Morale informs your team’s confidence, enthusiasm and discipline. Morale is the energetic context within which they get the work done.
Let’s say you look around your office and it’s feeling a bit sluggish, meh or ho hum. How can you quickly change that energy force field?
Surprise your team and put on some music.
Depending on the experience and emotion you’re wanting to generate, consider any of these tunes from my recommended playlist:
- Instill confidence:
- We Are the Champions by Queen
- Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
- All Star by Smash Mouth
- Respect by Aretha Franklin
- Stress reduction, kindred spirit, warm fuzzy goodness:
- What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
- Imagine by John Lennon
- Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
- Feeling Good by Nina Simone
- Courage to overcome obstacles:
- All You Need is Love by the Beatles
- Wavin’ Flag by K’Naan
- Waka Waka by Shakira
- Gonna Fly Now (by Bill Conti, theme song from original “Rocky” movie)
Consider, everyone could belt out the song at top of their lungs, participate in a destress dance fest or shimmy in a conga line. Share the DJ role by creating an ongoing shared playlist.
There’s a reason they say music is medicine. Research shows music strengthens group identity, boosts social closeness and increases positive emotion by releasing endorphins and dopamine.
Talk about a panacea for workplace culture! Of course, music isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s like the Master Cleanse when you want to lose 10 pounds before going to your ex’s wedding. It does the trick.
For long term workplace culture health, you have to do the deep work. If you already have, then the music will simply help sustain your rockin’ rhythm and add some sparkles.
Ready to do the deep work? Use Culture Works as your guide. Also available on Amazon.
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Kris Boesch is the CEO and Founder of Choose People, a company that transforms company cultures, increases employee happiness and boosts the bottom-line. She is a nationally renowned speaker and workplace culture expert. Boesch is also the author of Culture Works: How to Create Happiness in the Workplace and developer of the Choose People 360° Culture Audit. Kris is also a proud mother, dancing diva and dog lover.
