10 tips for attitude at work

Being inspired by the whole topic of attitude at work, I took the time to sit down and think about what were my top 10 tips. So here they are:

My top 10 tip list of how you can influence your own or others’ attitude for better results:

Being a parent of two young boys, I’ve made a point of getting up 30mins earlier to start the day in a relaxed but organized manner. I make myself a really good cappuccino, switch on Spotify, read the headlines on the iPad of the (sports) news, check my calendar for that day and open up the curtains for bright light to start the day thinking: it’s going to be a great one! This attitude influences the entire family, which boosts my happiness in return.

After dropping the kids off at school, I reserve time for 30 minutes of ‘important’ topics to be dealt with via a telephone call. An important topic is quite often a sensitive topic that could be much better resolved during a personal conversation as opposed to the cold email contact. Furthermore, I have experienced that resolving sensitive topics straightaway in the morning will clear the path for the rest of the day.

When I enter (with a smile on my face) in the office, I greet everyone in person in the morning. I ask how he/she is doing and wish them well with the task that they are working on that day. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but you will find that a lot of colleagues will respond to you with a smile.

I try to keep an open door policy as much as I can and everyone knows that they can always step into the office. I find accessibility of senior leaders a very positive attitude and try to apply that to the organization that I work in. You will find that people will respect your time by keeping the conversations very short and it will often leave a positive advice/comment for the individual.

Working in a nice office environment contributes to a positive way of working. I’ve got lots of sports memorabilia, special adidas products, trophies or other recognitions and large family photos hanging around my office. Because we all spend more than 30% of our day in the office, you might as well surround yourself with things you like or make you feel like you are home.

Make sure that you have a group of like-minded people with a positive attitude around you. I realize that this is not always possible but, when you can, avoid people with negative attitudes. It sounds like a cliché, but a positive attitude can be contagious, and so can a negative attitude. Don’t let yourself be brought down by someone else’s bad attitude.

It’s up to me as to how I deal with work topics that occur during the day. If you look at the positive side of things, instead of the negative, you will have a much better day at work.

I leave the office the same way I entered: asking the team members about their day, thanking them for their efforts and wishing them a good evening.

I use the time to get back home to organize the next day or to clear up any outstanding topic via telephone. Being well organized is an important foundation for having a positive attitude and high productivity.

The moment I arrive home, the family takes over all the focus and positive attitudes. It’s great to listen to their stories of the day and a key question that I ask my children every day in bed before sleeping is: what did you like most about today?Their answer secures a positive memory before they close their eyes and snooze into dream land.