Have you noticed a difference in your company culture with remote working?
Workplace positivity has been a hot topic over the past five years. People are realising that organisations that promote positive thinking experience happier workers, more rewarding customer interactions and greater commercial success.
Positivity encompasses affirmation, inclusivity, creativity and progression. Fuelling an organisation with these values inspires people to be the best version of themselves. In a time of remote working, how can we continue to promote workplace positivity?
The team at Elite Words can help. We’ve worked remotely from the beginning. This has forced us to become experts at managing our time productively while seizing opportunities to connect with our fellow team members. Positivity fuels the way we interact with each other, our clients, the work we produce and the way we choose to live. Whether we move to a physical office or continue to work remotely, workplace positivity is always a priority.
Here are our top tips for harnessing positivity in the remote workplace:
Go from the top down
Workplace culture is developed by the people who run and work in the workplace. Anything that influences those in upper management will affect the rest of the workplace. Leaders should always model the behaviours, attitudes and values they want to see in their peers and workplace. Research has found that people have an unconscious tendency to mirror others. When employees witness other teammates displaying positive behaviours, they’re more likely to conduct themselves in a similar fashion. Planting the seed of positive thinking from the top-down enacts a ripple effect of enriching outcomes.
There’s nothing more attractive than authenticity
Be it customers, employees or business partners, people want to see that your words match your actions. Research has shown that people feel more trusting of businesses when they see that their words match their actions. People who trust a business are more likely to purchase their products and services. Consistent words and actions can thus contribute to an increase in profits and more rewarding interactions.
Your employees will also experience greater enjoyment in a positive organisation. A healthier company culture means that workers are more united and connected with one another. Most people, be it partners, clients or customers, can discern whether the workplace culture is positive or negative. People tend to respond better to positive workplaces. Being consistent with your words and actions helps you attract the right customers. This ultimately ensures that your business stands the test of time.
Celebrate achievements
Celebrating people’s achievements conditions them to adopt a “half-full” mindset. When people are conditioned to seek out the positive, they’re more equipped to think creatively when disaster strikes. Keeping your team focused on finding a solution rather than an issue itself, allows everyone to move through a tough time easier.
To initiate conversations around achievements within the organisation, have a “weekly wins” team meeting every Friday (or whichever time best suits). Celebrating an individual’s strengths enable leaders to structure goals and tasks around employee capabilities. This is a much more productive strategy than highlighting employee weaknesses as people are more willing and able to see a project through. Celebrating achievements is one of the founding strategies in cultivating a “half-full” mindset.
Take an active interest in wellbeing
Being engaged with employee wellbeing is essential in maintaining workplace positivity in a remote environment. A study conducted by the University of Michigan found leaders who show compassion help employees be more resilient during challenging times. When employees see that their boss cares, they’re more inclined to demonstrate loyalty, enthusiasm and commitment.
Meanwhile, a high-stress workplace has been linked to many debilitating illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, immune deficiencies, and sleeping problems. Research has found that healthcare costs are approximately 50% higher in high-pressure companies. This is no recipe for a happy, thriving business. Thankfully, it’s possible to transform a culture of dysfunction into positivity.
Here are our tips for mitigating stress in the workplace:
- avoid engaging in gossip
- encourage employees to have breaks
- keep everyone well informed and refrain from keeping secrets
- talk over the phone and zoom, not just through SMS
- nurture workplace humour and shared passions between employees.
Embrace thought diversity
Many of us are familiar with the idea of people being diverse in their race, gender and sexuality. Did you know that workplace diversity also applies to a person’s thinking process?
Encouraging thought diversity emphasises employee autonomy over micromanagement. Consider how a free-range hen is happier than a caged one. People generally don’t enjoy feeling trapped. Employee freedom has also been found to lead to a more profitable business. A study done by the University of Oxford found that happy workers are 13% more productive. Embracing thought diversity empowers people to harness their unique skillset in creating optimal outcomes.
Positive thinking is essential in all work environments. It takes an individual from survival to empowerment, enriching the quality-of-life people experience in and out of work.
Need help mending your workplace narrative?
Elite Words is here to help. We’re an enthusiastic team of copywriters who thrive on positivity. We love helping our valued clients achieve their best through our copywriting, copyediting and content strategy services.
Contact us today to find out how we can help!
