The Formula to Company Culture

How tragic is it to have a job that you commute to every single day with the sole purpose of getting to the next paycheck? At some point or another, we’ve all been there. We let our priorities become unbalanced and have somehow after months found ourselves just running through the motions. Your happiness and self-fulfillment is the top priority. No one can live off of coffee and energy drinks forever. Believe it or not, there is a formula to happiness that if practiced by a company will lead to ultimate success in all avenues. That formula is (WC=Team > Individual) otherwise known as company culture. 

At Worx we've come to the conclusion that we have to do things differently. Company culture is the direct influence on how smoothly the ship is sailing. Effects derived from poor company culture are often missed deadlines, negative employee body language, tension, lack of ambition and static routine. If a company is not happy, it will reflect in many aspects of the workplace, unfortunately and most crucially the clients. Your company culture IS your brand. 

Now, culture is not something that just happens overnight. Culture is something that happens naturally. Every person is born and raised with a set of unique beliefs, taboos and values. It governs the ways in which a person thinks and acts. For a company to be successful, there has to be a blending, an assimilation of individual into team. Embrace the differences and utilize multiple perspectives into one positive driving force.
Our company culture is kept alive and breathing because we make a conscious effort to keep it at the forefront. Here are some things that we practice day-to-day: 

The Worx Family Manifesto

Share Core Values:
When the members in a company shares core values everything runs in complete cohesiveness. The objective remains constant and everyone strives to achieve the same mission. Productivity is greater and value is placed on the end goal.  

Knowing Your Purpose:
Don't just work for the paycheck; do something that you genuinely love. Everyone should feel a sense of purpose to the team and to each other. Our mission is our client’s success.

Make Time For Quality Time:
It is so important to take your working relationships beyond the desk. Do things that will give your employees the opportunity to interact and let their personalities free. Team building exercises such as 5Ks, mud runs, adventure parks and volunteer events within your field or community are a great way of giving everyone the chance to let down a few walls and learn about each other.

Celebrate Achievements:
People want to be part of an organization that they can be proud of. No one wants to feel like what they are doing isn't enough or is insignificant. Take a moment to celebrate each other's as well as the team's accomplishments even if they are small steps. Go out to dinner for meeting your monthly goals and congratulate someone on their new home. Celebrate team accomplishments and acknowledge the personal ones as well. Positivity is fuel. 

Understand Each Other's Strengths and Weaknesses:
At Worx we have taken multiple strength and weakness tests as well as have noted them in work situations. We know what each other excel in and where we struggle. We know each other's pet peeves and what makes us uncomfortable. By diving deeper into each other's personalities, we can create a work culture in which everyone produces their best work. 

Meet Often:
Communication is key to a good work environment. It is imperative to not just hear, but also listen to each other. This is a great practice to get comfortable with everyone on the team as well as to learn a wealth of information about how a member works, their stress level threshold, their brilliant ideas, and how they can best be utilized to showcase their skills while elevating the company. 

Eliminate Hierarchical BS:
Of course, there is a chain of command, but this is never used as a weapon to designate where the power is. It is crucial to recognize that each person has a significance and reason for being there. When a member feels that they have worth in a company, the positivity is almost contagious and the level of respect soars astronomically. A team should be one congruent moving gear that if one cog is missing, the operation fails. At Worx, everyone is an essential part of what makes Worx, work. There is a level of mutual respect, trust and appreciation that is displayed to one another. When a company works together through controversy and success, the outcome is powerful.

Throw Peanuts:
Not every day is a good day no matter how hard we try. Don't let someone harvest frustration. Take time to grab coffee, have a lunch meeting out of the office or throw stress peanuts at each other if necessary (adorable plushy stress relievers in the shape of peanuts, courtesy of our wonderful client, Food Safety Training Solutions, INC.) Whatever method works best. 

Cultivate The Future:
A strong company culture helps to cultivate your future team. The vibes you put out attract folks with the same positivity and values who are seeking such an atmosphere. Your work culture is also a marketing tool and can be used to bring together like-minded individuals to help grow your company's future. 

Once a company keeps in mind the balance between team and individual, a different atmosphere will noticeably take shape. Daily practices become integrated and fluid with the motions of everyday life. We are not a Utopian society that is in perfect harmony with perfect results and perfect lives. But we have created a culture that fits– a defined destination of who we are now, and who we aspire to be.

Sometimes you suck at work

Well, that got your attention didn't it? It's true. There are days when you wake up unable to accomplish anything with grace and by the end of the day you wonder how on earth you survived. I'd like to call it being human. Even the most polished, well-rounded individuals have these days!

Let’s relive last Thursday...

I had several meetings scheduled, a few deadlines and some creative work to proof. Pretty standard day and I was looking forward to it! Then it happened. I lost my ability to act like a civilized human being. In my first meeting, I promise that my tongue and brain stopped communicating. I slurred over my words, forgot our Worx process and had a strange twitch in my neck; makes it kind of difficult to put on a professional front.

Then the afternoon came. Another wonderful opportunity with a potential new client! However, my brain decided it was ready for round 2. In mid-meeting, my elbow loudly slipped off of my folder and my entire body jerked. I took a big gulp of my iced coffee only to find my mouth full of about a teaspoon of sugar, causing me to cough loudly. And, then, in mid-sentence I lost my shoe under the table. So while I'm trying to carry on a professional conversation, my foot is rapidly searching for my lost sandal.

Thursday. You were not good to me.

Why on earth am I sharing this with you; To let you know that we're all human. We all have backwards days that leave us questioning our abilities. Sometimes you suck at work. Does it mean that you're incapable of overcoming it? No way!

I'll share a secret with you. When I'm having a day like this, I call myself out on it in front of people. Like the time I was giving a social media presentation in front of about 30 professionals. I accidentally inadvertently made a sexual reference not just once but twice in a row. As some people started to giggle, I realized that I needed to acknowledge my ridiculous mistake. I stopped mid sentence and said "I think we need to take a moment to acknowledge that I just publicly humiliated myself." We laughed as a group and went on with the presentation. I feel like people gain respect for you when you can admit your faults or low moments.

Everyone has their day and their moment when things don't go as planned. Instead of using it as an excuse to not move forward, I use it as a white flag to slow down. Sometimes these things happen because we're balancing too many things in life. Sometimes it happens for no reason at all! However, the important thing to remember is it doesn't have to define who you are. Don't wallow in your mistakes. Own them, acknowledge them and most importantly, laugh at them.

Tomorrow is another day. 

Be Thankful.

What if you woke up with only the things you were thankful for yesterday? Don’t wait until November to appreciate all of your blessings.

We all have days (or weeks) when it feels like the world is crashing down around us, but there are still many aspects of our life to be thankful for, hidden due to the overwhelming stress added onto our daily lives.

Below are a few questions to ask yourself:

Think slowly and answer thoroughly. Don’t skip or dismiss any of them. By the end, you will have a healthy list of things for which to give thanks. Knowing and feeling like your life is blessed and full of things to be thankful for will come back ten-fold and spread like wildfire.

1)    Who loves you?

2)    Who/What made you laugh?

3)    What compliments did you receive?

4)    What tasks did you accomplish?

5)    What food nourished your body today?

6)    Who were the positive people that you interacted with today?

7)    What physical tasks were you able to complete today that others could not?

8)    What were you able to buy with the money you are fortunate enough to have?

9)    What was the most peaceful/relaxing moment of your day?

10)    At what moment of your day was someone else dependent on your time and talents?

Perhaps write these down and start collecting varying answers day-to-day, and soon you will see that your life is full of things for which to be thankful.

The things you take for granted, someone else could be praying to have.

Relax!

Take a breather to take on the world.

Recently, I went on a weeklong camping trip in the wilderness of New England with my family. We had sporadic cell service, and even had to pull over and break out an ATLAS to find our way around. It was a nice escape from being available 24/7. It is no secret that taking time off can make you more productive. There is scientific evidence to prove it!

The more we try to keep up, the more trapped we become in the proverbial hamster wheel. The notion of accomplishing more by doing less seems absurd. A new and growing body of research across multiple disciplines shows that planned breaks – including daytime exercise, naps, longer sleep hours and more time away from the office can re-energize you; boosting productivity, creativity and job performance. I guess the boss was right all along in making us eat lunch away from our desks and encouraging walks outside on nice days.

In many work environments, downtime is considered wasted time. We rely on time to get things accomplished, but there is only a finite amount. We can’t make more hours in the day, but we can increase our energy. Energy also has a limit but, unlike time, it is renewable. Humans are not designed to burn continuous energy. We need periods of recovery to function. Our bodies are great at telling us when we need to recharge, but warning signs are often hidden by caffeine, sugar and stress hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol; respectively).

Working in 90-minute intervals with short breaks in between is a step in the right direction. Go outside: nature is more affordable than therapy. So is spending time doing things that matter. Taking the time for self-renewal can help you to be excellent at anything.

Absorb the Compliments

To this day, I still remember a class activity that affected my self-esteem and me. I never felt bad about myself and often received compliments from family and teachers. This class activity was a little different though. We each wrote our name at the top of a sheet of paper and began passing papers around the classroom. Everyone anonymously wrote a compliment on that person’s paper. The first thing I realized was that I had to compliment everyone in my class, even the kids who didn't like me or ones that I didn't talk with much. Finding and acknowledging positive traits about everyone was not as much of a challenge as I had anticipated. At the end of the activity, receiving a page full of compliments and reading through them, a grin grew across everyone’s face. It was a great activity; looking back I realize how practical and beneficial this mentality is, and should be continued on a daily basis, for a lifetime.

Receiving compliments is a challenge for many people. Approximately two thirds of compliments get rejected, credit gets passed on or they get ignored. If you gave someone a gift and when they opened it, immediately insulted it and told you to return it, how would that make you feel? Rejecting or re-insulting a compliment is much like that - Instead, we should be absorbing these feel good claims. Below are a few tips to help avoid the habit of rejecting compliments:

 

Do not:

 

Ignore it (e.g., changing the subject)

 

Refuse it (“yeah right”)

 

Feel obligated to return a compliment quickly (could come off as insincere)

 

Comeback with an insult to yourself  (“Oh, I wish I didn’t look so fat today”)

 

Seek more reassurance (“Are you sure?”)

 

 

Do:

 

Say thank you, with a smile (simple and sincere)

 

Elaborate how that makes you feel, if you feel comfortable (“Thank you for noticing! I am proud of it!”)

 

Believe it (many people forget this one)

 

Remember it (take a mental note)

 

Return a compliment later, or pay it forward (smiles and compliments are contagious)

 

Write it down (reference past compliments when you need a pick-me-up)

 

 

By following these simple rules, you are more likely to receive compliments, and sincere ones. Believe them. Embrace them. Build upon them.

 

Remembering someone complimenting a shirt, it will make you wear that shirt again, and this time with more confidence.

 

Remembering someone complimenting a presentation or project result, you will feel more confident speaking or performing that skill on the next project.

There is a difference between being confident and being cocky. I’m not saying to rub the compliments you receive in other’s faces, negatively. Reflect on compliments in private, and acknowledge your own personal strengths and gifts.

Small, Kind Gestures Go a Long Way

You know those little favors someone will randomly surprise you with –that helps make your day a little bit brighter? Those little acts of appreciation and kindness are, unfortunately, under-used. Little details are often overlooked: not necessarily on purpose but because in this constant world of busy-ness. These little things help others understand how much you care. It’s things like that, when they aren’t done we don’t necessarily miss, but when they are done it seems so simple, yet greatly appreciated.

Rick Hanson, author of Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science Of Contentment, Calm and Confidence, tells The Huffington Post,

“The way to "hardwire happiness" into the brain, then, is to take in the good -- being present to life's tiny, joyful moments. Lingering on the positive improves the encoding of passing mental states into lasting neural traits. That’s the key here: we’re trying to get the good stuff into us. And that means turning our passing positive experiences into lasting emotional memories.”

Below is a list of things to consider trying to incorporate into your personal/business habits. Not only to let another person know how much you care or appreciate them, but to feel good yourself as well. Spreading kindness should and can be a never-ending cycle.

      1. Send thank you cards. Hand written.

      2. Reach out to mentors when something they have taught you, helps you overcome an obstacle.

      3. Compliment others: strangers, clients, co-workers, friends and family.

      4. Practice manners. Always. Because of how busy we all are in our own lives, please, thank-you

          and holding the door open have become a rarity.

      5. With a smile say, ‘Hello’ to a passing stranger.

      6. Shake a hand. Give a hug. Say, ‘I love you’.

      7.  Teach someone, something.

      8.  Let someone out ahead in traffic.

      9. When in-line at the store, let someone with lesser items ahead of you.

    10. Offer your seat for someone that needs it more than you.