How to Be Positive at Work

It’s the end of a long winter. A winter which drained us all emotionally and left us feeling less than enthusiastic to pop out of bed each morning. And while we do our best to avoid it, the dead of winter has left us feeling a little on-edge in our everyday lives – particularly at work. While employee incentives and other employee recognition ideas are generally part of performance management efforts by employers to perk spirits, are you wondering what YOU can do, as an employee, to learn how to be positive at work?

That’s an important question. Here’s why. Work is where many of us spend most of our waking time.  The people that we interact with for most of our time on a daily basis, is not our family – but our co-workers and colleagues. How we interact with these people is important not only because it can directly affect our productivity at work and our career prospects; but a lot of times, the effect of those interactions is carried over to our home and to our family, and to the most important people in our lives.

A positive attitude in the workplace is not only important to how you do at work, but also how you do at home.

Take time to appreciate the people you work with on a regular basis. Let your co-workers know if you think they did a good job. Thank them if someone helped you out, albeit indirectly, with your work.

An occasional pat on someone’s back, or an acknowledgment of their efforts, goes a long way in fostering a positive relationship with them, and it radiates back to how you feel about your workplace.

The converse of this – if you notice someone did something that messed up his or her or your work, be kind about it. Instead of reminding whose fault that was, try to be positive about it in working towards a resolution.

 

2.  Enthusiasm

Make it a point to show enthusiasm in everything you do. Be enthusiastic, and show it. Of course, if you really enjoy what you do, that comes naturally.

But what about if what you do is not necessarily something you really enjoy, but more of an in-between, temporary thing? Having a positive bounce in what you do, and showing it around, still out-benefits a sulking attitude any given day.

At a minimum, it will help your day get by quicker. It will leave you feeling a bit better at the end of the day than otherwise – because, despite the circumstances, you know you have given it your best shot, and you take that feeling home.

Positive energy is usually contagious, and chances are your energy will rub off on your co-workers, making for a better work environment as a whole – and you, as a part of that environment, will ultimately benefit from it as well.

 

3. Have Fun

Workplace is not just about work, for the simple reason that we are more than just machines. It is about people, interactions between them, and developing inter-personal relationships.

There are lots of things that can be done at work place, that are not directly related to work; but they end up affecting how you feel about your workplace in general, and that indirectly affects your work as well.

Celebrating occasions like a co-workers birthday or similar; having fun socials or competitions on a regular basis; little acts of kindness like bringing a busy teammate something from the drink machine and volunteering for company sponsored fun activities – all help in making you feel part of big family.

The above tips can help you stay motivated and maintain an overall positive attitude in the workplace.  That translates to a better work environment, a place you wouldn’t mind going day after day, for the simple reason that it feels like a home away from home.

(Information obtained from self-improvement-advice.org – “Positive Attitude in the Workplace”)

image source