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This Valentine’s Day – How will you show love for your colleagues?

ByKirsten Hill |NewsCreativeFundraising |12 February 2019

With it being Valentine’s Day this week, I sat down to write a blog about loving and caring for your supporters, explaining how important this is to the long-term development of ongoing supporter relations. As much as I think this is vital, I also found myself wondering whether the importance of loving and caring for others must also start a bit closer to home. 

What about those that I work with on a daily basis?

It dawned on me that loving your colleagues and co-workers is just as important as loving your supporters. In fact, having positive relationships with your co-workers may even have a knock-on effect, contributing to a positive impact on your relationships with supporters in the longer term.  

Why is it important to love your colleagues?

Love (I’m not talking about an office romance!!) can be shown in the workplace in a variety of ways such as through friendship, gratitude, support and appreciation. These simple ways of showing love to your colleagues can go a long way to creating a positive atmosphere in the workplace.

As research by Army Colonel Joe Ricciardi describes, love at work is commonly demonstrated in three key areas:

  • Intimacy – Being authentic and genuine in knowing and caring about the lives of your colleagues
  • Passion – Being enthusiastic and energetic about the organisation and your work
  • Commitment – Being dedicated to the well-being of others and to what you can achieve together

Showing love to your colleagues can therefore help develop and improve relationships within both a small team and an entire organisation.

Loving your colleagues can also help improve productivity within the workplace because you are more likely to find yourself working alongside one another, rather than in opposition.

We all know the saying that “a problem shared is a problem halved”, so if people are able to work more collaboratively to achieve common goals this is likely to mean that some tasks are completed more quickly.  This in turn, may enable people to have more time to commit to doing other things that they care about e.g. getting involved with charity work themselves.   

Similarly, if you are showing love to your colleagues and working alongside them, this can also reduce stress and increase happiness in the workplace as people know that they can rely on help and support from others in their team, if needed. A happier team may even result in more positive interactions with people outside your organisation (i.e. supporters).

6 ways to show love to your colleagues:

Valentine’s Day provides us with the perfect opportunity to “share the love” that little bit more at work. Here are a few tips on how to spread the love amongst your team this Valentine’s Day (and beyond):

  1. Offer them help: If you can see that one of your colleagues is struggling, why not offer them some help? This shows them that you care, and you are happy to help (assuming you have the time/capacity of course)
  2. Show an interest in them: Take genuine notice of your colleagues and ask them about themselves (without prying too much!!), this will enable you to develop a connection with them and shows them that you care
  3. Do something nice for them: Be aware of when your colleagues might appreciate a helping hand. If you are going to the shop ask them if they need something, offer to make them a cup of tea, or just give them a smile. These simple actions can have a huge impact on your relationships with your colleagues
  4. Say thank you - If your colleagues help you with a task, don’t be afraid to show that you appreciated the help.  This shows that you are genuinely grateful and value your co-worker’s support
  5. Always be genuine: Show that you are an honest person who empathises with those around you. This may encourage your colleagues to interact and build a relationship with you
  6. Take an interest – Show that you are genuinely interested in the work your colleagues are doing and praise them when you see something to be celebrated!  An office culture can soon shift from being negative to positive by simply starting to notice and celebrate the good things!

Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to show love to your colleagues, however, showing it shouldn’t just be for one day, it is important to maintain this all year round. Take the time to appreciate those around you and to be grateful for what they do within the organisation.

How will you show love in your workplace this Valentine’s Day and for the year ahead?

 

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