How do I maintain the workplace “love”?

Many of you might have seen this fantastic clip on YouTube recently, Jill and Kevin’s Big Day. A week or so ago it had been viewed by more than five million people, and when I sent a link out in one of my recent eNewsletters we had so many responses my assistant became quite frazzled (with me).

Anyway, it’s a wonderfully positive video (several respondents wrote in saying they were crying tears of happiness when they watched it) but as someone who spends much of his time working with executives, managers and organisations, this was, for me, about something much more than weddings.

In addition to being a fantastic example of happiness and celebration in action, as well as a prime illustration of individuality, for me it also highlighted the importance of first impressions. What a great way to start a marriage and what a great way to start a life together!

At the same time, however, I couldn’t help but wonder how they would follow this up. We’ve all, on our first date with a prospective boyfriend or girlfriend, showered the object of our admiration with flowers, compliments, food, wine and more…but many of us have also probably felt the ire of someone with whom we’ve not maintained the impression we made on the first few dates.

Do you, for example, still bring flowers home to your partner or cook them special meals or massage their backs or take them on special outings?

And this also reminded me of a phenomenon I’ve seen often in organisations with whom I’ve worked. Many businesses and managers are great at providing positivity when a new employee or colleague first starts. Orientations or inductions typically focus very much on positives and frequently highlight all the best things about a job and organisation. But what happens after a few weeks or a month or so? Most of the enthusiasm and encouragement dissipates or disappears! In fact, the next time many employees feel any love is usually when they leave and are thrown a farewell party.

We shouldn’t be throwing farewell parties for employees…if they’re about to leave then it’s too late; we should be throwing appreciation parties…celebrations that say I’m so glad you’re with us and I’m so grateful for what you do.

The video to which I linked at the start of this article shows a wonderful few minutes of joy and happiness and it’s important to make first impressions as positive and memorable as possible…but it’s also important to keep this up.

So go back to your desks, your offices and to your colleagues and think about what you can do to express your gratitude and to behave positively as often as possible!

Dr Tim Sharp’s latest book (out now) is ‘100 Ways to Happiness: a Guide for Busy People’ (Penguin). You can find out more about corporate programs, presentations and coaching services at www.drhappy.com.au andwww.thehappinessinstitute.com. You can also ask him questions using the comments panel below.

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