Work-related stress is a real thing, and it can turn the office environment toxic. There are infinite deadlines and a host of individual personal issues weighing on everyone’s mind. And the ever-increasing demands of management can in turn give birth to additional work-related stress . Employees are constantly exposed to tough situations; decisions of management can burden the tender shoulders of employees. Not only is this harmful to their mental and physical health, but it largely reflects in their work too.
Recently, I finished reading “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin. A wonderful book, it left me with a host of insightful epiphanies. Let’s start with the most obvious question – what is a Purple Cow?
A “purple cow” is something or someone that stands out! But how to be remarkable? – that’s the multi-dollar question! The book is filled with case studies, ideologies, and examples relevant to the topic. But there were some lines which really caught my attention and I have my takeaways from it –
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times” – Charles Dickens
With social distancing becoming the new norm and working from home becoming mandatory across organisations, everyone is feeling at a loss about their routines and the effect these changes will have on their productivity. However, instead of falling prey to feelings of despair and panic, a change in perception is the need of the hour!
Working from home is an alien concept for a lot of people who are suddenly finding themselves in unchartered territory and this can lead to a lot of questions in everyone’s mind. However, the hallmark of creativity is flexibility – a mindset open to challenges and opportunities, alike! Therefore, the best way to deal with these uncertain times is to take all the necessary precautions while maintaining the work flow in the best way possible. Here are a few tips to make the transition to WFH, easier –
Create A Dedicated Workspace
To get in the proper mindset, the first proper step is to ensure that you have a dedicated workspace within the four walls of your home. Choose a corner, a room – as per your convenience and available space, and mark it as your own. Keep it as clean and de-cluttered as you would your work desk back in office.
Another pro-tip to enhance productivity is to choose an area with ample sunlight for your workspace. Sunshine can instantly lift your mood up and make you feel motivated from within!
Plan It Out
Any habit takes a minimum of 21 days to take root. Thus, to get in the habit of working regularly from home, at least for the foreseeable future, building a proper time-table and sticking to it religiously is extremely important!
Plan out your day, keeping in mind that you still need to give your work a minimum of 7-8 dedicated hours, despite being at home. This routine should include your meal times, breaks, and the working hours.
Furthermore, you need to ensure that your routine doesn’t get disrupted due to any reason / distraction whatsoever. Staying at home poses a host of potential distractions that can bring your productivity down but it is up to you to weed out those distractions in the most effective manner possible.
Suit Up!
As futile as it may sound at first glance, dressing up for work even while at home has actually been known to boost productivity. This is because when you put in that extra effort to dress in formal clothes rather than comfy home clothes, you subconsciously get in the work mode and find yourself motivated to work with focus and zeal.
Working in comfortable clothes may lead you to eventually relax and slack off, over time. Of course, this rule is not set in stone and you can still find ways to be productive without don-ing your finest suits.
Take Regular Breaks
One of the easiest way to stick to your schedule is to plan timely breaks as a part of it. Planning a routine without dedicated break time may lead you to either over-work yourself to exhaustion or take unregulated breaks that will down your productivity.
Thus, it is advisable to formulate a routine that includes regular breaks and to enjoy them. Working form home gives you the advantage of utilising such breaks to indulge in your favourite pastime – whether it is a hobby or simply relaxing in your favourite chair with a hot cuppa!
Breaks can be rejuvenating and help boost productivity, if used properly. Hence, be wise with your time!
Stay In Touch With Colleagues
With social distancing disrupting most professional setups and meetings, it is easy to lose sight of the bond otherwise shared with your colleagues and find yourself isolated in the process. It is of extreme importance that you walk that extra mile to ensure that you keep in touch with your team members.
The time spent catching up with your work-friends during office hours plays a vital role in building the overall strength of the team and also helps one maintain proper work-life balance. This human touch needs to be preserved and nourished even in times of social isolation.
What serves as a silver lining is the host of available options to maintain virtual contact with people across cities and even countries. Planned video calls, catch up meetings, and shared messages are thus going to play a vital role in determining the strength of your team – both emotionally and economically.
Conclusion
These are just a few tips and tricks to help you get through what is bound to be a very different and interesting work-life setup. We look forward to hearing more innovative ideas to help boost productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance in these very unprecedented conditons.
Choosing the right corporate event theme can be tricky, yet it plays a crucial role in shaping the experience. The best themes align with company values, upcoming priorities, and workplace dynamics. Whether it’s a team offsite, a leadership summit, or an annual awards night, a well-thought-out theme ensures maximum employee engagement and team bonding.
Here are 20 impactful corporate event themes that have resonated with teams across different industries:
Vision-Driven Themes
1. “Back To The Future”
If you are going through an organizational change/digital transformation effort eyeing the future, then this is a good option. It brings alive images of sci fi, possibilities, and achieving impossible things in the future.
2. “Be Extraordinary”
This is a great option when you want to push for a change in mindset and help people develop faith in going after ambitious goals. Be can also be spelt as B.E. and a catchy acronym added (For example Belief. Execution) to drive home sub points.
3. “Beyond All Limits”
If your business has been growing at a steady pace and you are taking on an ambitious goal which is being announced at your next event, this theme is a perfect fit. It pushes people to acknowledge that the limits in our mind are the first things that need to go, to achieve the goal.
4. “Dream, Dare, Deliver!”
This is one of our all-time favourites because of the sheer versatility. It can go well in the context of aligning to a vision, courage, execution and many other such values. If you are unveiling a long term vision, then this is a great choice as the event tagline.
5. “Breaking Barriers”
If your business has been going through a tough time and the morale is low, this theme could be used to lift up spirits and unshackle mental barriers. It can also be used in the context of aiming for something which has not been done in your business or industry so far.
We have used the Domino Challenge as a powerful team building exercise linked to the same theme.
6. “Everything Counts”
There are times when the focus is on cost cutting and resource optimization. This theme is a perfect fit for those times. Our learning program, Doing more with Less is a great addon for such an event.
7. “Power of ONE“
During times of organisational change, when different departments get merged, it is important to drive home the message of common goals and vision. ‘The Power of ONE’ theme can be used to reinforce the official change process.
8. “One Team, One Goal!”
For a companywide offsite, where the messaging is around the feeling of one team and vision, this is a classic fit.
9. “Higher, Faster, Stronger!”
Inspired from the Olympics tagline, this is a great option if you work in a very competitive industry and need to inspire teams to win against competition on a daily basis.
10. “Moving To Mastery”
Achieving operational excellence and building capability is a priority now for organizations. If you are planning a functional offsite, where the participants are experts in their field (like supply chain, finance etc), moving to mastery can be a good option to consider.
Mastery needs mindfulness, and the Mandala Challenge can be used as a good team exercise in these events.
11. “Winning With Purpose”
Purpose led organisations are coming of age. Brands need to move beyond the traditional corporate metrics and make people believe in their missions.
Choosing a CSR Team Building Exercise like the Velocipede Challenge in such an event would be an engaging way to drive home this point.
12. “Play To Win”
If winning in the marketplace is in the DNA of your team, look no further for an event theme! We have seen this to be a popular choice for sales and marketing events.
13. “May the F.O.R.C.E be with you!”
Other than the super cool Star Wars reference, we love this also for its versatility! For a recent conference, we had a client use FORCE as an abbreviation to emphasize some of their key priorities (Focus, Ownership, Resilience. Collaboration, Execution).
14. “Power UP!”
If you are experiencing a phase of high growth or are planning for the same, this theme demonstrates the mindset needed to succeed. It is especially popular for events in the start-up world, where organization are scaling rapidly and planning hyper growth.
This is a great option if you are organising an event for your top performers or high potentials. And the fact that you can generate abbreviations for each letter of the two words makes it even more interesting as an option (TOP could be Teamwork, Ownership, Purpose for example).
This is one of our favourites for the simplicity and versatility of it! The C.A.N be abbreviated in different ways as per the business priorities (For example, Customer, Align, Nimble). It also sends a powerful message on the power of collective collection.
17. “Inspire, Integrate, Innovate”
If you want a theme that links purpose, innovation and collaboration across departments, then this is a superb fit! Many a times, these three themes are very interlinked and relevant for organizations while planning their annual priorities. The 3 ‘I’ format makes it easy to remember too.
Dream Team is very closely linked to the metaphors of teamwork and winning. If building a high-performance team is one of your key priorities, this would be a good choice for your next team event.
We love this one, because of the variations it can throw up. Accelerate fits beautifully also when you want to emphasize high growth rates, leaving competition behind etc.
20. “All R.I.S.E“ / “RISE Up!”
This is one of our absolute favourites! With the innumerable permutations that we can generates with RISE as an abbreviation, it can be used across industries and themes. In addition to linkages to the metaphors of lifting each other’s spirits and business ambitions, RISE can also be used to deliver sub messages (for example, Resilience, Inspire, Simplify, Execute).
Final Thoughts
The right corporate event theme can transform an ordinary event into a memorable experience. Whether you’re focusing on team bonding, employee engagement, or reinforcing organizational culture, choosing a theme that aligns with your company’s vision can significantly enhance impact.
If you have watched the movie ‘Pursuit of Happyness’, you would definitely recall the image of Chris Gardner, hauling a huge medical device – a portable bone density scanner – from one hospital to the other. He is often running between them and facing some very tough questions from potential clients.
