How to Make Your Workplace Resolution-Friendly
At this point, you’ve probably spoken to your co-workers about their 2018 goals or resolutions. By now, you have may also found someone going back on their resolution. Here’s a question: did you laugh with them, give them a hard time, or ignore it?
Here at Bensol, we will be away at an offsite planning session January 18/19th to set our business goals for the year so we can provide a very supportive work environment.
Motivation can be tough at some workplaces: stress may decrease someone’s drive toward their self improvement, provided lunches can make it hard to stick to nutrition resolutions, or a weak company culture may create a complacency among workers .
We’ve listed a few ways to make your workplace resolution-friendly, instead of resolution-hindering:
Try calling them “goals” instead of “resolutions”
A simple mindset switch, but an important one to note. When you make a ‘resolve’, it insinuates that something was wrong with you in the first place. It is much more positive to see your ‘resolutions’ as ‘goals’, that way if the goal isn’t met right away, it can still be recommitted. Also: if a goal is accomplished, someone is more likely to make a new one that same year, where people are less likely to create new resolutions in June.
Bring up goals in your February meeting, then your March meeting…
While it’s great to get the conversation going in January when everybody’s thinking about their goals, it’s even better to continue the conversation throughout the year. If you have a weekly meeting or email, try putting in a few minutes to chat goals, touch base or share motivation. Talk about accountability!
Bonus: Include personal goal setting in your employee review sessions if it’s not there already – it’s great to know your workplace cares about you as a whole person.
Create a competition
Goal-based competitions can create more office support to everyone’s personal goals. Some examples: Fitbit Count/Pedometer step counting competitions (where each person is accountable to their own goal, not the same number for each person), Bring Your Lunch to Work Everyday challenges, or Water Goal Challenges.
Remember that everybody starts at a different place, and it is wise to structure competition that way, and reward each person who achieved their individual goal. Not only is competition the best motivation tool for some people, but it allows for more positive conversation around the workplace. Just make sure people can opt in or out, as not everybody feels the same way about competition.
Sign up for a charity race or similar event as a workplace
Team bonding with a twist! Signing up for a 5K if people have exercise related goals, or a volunteering event if lots of coworkers want to give back this year; pick something that reflects the values of your work culture! Even if not everybody shares the exact same goal, people who don’t want to partake in the race can come to cheer their coworkers on. Remember that positivity is contagious, and to take the motivation outside of the office walls can really help people shake things up and stay committed.
Become a goal-achieving role model
Lead by example! When you see one of your coworkers achieving their goals, inspiration can spread like wildfire. When people feel free to share and celebrate their successes, others will want to bring theirs to the table too. Only caveat: make sure that if someone’s having a tough time with motivation, you don’t rub your success in their face too much – that can have the opposite effect.
All in all, the idea is to assure that people feel positively supported by the people around them. We spend almost a third of a time at work in a given week, a workplace can really make or break the motivation we have outside of work.
Here’s hoping you and your workplace achieve more goals and have less stress this 2018!
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