Five to Thrive Week 11

UMD’s Thriving Workplace Initiative is making the University of Maryland a great place to work by providing tools and support to foster engaged, inclusive and empowered faculty and staff across campus.

Each Monday, its Five to Thrive list offers five strategies crowdsourced from research, experts and our own UMD community to help your workplace thrive.

Want to build a Thriving Workplace? Here are this week’s tips:

• Be the change: Figure out what you can adjust to improve your workflow, team dynamics or resources—and do it. This is sound advice for supervisors and employees.
   
• Want to make someone’s day? Leave a handwritten Post-It or note on a colleague’s desk about something they are doing well, or just to say, “I’m glad you’re part of the team.”
   
• Have the courage to stop when something no longer works, even if “it’s the way we’ve always done it.” Instead, seize on ideas and feedback that can improve existing methods.
   
• Hit “reply”: Even if you don’t have an answer, acknowledge the receipt of emails, particularly if a deliverable is attached. Radio silence makes it appear the sender (or their work) is unimportant.
   
• End the week on a high note by starting the “Friday 15,” when your team meets for a cup of coffee to reflect on the week’s highlights, engage in a quick brag session and talk about weekend plans. No status updates required!

Want more tips? Visit the Thriving Workplace Resource Library or sign up for Food for Thought Friday, which delivers strategies to your inbox each week. Send an email to thrivingworkplace@umd.edu with the subject listserv to subscribe.