In a time of economic doubt and hardship, we have been blessed at Life Strategies to be busier than ever. In working for a company with diverse abilities and interests we have been able to adjust where necessary to expand our services and keep working.
We have more than 30+ projects on the go; core members of our team have a hand in almost every one. This keeps us quite occupied and working many hours of overtime; fortunately we are also able to play hard. Some of the things we do together, as a team, to reward ourselves for hard work include:
1. Lunches “out” – this also serves as a great way to catch up. Especially when our core team works remotely most of the time
2. Lunches “in” – a potluck is a great way to spice up a project update discussion
3. Pedicures – a day at the spa is just the way to reenergize your mind and relax from stresses
4. Day trips – we once spent a whole working day at the Titanic exhibit
5. “Ticky” contests – when we have a lot of projects on our plate we give ourselves a tick for each task (or chunks of smaller tasks). After a couple of weeks, the team member with the most “tickies” wins a prize – this works really well to move small stuff forward but also for the competitive members of our team
6. Charity events – each year we participate in several charity events (e.g., Bowl for Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Langley), which is a great way to get the whole team together to have some fun
Playing hard keeps us engaged. “An engaged employee is more likely to commit the time and energy to help an organization succeed – and also to recommend the organization to others, both potential employees and customers. Perhaps most importantly, engagement has been linked to productivity[1].” What also works with taking time out during busy times to reenergize, relax, and to have fun together as a team is that it gives us a break from the “daily grind.” We are able to go back to work and dive into projects with a renewed energy to them.
We have more than 30+ projects on the go; core members of our team have a hand in almost every one. This keeps us quite occupied and working many hours of overtime; fortunately we are also able to play hard. Some of the things we do together, as a team, to reward ourselves for hard work include:
1. Lunches “out” – this also serves as a great way to catch up. Especially when our core team works remotely most of the time
2. Lunches “in” – a potluck is a great way to spice up a project update discussion
3. Pedicures – a day at the spa is just the way to reenergize your mind and relax from stresses
4. Day trips – we once spent a whole working day at the Titanic exhibit
5. “Ticky” contests – when we have a lot of projects on our plate we give ourselves a tick for each task (or chunks of smaller tasks). After a couple of weeks, the team member with the most “tickies” wins a prize – this works really well to move small stuff forward but also for the competitive members of our team
6. Charity events – each year we participate in several charity events (e.g., Bowl for Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Langley), which is a great way to get the whole team together to have some fun
Playing hard keeps us engaged. “An engaged employee is more likely to commit the time and energy to help an organization succeed – and also to recommend the organization to others, both potential employees and customers. Perhaps most importantly, engagement has been linked to productivity[1].” What also works with taking time out during busy times to reenergize, relax, and to have fun together as a team is that it gives us a break from the “daily grind.” We are able to go back to work and dive into projects with a renewed energy to them.
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