What is Joy at Work?

Written by Roxanne Brown

We see Joy at Work as this…an employee’s willingness to:

Commit, Participate, be Accountable
Trust
Belong and act with Cohesion
Adapt and Grow
Demonstrate Respect
Act with Integrity

Joy at Work exists when…

1. The company, leaders, and managers continually cultivate the environment and extend the invitation to employees to contribute in this way.
2. Employees constantly accept the invitation.

From this definition, you can see that Joy at Work is a two-way street. It’s not solely the company’s responsibility or the leader's or manager’s responsibility. But it’s also not solely the responsibility of the employee. All have a role in Joy at Work.

You’ll also notice that we use the words cultivate, constantly, and continuously. That’s purposeful as well. That’s because we know that you don’t achieve Joy at Work, and you’re done. It’s not a goal or ultimate destination. It’s something that must be cared for deliberately, and intentionally.

That said, we know this takes energy and we know humans are a moody species. Every day is not going to be a great day. Even so, there’s a way to have a bad day or a bad time and still cultivate Joy at Work. We know it's worth the energy.

Joy at Work is not rainbows and unicorns. It’s not a façade of happiness. It does no good to have fun events, foosball tables, or trendy office space if people don’t feel they belong.

Joy at Work is about what supports people to thrive the most at work, together, individually, through good times and difficult times.