The Importance of Joy in the Workplace (and how it results in constructing 1 metre cardboard staplers)

What a joy to have delved into the research about joy in the workplace!

A recent study stated that “an emotional culture of joy may foster change in team resilience” (Hartmann et al., 2019).

Joy is characterised in the study as being able share positive emotions alongside 'negative emotions' such as anger or frustration. It showed that teams that can express all spectrum of emotions, importantly including the positive ones, can help create psychological safety. Teams where joy is expressed can manage and tolerate adversity.

It makes me reflect back on my NHS days where 'away days' were a luxury and were often information dense with packed agendas. One year as a senior team we decided the team just needed a space to breathe and increase morale. We had an upcoming CQC inspection (equivalent of Ofsted) and multiple changes afoot.

We planned a yoga session, a silly awards ceremony, a building 'game' and a lighthearted tongue in cheek CQC quiz that helped us remember key info. Two of the Psychiatrists came up with ridiculous answers to each one and we laughed through the entire thing. It was such a balm for the soul! It cemented some of my relationships and I felt more connected to the team. If you can look at your colleague, through your shaking legs whilst in a very inelegant downward dog, you create a new bond! It also carried over into the coming weeks as that hilarious CQC answer came into my mind during a l-o-n-g CQC prep meeting, or I walked into the office to see someone has proudly blutacked their award certificate next to their desk, or a passing comment in the corridor referencing the away day.

It started the foundation of fun in the office. We realised we could also laugh with each other. It led to me making a giant 1 metre stapler out of cardboard at home and leaving it on the desk of a colleague who LOVED his stapler! The team manager joined in and turned up with t-shirts with the photo of the OG stapler for us to wear. In a job managing high distress, pressure and challenges, the joy and fun made it all more manageable and made us all want to be there that little bit more. We were also able to manage tricker conversations as we had build a different connection through joy.

It shouldn't be a surprise really. Work is like family. We create important relationships, some we haven't chosen but need to manage. And it is the silliness, the laughs and these joyful moments that often help us weather the rougher patches. Individual and team resilience can be built in light, joyful moments.

It can be hard to slow down, take the lunch or coffee break, to pause and have a moment that isn't task focused. This study re-highlighted for me the importance of the coffee break laughs, sharing that silly meme and senior management creating and modelling, moments and time for fun. Joy builds resilience.

So with that in mind - how will you share a small moment of joy with a colleague today? We would love to hear your stories of joy and fun in your offices and how you do this in all the big and small ways.

Here is the full article if you’d like to read more: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/job.2496