It’s been a long year and nerves can get frazzled on the run up to the holiday season. That final push to get x, y and z done before the holidays can be that one step too far.

Whether you work in a physical team or spend most of your time working virtually, there are things that you can do to maintain levels of positivity in order to finish the year strong.

Studies show that organisational leaders who share positive emotions have workgroups with:

• a more positive mood
• enhanced job satisfaction
• greater engagement
• improved performance.

What differentiates positive leaders from the rest?

Instead of being concerned with what they can get out of their employees, positive leaders search for opportunities to invest in everyone who works for them. They view each interaction with another person as an opportunity to increase his or her positive emotion.

A physical gift of vouchers, or a bottle of champagne are great, but I don’t think that they can beat these 5 gifts that you can give to your colleagues to maintain a positive attitude, keep them engaged and finish the year strong.

1. The Gift of Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a simple and effective way to lay the foundations of a good working environment, it helps colleagues know what you appreciate about them and what they should do more of, as well as leaving you both with a good feeling. 

You could write a message of positive reinforcement in a card, an email, have a phone chat or a face to face chat. Here are some prompts for you,

• I appreciate the way you…
• I’m impressed with…
• I really enjoy working with you because…
• Your team couldn’t be successful without your…
• I admire the way you take the time to…
• You’re really good at…

2. The Gift of Time. Can you provide some flexibility?

Being able to leave work early is a great benefit as the holidays approach. A shorter working day lets colleagues complete that last bit of shopping, spend more time with their loved ones and get into the festive spirit, if they wish to.

28.9% of workers said that an early finish would be the best thing their employer could give them this festive season.

If it’s workable, try to provide this. You could create a schedule throughout December, allowing you to plan for a few employees taking early finishes each day. 

3. The Gift of Permission 

It helps to foster a positive working environment when colleagues are free to decorate their own desk space to help creativity flow more freely. It also helps your colleagues to feel more at home in their working environment and comfortable with their surroundings. 

If you work virtually don’t think you don’t need to join in, but it’s surprising how a few festive ornaments can shift your mood.

Encourage your employees to celebrate the holidays (or not) in the way that works for them. Don’t cast judgement if a colleague doesn’t celebrate in the way you do, if at all.

4. The Gift of Reflection

Have an end of year team meeting discussing what you think some of the successes of the year have been. This shares nothing but positivity and you should encourage others to do the same! If you have the opportunity to go off site and review your year it can be a good space to refresh, decompress and make plans, however a video call can work just as well. The format could be as simple as asking what we will ‘Stop, Start and Continue doing in the year to come and Why?’

5. The Gift of Space 

Whether it’s sorting your email inbox, unsubscribing from unwanted newsletters, reviewing your magazine subscriptions or archiving those old files, this is a great time to do it. Giving your colleagues space to do their work housekeeping can be rejuvenating and means that they will start the New Year feeling lighter and ready to go.

What other gifts might you add to this list? Let me know. Here are some further resources to help you below:

Resources 

30 Day #ReviewYourYear Challenge – I recorded this 30-day series of one-minute videos at the end of last year. They provide a question per day in which to review your year. It’s an opportunity for you to reflect on your year more deeply. You may want to have your diary or calendar with you to jog your memory. We recommend that you write your reflections down in a journal and then review your responses to help you plan for the coming year. 

EVENT – Check out our Retreats  – A 2 day retreat designed for busy working women, employed or running your own business. We will deep dive into your year and craft a plan for your year ahead.

RESOURCE – Capture your successes in the Happenista Journal– Get your hands on an exclusive A5 Happenista Journal, to compliment your goal setting, keep you on track to Make Things Happen your own unique way, and capture how you did it!!

Online Programmes – Three programmes guaranteed to increase your positivity. This 12 part course is for women who want to create the life they’ve dreamed of, their way. It will help you to grow and develop your skills and challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and take action. You simply need to commit 10 minutes a day or an hour a week and have an open mind. Step One, Step Two, Step Three

TED Talk – The new era of positive psychology Martin Seligman  [23 mins]​

BOOK – Little book of Positivity