But they should be
I walked into the break room Wednesday morning to grab a mask (I work at a medical center where masks are still required) when I noticed a box of donuts on the table with a note. The note announced one of my coworkers to be pregnant, so donuts were brought in to celebrate.
This might not seem like a big deal, but these small gestures are everywhere at the office in which I work — Bryan Health Advancement — and I noticed them from the very beginning of my employment nearly four months ago.
On my first day at work, breakfast pizza and coffee were ordered for the whole office, including gluten-free pizza for yours truly, to celebrate my start date at Bryan Health, along with two other colleagues who began that day as well. It was only a few days later that I was taken out for lunch, again to celebrate the three newbies.
It was all great, but I figured it was all part of welcoming new faces to the office, and there wouldn’t be much else like it afterward.
But I was wrong.
It seemed like almost every week we were celebrating something, though not everything warranted breakfast pizza or a free lunch. Still, the office is constantly ringing with “kudos” and “job well done's,” as my coworkers congratulated each other for personal and work-related successes.
“Get well soon,” “sorry for your loss” and “congratulation” cards are passed around the office regularly for various employees across the 6,000-person organization, and personal thank you notes frequently make their way around too. In fact, Bryan Health even has an initiative for leaders to write 1-2 thank you notes a month. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know very many large organizations that make thank you notes a priority.
The fact that Bryan Health focuses on building positive workplace environments, which is hard enough without also being in the healthcare industry, is hugely admirable. And I had no idea that was the kind of organization I’d be walking into on my first day.
To be honest, I don’t think I had seen a fully healthy work environment until I began working here. Sure my past workplaces celebrated a few things occasionally or brought in treats once or twice, but what many of those places were missing was just a general atmosphere of appreciation for employees. It’s the small things that have impressed me the most — the thank you's and the congratulations and even celebrating those who make the hard decision to leave for a new job. Rather than making those individuals feel bad about leaving or asking them to leave sooner than they planned, the people at Bryan Health will host miniature going away parties — nothing too fancy, but enough to thank and recognize the leaving employees for their time and talents.
That’s what a good workplace should look like. It doesn’t have to be all the bells and whistles of food and gifts and benefits (although these from time to time are good too).
What every great workplace culture does need, though, is one in which “thank you” and “good job” are part of the regular vocabulary. So many employers think investing in current employees costs way more money than it's worth, and they end up putting more money into hiring new ones instead. But in reality, all employees want is to feel appreciated.
Employers do that, and maybe they wouldn’t be constantly looking for new workers. All it costs is a few “job well done's.”
Want to work with me at Bryan Health? Alongside the awesome culture, it offers great benefits >>> https://www.bryanhealth.com/careers/.
If you apply, let them know I sent you!
*Photo via Unsplash.
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