Founder's Desk: The week of Giving and Receiving

In the everyday grind of our jobs, when we toggle between doing, troubleshooting, fire dousing, at work and life, we sometimes take others for granted. Sometimes we forget to mention what an incredible job they have done or their impact on us, simply being themselves. 
 
So, when our Content Manager Deepthi wanted to organize a “Gratitude Week” for our all-remote all-Women team members, we gladly accepted the opportunity. 
 
And what an uplifting experience that ended up being for everyone, including us founders. We witnessed a generous outpouring of 100+ genuine messages that cherished team members for their contribution, specific help or even personality traits. 
 
Here’s a glimpse of the collective energy we experienced from these exchanges :)

Work

“Helping me with my work priority” - was the top theme expressed cross-functionally. We all work for ourselves, for our vision, but we also collaborate to help others achieve their work goals. And in that lies our shared success. Examples like “scheduling calls according to my convenience”, “solving my issues”, “helping me at short notice” displayed a profoundly collaborative and empathetic spirit. 
 
Many thanked colleagues for their time, effort, kind word & deed. But they thanked reporting managers for these and some more. Being responsible for more people than oneself is a hard job and mostly an invisible one. It was uplifting to see acts of mentorship, coaching, and qualities of openness and honesty being seen and valued. We called out leaders for providing an enabling environment for their team members to learn and grow, for believing when even the team members could not. 
 
Mentorship is a two-way street - and the reward that a good leader reaps is the blossoming of her protege, and of course, a reliable shoulder to share her loads. 
 
                                                           
 
                                                                 
 

                                        

Humanity

We thanked colleagues for being supportive, kind and understanding, picking up the load, lifting them, being a friend, helping with their emotional well being. We cannot be more proud of these wise women who are not afraid to be human first and then a professional. We are proud of those who asked for help and expressed their vulnerability during difficult situations, grounded in the trust and knowing that we all need and will be for each other. 
 
Today we know from research that an act of kindness helps not only the receiver and the giver by releasing Oxytocin. They also give those who “witness” it the same benefits. Acknowledging others in this way was also a kind act that enhanced the optimism and mood in every member of the Gratitude week.
 
                                                                       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                        

Energy

 
Laughter can heal, and we thanked many for giving us a healthy dose of that medicine when we needed it. They were the sunflowers who lifted our spirits and inspired us from the sheer strength of their personality, energy and vibes. 
 
Further, we work in service of a vision that is inherently very purposeful - of providing women professionals with meaningful choices to work flexibly. Most of our team members have returned from a career break and built their confidence and morale by working for this vision by enabling other women to find meaningful, flexible work. We have the privilege of witnessing this positive spiral of energy when our team members further speak about it.  
 
                         
 
                                                                                                                                  
 
And finally, we founders were able to express at least part of the deep Gratitude we felt for our team; for their contributions and struggles, humanness and kindness. And most of all for their resilience and strength. That frankly fuels us too. 
 
Practising Gratitude has several mental and emotional benefits, including enhancing well-being, building resilience, reducing the occurrence and intensity of negative emotions, and increasing the chance of positive ones. 
 
Having witnessed first-hand these at our Company, we intend to continue incorporating Gratitude practice in small and big ways in the future. 
 
Do you have a Gratitude practice at your Company? Tell us about it; we want to know. Send us an email at hello@flexibees.com