Happiness is a warm puppy. (Charles M. Schulz)
A happy office is a fun and productive place! In fact, according to the latest research from the University of Warwick, happy employees are more efficient, successful and overall work harder. Why you ask? The science behind it is pretty simple: we feel joy in our bodies because of the release of dopamine and serotonin, (two types of neurotransmitters in the brain). Both of these chemicals are heavily associated with happiness and as we all know, happiness leads to less stress and more job satisfaction. When we’re happy, coming into work is a joy, and chances are, we’ll be producing great results too.
At Sensate, happiness is our top priority! We strive to keep our team's enthusiasm up by partaking in some ‘team building’ activities every now and then. We’ve been known to hit up the local bowling center after work in order to get the fun and friendly juices flowing.
After blowing off some steam and connecting with our co-workers on a personal level, work becomes the fun part of everyday life. Infact, it seems easier and more enjoyable.
In our previous newsletter, we spoke about taking breaks during work in order to increase productivity (Oh yeah, we are still following our quest of maintaining a nutritional diet as well as taking breaks during the day). During these breaks, we planned and took part in various team building activities which helped us enjoy, connect and get a breather from work.
The best thing about team building exercises is that they can take place anywhere and there are so many activities that companies can practice to improve team morale and support. You don’t have to fill your office with jungle gyms and video games in order to evoke happy thoughts (although we certainly wouldn’t be against it).
Here are some of our favourite activities:
Puzzle Mania (we completed the Adidas superstar shoes lego set, although it was challenging, we sure got some kicks out of it)
Lunch-a-Bunch (Our version of team lunches)
Compliment(ary) -It doesn't have to be personal, even something like “Shoutout to a colleague for bringing all of us our favorite snacks'' is great, or a thank you note left on someone's desk anonymously.
Lip Sync battle (Tom Holland is a personal favourite, you can split up in groups of 3-4 and battle it out)
Scavenger Hunt Mondays (A classic team bonding game which is our personal favorite)
Team Trivial Pursuit (You can take part in this even from the comfort of your home by having an online conference call)
Escape Rooms (The Zombie Apocalypse is our go-to)
Happy Hour (Hey, if you feel like bonding over a few cold brews then go for it)
There are so many ways to connect authentically with your colleagues and we find that out of work or during breaks is when we best feel relaxed and more open to do so.
Our philosophy is: Love what you do and do what you love, and to do that, you need the people around you to be in the same mind set.
Happiness, work, teamwork, joy, productivity, all these words and behaviours start with a mind set, you need to set yourself up to be happy, you and only you can tell yourself how to feel and what you want to get out of the day, work, friendships… be kind to yourself, appreciate yourself, make friends at work, Harvard Women’s Health Watch released a study revealing that strong social connections can improve health and increase longevity, so why not live a happy long life, if it’s in your hands to do so…
Happy friendly summer y’all.
