What Happens When You Make “Love” Part Of Your Job Description For Five Days

February 10, 2015

808 Views

Aspire-Canada is joining Mindvalley in their Love Week Campaign 2015. Love Week: A “crazy” tradition that started in Mindvalley on Valentine’s Day four years ago is now a global movement. Mindvalley wants all companies and businesses to join them and watch how this will change your company culture in remarkable ways. We’d love it...

Aspire-Canada is joining Mindvalley in their Love Week Campaign 2015. Love Week: A “crazy” tradition that started in Mindvalley on Valentine’s Day four years ago is now a global movement. Mindvalley wants all companies and businesses to join them and watch how this will change your company culture in remarkable ways. We’d love it if you could join Love Week too!

Several years ago, Mindvalley decided that Valentine’s Day shouldn’t just be a day just for lovers with lovers – it should be an entire WEEK where everybody gets to experience a little love and appreciation at the workplace. After all, love and appreciation lead to happiness. And happiness is known to boost productivity.

“When I first started up Mindvalley, I’d always dabble in different techniques to boost productivity in the workplace,” says founder Vishen Lakhiani. “But if there is just ONE thing that I discovered creates consistent leaps in productivity, it’s this – your level of happiness at work.”

So why shouldn’t work be filled with happiness? Mindvalley started a little experiment that completely surpassed their expectations, proving just how much human beings can truly care for each other when “love” becomes a workplace game.

Love Week takes place the week before Valentine’s, during which every person participating becomes a Secret Angel to another anonymously (similar to the concept of Secret Santa). This year, it takes place from Monday, February 9th – Friday, February 13th. Mindvalley wants you to get your company to join in on this global movement. Warning – this will shift your company culture.

“Everyone gives. And everyone receives. The culture is incredibly simple yet it creates an immense, positive cultural shift in the company. And what’s even more remarkable is that the friendships and bonds continue long after Love Week ends, and in turn so do the positive boosts in productivity,” adds Vishen.

The week-long campaign will be shared across Mindvalley’s Facebook page and Instagram and Twitter feeds (@mindvalley) using the official hashtag #SpreadLoveWeek, featuring Mindvalley’s own experience of the culture as well as participating companies and teams across the planet that use the hashtag.

How Will Love Week Transform Your Company Culture and Boost Your Productivity?

Studies have shown that what correlates with happiness at work the most is the social support you receive. But it gets better. A further study finds that providing social support generates greater productivity in the long run.

Love Week is a culture that enables and encourages the act of receiving and giving social support and appreciation; it’s been the most engaging annual culture in Mindvalley that’s increased productivity and forged stronger friendships among employees in our company.

A 2008 Gallup Consulting study concluded that employee engagement is a force that drives business outcomes, and engaged employees are more productive, profitable, customer-focused and safer.

According to Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, 95% of people who provide no social support at work have no work engagement. True work altruists [those] are about 10X as likely to be highly engaged.

Tom Rath, the author of the best-selling Vital Friends: The People You Can’t Afford to Live Without, found that people who have a best friend at work are seven times as likely to be engaged in their job.

Another study by Gallup Consulting discovered that 75% of participants who had a best friend at work planned to be with their companies for at least another year.

Suggestions and Tips For Your Love Week

You don’t have to spend lavish amounts to show your Human love and appreciation! It’s always the thought and effort that count. Surprise them with their favourite coffee, decorate their desk,

While you can be generous and spend on gifts, Love Week doesn’t require cash! Create a Spotify playlist, send them empowering quotes, set up a temporary Tumblr account dedicated to them or create a customised Pinterest board of their goals and interests.

Collaborate with other Secret Angels! Send another person to serenade, give a quick massage, deliver a gift, or recite an embarrassing poem or on your behalf.

Can’t get your entire company to participate in Love Week? Do it just within your department or with your team.

Bring Love Week to your community, family or a society/club that you’re part of. Love Week isn’t just for companies and even be done virtually! Just get creative and innovate 😉

Turn Love Week into your own personal campaign! Perform random acts of kindness to a stranger, volunteer at a local community or even show the environment some love and plant a tree a day.

Be your own Secret Angel and make Love Week a week of self-love and appreciation for yourself – head to the spa, take an hour off to golf or treat yourself to that must-have that you’ve been eyeing for a while now.