Marking the most romantic day of the year in the office can be fun and harmless. However, go too far and you could end up blushing like a tomato every time you walk into the office for the rest of the year! If you are thinking about celebrating Valentine’s Day at work, check out these essential Valentine’s Day in the office dos and don’ts.
Don’ts!
Avoid giving gifts to some colleagues but not others
As Forbes advises in a feature about Valentine’s Day office blunders, giving flowers, chocolates or other gifts to certain colleagues and not to others is likely to create feelings of awkwardness in the office and could hurt people’s feelings. The morale of the story – either avoid giving gifts at all or, if you have to, give a chocolate or other small gift to all colleagues and co-workers, to mark Valentine’s Day and show appreciation towards your colleagues.
Don’t flirt just because it’s Valentine’s Day!
It might be Valentine’s Day but that doesn’t give you a golden ticket to flirt to your heart’s content! If you do have your eye on a colleague or co-worker in the office, leave the flirting to outside of the working environment when ‘expressing your interest’ would be more appropriate.
Avoid sending an anonymous Valentine’s Card and then regretting it!
It can be tempting to whip up some mischievous fun in the office by sending a colleague or co-worker an anonymous Valentine’s Card! However, what can be seen as some harmless fun can lead to issues and problems and create an awkward atmosphere in the office.
Play it safe, don’t give it to the temptation of sending someone an anonymous Valentine’s Card!
Do’s!
Keep your emotions in check
Valentine’s Day can be emotional for many reasons, some good and some not so good. You might be feeling as high as a kite because your partner popped the big question that morning, or you may be feeling dejected and low after a break-up. Whatever your Valentine’s situation might be, remember you’re at work so try and keep your emotions in check!
Have fun
Naturally you’re at work so a productive day’s work needs to be carried out in the office on Valentine’s Day. However, that doesn’t mean to say the day should go unnoticed and be void of any Valentine’s fun!
Boost staff morale and lift the spirits of the team, by taking some time away from work and playing a few fun Valentine’s Day games in the office.
Getting the office to pair up or form teams to play Valentine-themed charades or Pictionary can be a great game to play to mark the most romantic day of the year. Such games can also be great for nurturing effective teamwork and helping different teams and departments break the ice and get to know each other better.
Bring some baking into the office for everyone to enjoy
Another nice little Valentine’s touch would be to bake a cake, cookies, or cupcakes and share them out amongst co-workers in the office.
Feel the love (towards your work!)
Seize the opportunity to take some time out from usual work tasks and duties to do a brainstorming session with your team about what they love about their job.
Book the meeting room on February 14th and spend an hour or so sharing and scribbling down the highlights of the job – a fabulous way to have fun and create some positivity in the workplace on this romantic day!
Too much work and not enough play…
The light-hearted and fun nature of Valentine’s Day highlights the importance of having some banter and an element of interactivity and fun in the workplace. The age-old saying “Too much work and not enough play” is evident on days like Valentine’s Day when, yes, work needs to be carried out, but the day should also be used to help boost staff wellbeing and morale, which ultimately benefits the whole of the company.
The fun that can be had in the office on Valentine’s Day also highlights the benefits of co-working and working in open-plan shared office space like the offices at Carrwood Park.
If you’re a freelancer or remote worker determined to get out of the solitary of the home office this year by moving into stylish, interactive and conveniently-located shared office space, check out the co-working centre at Carrwood Park. Enjoy meeting like-minded and professional people, networking and even getting new business by sharing office space close to Leeds City Centre at Carrwood Park.
