Surprise your colleagues for this year' s Valentine's Day. Read on for four great reasons why a small gesture on the most romantic day of the year is just the thing to boost your team spirit. We’ll help you with the perfect project management related greeting cards!
February 14 – it’s that time of year again. The most romantic day of the year is coming up. A day for couples in love and those who want to become one. Many people use this day to express their love with romantic gestures and gifts such as roses, chocolate or jewelry. Despite all the prejudices and clichés, a day full of appreciation, compliments and praise at a professional level can be just the thing! Here are four reasons why you should celebrate Valentine's Day with your colleagues, too. At the end of the post, you'll find five greeting cards for the occasion that you can use to bring joy to your teammates.
Do you know that situation, when you are just not making any progress in your project and there seems to be no end in sight? Imagine that in this situation your supervisor or perhaps another colleague comes by and praises you unsolicited for the interesting contribution you made in the last meeting. You’ll immediately feel your mood improving. You feel effective and valued, and you're confident that you'll be able to handle any upcoming tasks. Even a little casual praise can boost your motivation and increase your enthusiasm for your work. So don't be afraid to compliment your co-workers for their work. Small gestures and attentions can have a huge positive effect.
Once the point is reached at which the inhibition level to openly praise each other is lowered, it will have an effect on other areas of collaboration. A sense of community emerges that is characterized by team spirit and cohesion. In such a culture, the willingness to help others also increases, as people want to work together and not against each other. Everyone is interested in the success of the others, as the joint achievement of the project goal depends on this. Create an atmosphere in which every employee is encouraged to ask questions or ask for help.
The work day is usually packed with important meetings, strict deadlines and time-consuming customer inquiries. If an unplanned delay or a small mistake occurs, it's easy to get stressed out. It's simpler to deal with these situations when you know your team will support you in any situation. With a strong team behind you, you can face any difficult task or negative experience with much more confidence. A small helpful gesture also provides variety in the hectic workday and takes the pressure out of tense situations.
Particularly now that many employees are working remotely and the social component of work is kept to a minimum, positive feedback is very valuable. A huge challenge for remote workers is to keep up their motivation without any social interaction – particularly during this pandemic. This is why many people set up an office-like work environment at home to take the structures and atmosphere from the office home with them. Nevertheless, many struggle to find the same motivation at home as they do in the office, because the daily personal exchange with other coworkers is hard to replace. A small gesture, a few kind words or some sincere praise can help to re-establish a connection with your team. In our blog series on this topic, you can read more on how to avoid pitfalls when working from home. Motivate each other in these difficult times and keep up the team spirit with little pep talks.
Even though we believe that praise and recognition should be handled more openly in the working world, you should always make sure to keep it professional. The goal should be to create a positive feedback culture in which respectful and friendly interaction is the basis of collaboration. Sincere praise at the right moment encourages your employees to enjoy their work and perform better. However, just like cliché-laden Valentine's Day gifts, the same applies here: These gestures are more effective when they are shared regularly throughout the year rather than only once a year.
Choose a matching InLoox Valentine's Day card with a funny project management reference and put a smile on your teammates' faces. Simply download one (or all) of the free themes (right click and then save image), add your names digitally and send the greeting card via email or other messengers. Have fun and happy Valentine’s Day!
