After the seventh snowstorm in seven weeks, people in Denver, Colorado are beginning to feel that Mother Nature must have been looking for Buffalo or Minneapolis, but got lost. People here just aren’t used to having three feet of snow piling up on their patios, driveways and streets for almost two full months. Even children, who usually greet each snowflake with glee, now look at the piles of leftover porridge with something akin to disgust. “Is spring coming back?” a despondent ten-year-old boy was heard wailing. (It was easy to listen to her, she is my daughter.)

The reason for Denver’s collective unhappiness is that the city traditionally enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year. During the winter months, the snow will appear for a day, leave maybe four or six inches of white, enough to make everything look beautiful, then gracefully depart, like the perfect guest who never stays longer than expected. The sun returns the next morning and immediately begins the cleanup; the snow is gone from the streets and sidewalks by noon.
Not this year. And as a result, Denverites are having a hard time keeping their morale from melting, like icicles are supposed to. Businesses in Denver felt the freeze keenly. Airlines, real estate agents, retailers and office giants are feeling the impact of the snow on morale. But the good news is that some of these same companies have added a little humor to their workplace to get morale back where it should be.

What does the heavier-than-normal snow and resulting Colorado attitudes have to do with you? you ask as you sip your fat-free decaf latte in front of a cozy fireplace while eating a biscotti. (Oh…I guess that’s ME with the mocha.) The point is that businesses in Denver have to deal with low morale and are forced to think creatively about how to motivate their people in the face of unusual circumstances. If these companies can increase the sun deprivation attitudes of people in Denver with some positive and fun techniques, these ideas will work anywhere, even in Buffalo and Minneapolis.

No, these companies are not doing everything that GoDaddy.com is apparently doing for their marketing department. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the GoDaddy commercials that first aired during the last two Super Bowls.)

What they are doing is using humor in the workplace to spice things up and give their employees a reason to enjoy coming to the office. For example, one of my consulting clients passes a “garden gnome”. Yes, a ceramic figurine of a sprightly elf sporting a tall, pointed hat, beard, chubby cheeks and all, designed to decorate one’s garden. The garden gnome signifies that a person in the office has done an exceptionally good job on something that day. And that something doesn’t necessarily have to be directly related to meeting a sales target or other business measure. It can be as simple as smiling at someone in the hallway or cleaning the refrigerator in the office kitchen. When you see someone in the company doing something that makes a difference, you join the group of office gnomes. Strips of paper detailing the good deeds are placed in a box, and at a designated time, a winner is chosen. The winner gets to keep the office gnome at her desk for the day.

I know that winning an office gnome for a day doesn’t sound as exciting as, say, winning a new car, but the point is that with this simple gesture, the company has invested each of its employees with the responsibility of recognizing those who make a difference in the daily business of the office. By recognizing others who choose to make their workplace more liveable and lively, they also begin to assess their own attitudes toward work. Employees begin to appreciate that others who invest in “positive attitude capital” raise the value of their workplace for everyone, not just themselves. As the garden gnome travels, it conveys a sense of pride to its temporary owner which translates into a positive benefit for the company. That’s a lot of work for a little elf!

The different ideas that other companies use to raise positive attitude capital are both big and small, cheap or more expensive. Some of the people who work at the counter at the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles wear clown noses when they first interact with customers to generate laughter. It’s hard to be snippy with your DMV agent when he’s wearing a round, red, glowing bubble on his nose. Another company intentionally brings customers the wrong order when they come to pick up their product. Usually the order is the exact opposite of what the customer wanted. When the customer starts to get angry, the company rep laughs and says, “April Fools,” even though it’s only February. (The woman doing this technique is brilliant in her own way. She is taking responsibility for her own happiness and taking steps to make it happen. Can you say the same for yourself?)

Another of my corporate clients has employees celebrating their birthday who use a special sign that proclaims their birthday. Because of the sign, other workers know to give the birthday boy or girl a dollar. At the end of the day, the honoree has raised enough money for a nice night out or a week of mocha lattes. All employees gladly participate because they know that when their time comes, they will receive many happy birthday wishes, as well as a large amount of cash.
Other ideas:

• Monthly visit of chair masseuses
• Monthly visit from a manicurist
• Weekly donuts and donuts
• Random delivery of cookies to certain employees
• Lunch with the department head.
• Free parking for one month.
• Take the kids to work day
• birthday balloons
• Reward certificates to take the afternoon off

These are all simple things that companies can do to liven up their workers’ days. Large companies often set up exercise rooms or daycare centers for the benefit of their employees. Maybe they’ll send a special employee for a week’s worth of spa treatment. But the point is not in how much is spent. The important thing is what the employee takes and then turns around and returns.

It’s all part of the same plan: invest in making the workplace a positive and appreciative place and watch morale rise. As morale improves, turnover falls and productivity rises. Smart companies know that bosses and employees are all in this together. Those who work together to raise positive attitude capital can endure even the longest winter of all.