Happy Monday

According to TinyPrints.com co-founder Laura Ching, she keeps employees' morale up by hosting fun-filled events on Monday to start out the work week. Oh, please, that's just bribing your employees to show up.

I've been in companies where people want to be there. The way to have a fun-filled Monday is to make everyday fun-filled. Not by having balloons or clowns or Bingo games.

You can have a fun-filled day when you give your employees the opportunity to smile. When they know they're making their workplace better, they'll smile...and laugh and feel light in their spirit. Making their workplace better looks like:

• beating their old work record
• trying to find smarter ways to do work, and the authority to make some of the needed changes
• helping their teammates
• successfully helping a customer resolve a problem
• preventing a problem for a customer--internal or external customers
• finding options that make the company and a customer or supplier successful
• collaborating with others on a project that has a good chance of being recognized as important to the company, and a good chance of succeeding
• having the freedom to choose options that work for the company and their own talents, strengths and family life

So if you want people to look forward to turning off the Monday morning alarm clock next week, don't start planning a party. Start looking at the culture and the relationships your employees have. If it's done right, everyday is a fun day.