Beauty and Wonder at Work

Over at The High Calling, they’re having a discussion about beauty and wonder in the workplace. Here’s two pieces worth reading.

First, Charity Singleton Craig looks at “creating beauty in the workplace” — and how it’s everyone’s job. She provides dozens of links to articles on the subject from The High Calling and around the web.

While brightly painted walls or sleek, modern furniture might lighten our mood and inspire creativity, investing in the people we work with, helping them to bring the best of who they are and caring about them even when they can’t, is at the heart of a beautiful workplace. Are you or someone you know feeling a little lackluster about your work environment? Before you buy a new framed print for the wall, try complimenting your cubicle mate or saying thank you to the janitor. Or start a conversation with a coworker by emailing or sharing one of the articles in our series.

And in his article, Matt Appling explores restoring wonder to our workplaces:

The workplace is the office, the cubicle, the gray space between eight o’clock and five o’clock. It’s purgatory. It’s the holding cell, shielding us from sunlight and happiness. It is meetings that squash creativity.

Studies show that the average tenure at any given job is just three to five years. Most people are not especially happy with their jobs. So it’s little wonder that the word “wonder” is usually used in the context of, “I wonder if anyone will notice if I sneak out early today.”

So, what is a person to do, someone for whom retirement is not on the horizon, but still has thirty or more years of punching the clock?

It’s time to take charge of our careers, to not just restore some order or organization, but wonder in the workplace.