Five Nordic customs inspire recognition and engagement

What do fuzzy socks, a cup of steaming cocoa, and candlelight all have in common? Often referred to in Denmark as “hygge,” they are just a few of the cozy customs that Nordic countries embrace during the winter months to boost their collective wellbeing. These customs, among others, typically land the Nordic countries in the top spots of the World Happiness Report. They may also offer inspiration for boosting your team recognition and engagement activities.

Along with hygge, here are four more Norse concepts you can adopt to thank your team while helping them to feel more resilient, grounded, and hopeful:

From Sweden
Lillördag (“Little Saturday”) is the popular notion of blowing off steam on Wednesdays. Think of it as a mid-week celebration to make a little time for some fun and down time. Ideas: Throw a lunch-time Zoom painting party or an end-of-day virtual dance party–on a Wednesday, of course.

Fika is the tasty tradition of taking a break at work or home to have a coffee or tea and, often, a sweet snack. (In fact, at work in Sweden, it’s almost a sacred ritual where employees stop for a break in the morning and in the afternoon to have fika together.) Ideas: Send a special treat to your staff members working remotely and take a virtual team break together to enjoy it. Be sure to encourage everyone to take regular breaks.

From Norway:
Friluftsliv means ‘life in fresh air.’ Getting outside and exercising is a great way to beat back the winter blues and combat cold-weather anxiety. Ideas: Invite your staff members to take a socially-distanced walking meeting together or meet over the phone while walking in nature. Doing so while it’s light out will also ensure a dose of the “sunshine vitamin” and is great for lifting the spirits.

Lagom translates to ‘not too little, not too much’ or ‘just right.’ In Sweden it represents the art of living a balanced, slower, fuss-free life. Ideas: Help to balance workloads and ease the pace of work to the extent possible. Regularly check on the wellbeing of your staff members and ask what would help them synchronize their work life with the personal life; remind them of support from Yale’s WorkLife program and childcare resources.