What if I told you that in one month from now you could have dramatically improved happiness and employee engagement within your agency? You’d probably be skeptical. Especially since with the new administration, there’s been a wide range of responses to federal employees and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to remain 100% positive and engaged.

What if I told you it doesn’t matter where you are in the agency or whether you are in a leadership role – that in less than 10 minutes a day for 20 days – you would see a drastic improvement in the positivity and employee engagement around you? Not only that of the people you work with – but also your own. You’d probably still be skeptical. I get it. But how about we try it for 20 days and see what happens.

This calendar is an actionable schedule of activities to take to increase happiness and engagement.  Also, I’ll be running a small group on Facebook to offer support and encouragement. You can sign up for the Facebook group by liking our page here. Also, follow me @DanaESims_IOpsy with #happinessatwork

There’s 5 things you’ll need to do once a week. The key is to be genuine in each of these and to engage a wide range of people. 5 different types of people that is.

So let’s get into the specifics!

5 things to do to improve happiness at work

Give positive feedback.

Think of one thing someone did well that day. Tell them. Tell their manager. This is best done verbally, but you can write an email too if need be. It can be as simple as, “Your presentation today was really helpful. I plan to implement one of your ideas.” Be specific about what they did and the impact it had on you, the team, or the agency.

Write a thank you note.

Think of something that someone has done for you or your team, and then put your appreciation down on paper. I mean it. Put it on some physical piece of paper. It can be an actual thank you card or just a printed piece of paper with your signature. Again, be specific about what your appreciate and mention its impact. For example, “Thank you for always taking time to answer my questions. I’ve learned so much from you and hope I will be able to pass that knowledge on to others as they come onboard.”

Mention something positive.

It can be in any conversation that day at work. Ideally the person you are complimenting is not part of the conversation. Think of it as a little engagement or positivity seed you are planting. Again, something simple like, “I’m always impressed by the quality of work Sam submits.” You don’t have to gush about the person, just a simple compliment and move on.

Ask for advice.

Mention something you’ve been working on or a challenge you’ve been thinking about. Ask them how they’d handle it if they were in your situation. By asking them for advice, you are telling them that you trust their opinion. You’re also admitting you don’t know everything. And, best of all you may get an idea you hadn’t even considered.

Offer to help.

This one will be tougher and take a bit more time. It will be tougher because people aren’t used to letting someone help them, or believing the other person is serious. Remember, you really have to do whatever they ask you to do. Here’s some phrasing you might use, “What can I do to help?” Or “Let me take care of something for you. What would be helpful?” Or, if they decline, ask if you can go get them a cup of coffee or just listen to whatever they have going on.

That’s it. Simple right? Now, the key to this working is to have a variety of people engaged.

I recommend you engage someone different each week from:

  • Your team
  • Your department
  • Outside your team
  • A support or administrative position

At the end, you with have interacted with 20 different people in a way that encourages employee engagement and increased your own happiness.

Join our 20-day happiness at work challenge!

There’s 3 ways you can share your experiences!

  1. Join our Fedability group on Facebook to give daily encouragement and talk about how things are going.
  2. Follow us on Twitter @DanaESims_IOpsy with #happieratwork
  3. Add comments below!

Ready to start Day 1 of the happiness challenge? Why not give some positive feedback?