Everyone gets stressed out sometimes, but there are ways to help your team stay positive, even when the pressure is on. Here are four tips, and some employee recognition award ideas, to help you reap the benefits of a positive mindset.
Lead the way
In order for your team to stay positive, you’ll need to lead by example. To model positivity, it’s important to:
- Frame things in a positive way. For instance, say things like “We’ll come out of this challenge having learned something valuable” and “We can’t always control our circumstances—but we can control how we react to them.”
- Keep a smile on your face.
- Focus on the good things in a tough situation instead of the negative things.
- Practice positive self-talk in front of your team. For example, “I’m a smart, capable person who can figure this out.”
- Combat stress in healthy ways, like squeezing a stress ball, lighting a candle or using an essential oil diffuser.
When your team sees you cultivating—and maintaining—a positive mindset, they’ll be encouraged to follow your lead and do the same.
Encourage happy thinking
Positivity increases the ability to think creatively, cope with challenges, and work with other people, which can benefit your team in every aspect of their jobs. Helping your team think happy thoughts even in the midst of a challenging situation doesn’t mean ignoring reality or turning a blind eye, though. It means you want them to deal with the current situation in a positive way. For example, when dealing with unhappy customers, think about how you can turn them into loyal return customers.
Reinforce your message of positive thinking with some great employee recognition awards, like a motivational calendar or crystal paperweight.
Reward positive attitudes
Many people are motivated by rewards. And employee recognition awards are a terrific way to help your mission of positivity spread across your entire team. Keep an eye out for happy, constructive attitudes, such as:
- Employees who don’t complain—even in tough situations.
- Team members who encourage their coworkers with uplifting words.
- Associates who work to figure out a problem versus giving up.
- Staff members who optimistically tackle challenges instead of immediately going to the worst-case scenario.
Make sure you have some of the best employee giveaways on hand when you notice these behaviours. Most associates would love a new dress shirt or a set of ear buds. Receiving a tangible reward encourages employees to keep up their good attitude, and it can motivate others to think and act positively.
Remember your mission
Even the most positive workplace will still have bad days. When that happens, point people back to your company’s mission: What’s the deeper motivation behind what your company does? How is your company making your customers’ lives better? Help them remember why they do what they do by printing your mission in a frame or on a plaque as a daily reminder. After all, the best employee giveaways are those that leave a lasting impression.