The seasons are changing, and so are things around the AdamsGabbert office. As you might recall, my primary job as chief happiness officer (CHO) is to give a warm, furry welcome to those delicious faces who enter the office every day, and I’m happy to report I’ve got a lot of new faces to grace with my presence!
This year, we brought on Dave Templeman as our director of staffing, Candis Crain as office manager, Nate French as our technical support specialist, Stacey Hack as our senior account executive, and Nicki Maurer as our human resources coordinator.
More peeps means more hands to scratch that hard-to-reach spot behind my ears. It also means the humans play this really fun game called musical chairs to make room for all the newbies.
I take my job as CHO very seriously because I know how important it is to keep my coworkers smiling and to make sure everyone feels like a part of the team. As a result, I’ve been sharpening my already wickedly sharp communication skills … things like excitedly wagging my tail, curiously tilting my head and lovingly looking on with my puppy-dog eyes.
My sources at Psychology Today say dogs improve your mood, make you feel loved, lower your stress and help you to be social by bringing you tasty toys and giving you full-body leans—the dog version of a bear hug. Humans in pet friendly workplaces are also “happier, … less stressed, more creative, more co-operative with each other and more productive at work.”
As a successful CHO—and good dog—I know a thing or two about spreading joy. Here are a few tricks to give your company a leg-up on workplace culture:
- Cultivate employee relationships
I’ve worked hard to connect with each new member of our team to ensure they all feel as special as I do when someone wants to have a “coaching session” over a game of fetch. - Reward employees for good performance
I always love when humans give me treats, scratches, and kind words for a job well done. - Be mindful of burnout
Outside of my strong hearing and sense of smell, I can tell when it’s been a tough day for my humans. That’s usually when I bring them a ball I found—because those always make me feel better—and curl up at their feet.
I bring pawsitive energy to the workplace each day to ensure our team has the momentum it needs to propel businesses forward. It can be a ruff job, but someone’s got to do it!
