what’s great about your job and the colleagues with whom you have the pleasure to work.
Taking Yourself Too Seriously
Things can get tense at the office, particularly if you’re dealing with deadlines or flat sales. But that tension has a way of becoming toxic and stressful, diminishing morale and, ultimately, productivity.
A little levity goes a long way—even under deadline! Give everybody a break and bring the tension and stress down a little, even for a minute. It’ll be good for everybody!
Beating Yourself Up
Take yourself too seriously, and you can end up beating yourself up.
We all make mistakes. Sometimes our A-game isn’t what it could be. If you’ve made a mistake or your super solution turned out to be completely ineffective, so be it. No one is perfect.
Be honest and upfront about your mistake. Take responsibility for your failure. And move on.
Wasting Time
Wasting time at work is probably as old as work itself.
Who among us hasn’t found themselves perusing social media… for hours?! Perhaps, taken an extended bathroom break? Maybe a relaxed visit to your colleague’s desk? It’s surprisingly easy to do!
And while the Internet Age has undoubtedly given us more avenues for time wasting, it’s an issue that persists regardless of the job or sector.
Misusing social media, though, has become a particular source of frustration for employers.
So, this year, perhaps it’s time to develop a little self-awareness with regards to your time-waster(s) of choice and how you might better spend your time and your employer’s money!
A Little Positivity Goes a Long Way
This year examine what spirit you bring to your workplace. Are you the office curmudgeon? Do you live to complain about everything from the state of the staff kitchen to the demanding new client?
Maybe it’s time to think about becoming the colleague that is most optimistic and uplifting instead—the co-worker people gravitate toward rather than avoid.
Positive energy helps make time at work more pleasant, while contributing to an environment where you and your co-workers will find it easier to achieve your goals.
Bring a positive attitude to work this year and see what it does to improve your work day as well as that of the people who share it.
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