Joy at Work

Take a moment and consider a time when you worked with a group that just got stuff done. Not only was the group productive, but it was fun. Even when you were working hard, it felt light and positive. Team members felt safe to be themselves and when necessary, they felt free to ask for and receive help. The team took on challenges and spontaneously celebrated the successes of each other and the team. Researchers define a group that functions like this as having a culture of joy.

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What Does a Culture of Joy Look Like?

Research shows that joy is the most frequently expressed and felt positive emotion among work groups. That’s because joy drives action and creates the urge to become involved and be connected to others (Hartmann et al., 2021). Feelings of joy arise in safe environments and emerges when people experience a pleasant event or a moment of good fortune (Fredrickson, 2013). For example, feels of joy can arise from a cheerful or celebratory event with other people or from receiving good news (Ekman, 1992).

Research shows that individual feelings of joy will develop into a shared emotional culture of joy through repetitive group interactions, where individuals experience a range of positive emotions such as empathy, kindness, happiness, excitement, and enthusiasm. Through repetition of these positive emotions, the group will develop a set acceptable behaviors and values that provide a set of norms for group functioning.

How to Develop a Culture of Joy

Work groups that have a culture of joy are characterized by lively, positive conversations, frequent smiling, and kind and nurturing interactions. Furthermore, team members are comfortable with joking, taking on tasks with a playful spirit, and a willingness to find ways to have fun together. A formal or informal group leader plays a critical role in developing and maintaining a culture of joy. The most essential leader action to creating a culture of joy is role modeling. This might include frequent opportunities to celebrate individual and group successes. These celebrations might include creating team artifacts such as team pictures or establishing team rituals such as social gatherings that encourage cheerful interactions. One thing to keep in mind is that creating a culture of joy takes time. This is particularly true in complex environments, such as a geographically disbursed teams or where there is a lack of trust or the group is ambivalent to organizational goals.

Is it Worth It?

Knowing that creating a culture of joy is not easy and takes time, is it worth it? Here are just a few of the benefits of a creating a culture of joy:

• Repeated experiences of positive emotions allow team members to cultivate high-quality relationships (Waugh & Fredrickson, 2006).

• People feel closer together and are more likely to develop inclusive group representations such as feelings of “us” instead of “them” (Dovidio et al., 1995).

• The experience of caring practices strengthens the group’s belief in their abilities to deal with adversity and to open the group’s ability to find creative solutions (Chen et al., 2015).

• Joyful groups are more likely to build on each other’s ideas (Rhee, 2006).

• Group members are willing to reconsider strategies and actions when things change or when things go wrong, allowing them to adapt to new conditions (Stoverink et al., 2020).

During the holiday season we can plant the seeds of a culture of joy in our own work environment whether we are the informal or formal leader. Even though many of us have experienced long periods of working virtually or working under constantly changing conditions, we can take small steps in our work group. These steps don’t have to be extensive to create a positive impact on relationships. For example, small acts of showing empathy for a colleague’s personal situation can help build relationships. Perhaps, this is the season to celebrate what went right and to begin rituals that will build relationships and create a culture where we can work hard and find joy.

References

Chen, S., Westman, M., & Hobfoll, S. E. (2015). The commerce and crossover of resources: Resource conservation in the service of resilience stress and Health, 31(2), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2574

Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. L., Isen, A. M., & Lowrance, R. (1995). Group representations and intergroup bias: Positive affect, similarity, and group size. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(8), 856–865. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167295218009

Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3), 169–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939208411068

Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 47) (pp. 1–53). San Diego, CA:Elsevier.

Hartmann, S., Weiss, M., Hoegl, M., & Carmeli, A. (2021). How does an emotional culture of joy cultivate team resilience? A sociocognitive perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(3), 313-331.

Rhee, S.-Y. (2007). Group emotions and group outcomes: The role of group-member interactions. In E. A. Mannix, M. A. Neale, & C. P. Anderson (Eds.), Research on managing groups and teams. Vol. 10. Affect in groups (pp. 65–95). Oxford: Elsevier.

Stoverink, A. C., Kirkman, B. L., Mistry, S., & Rosen, B. (2020). Bouncing back together: Toward a theoretical model of work team resilience. Academy of Management Review, 45(2), 395–422. https://doi.org/10. 5465/amr.2017.0005

Waugh, C. E., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2006). Nice to know you: Positive emotions, self–other overlap, and complex understanding in the formation of a new relationship. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(2), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760500510569