A Happy New Year to you all!
We hope you had a chance to wash away last year’s ups and downs with some sun and fun. We also hope that 2021 will bring some positive changes to your work and life. Bring it on!
Like many of you, we both had the chance to get out of the office for a few weeks.
Road-tripping around our beautiful country proved the perfect way to unplug and recharge the batteries. Our adventures took us far and wide. Kelly and her family headed to Dunedin, the wild Catlins Coast, Bluff and even a trip to Stewart Island (what a place to get-away-from-it-all). Wanaka and Queenstown were terrific as usual and noticeably quieter without the overseas visitors. Up north she had some serious beach time at Pauanui, Papamoa and Raglan. Long lazy days… bliss.
Kelly’s family adventures
Laura stayed closer to home, spending time with her family between Omaha and camping in beautiful Ruakaka, as well an incredible birthday staycation at the new Park Hyatt in Auckland.
Laura’s family trying to catch dinner
We have so much to be grateful for.
The positives of gratitude at work.
Recognising the good things in life and saying thank you is good for our general wellbeing. It can also help transform the way people work.
Being thankful has been linked to numerous benefits:
- Positive emotions
- Less stress
- Fewer health complaints / fewer sick days
- Greater sense that goals can be achieved
- Increased job satisfaction
Some studies have also found that gratitude and appreciation create a workplace where employees actually want to come to work and don’t feel like cogs in a wheel.
An Attitude of Gratitude
Here are 4 simple ways to nurture gratitude in the workplace.
From the top down.
Like most things in business, standards should be setby those at the top. Senior leaders of an organisation should be consistent ‘thankers’ – both in private and public settings.
Everyone should be thanked.
In every organisation, some roles are ‘more critical’ than others. But that doesn’t mean they should receive all the thanks. Thanking an entry-level employee for a job well done is just as important as thanking a senior executive.
Don’t force it.
Making a ‘rule’ to say thanks won’t work. Instead, saying ‘thanks’ should be a genuine, spontaneous expression of gratitude that comes from the heart.
Provide plenty of opportunities to express gratitude.
Gift giving. Gratitude Walls. ‘Kudos’ web pages. These are a few examples of how different organisations have provided opportunities to be grateful. There are no rules. Get creative and do what works for your business!
All the best for 2021
It’s hard to predict what will happen over the next 12 months. New challenges will likely arise. As will opportunities. But one thing is sure; us Kiwis are in a very fortunate position. Which is something we can all be thankful for!
We wish you all the best for 2021 and will be here to assist you any way we can.
