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Love Week At Mindvalley

Several years ago, we decided that Valentine’s Day shouldn’t just be a day for lovers – so we planned a takeover that resulted in Love Week – when everybody gets to experience some love and appreciation at the workplace. And because love and appreciation lead to happiness, it boosted our productivity dramatically.

So why shouldn’t all workplaces prioritise happiness? When you make love and care part of your company culture, you create an environment that encourages and enables employees to bond and connect with each other. Various studies have proven that friendships at work, on the contrary, boosts producvitity and company growth.

Love Week takes place the week before Valentine’s, for five days of amazing giving and receiving at the office. Each person plays a secret angel and “a human” to somebody. Before Love Week starts, everyone draws a name of someone to be secret angel to for Love Week, without revealing their identity.

Studies have shown that what correlates with happiness at work the most is the social support you receive. But it gets better. A further study finds that providing social support generates greater productivity in the long run.

Love Week is a culture that enables and encourages the act of receiving and giving social support and appreciation; it’s been the most engaging annual culture in Mindvalley that’s increased productivity and forged stronger friendships among employees in our company.

• A 2008 Gallup Consulting study concluded that employee engagement is a force that drives business outcomes, and engaged employees are more productive, profitable, customer-focused and safer.

• According to Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, 95% of people who provide no social support at work have no work engagement. True work altruists [those] are about 10X as likely to be highly engaged.

• Tom Rath, the author of the best-selling Vital Friends: The People You Can’t Afford to Live Without, found that people who have a best friend at work are seven times as likely to be engaged in their job.

• Another study by Gallup Consulting discovered that 75% of participants who had a best friend at work planned to be with their companies for at least another year.

How Does Love Week Work?

• Everyone adds their names to a hat and then each person draws out a name (at random), regardless of gender or rank. The name you draw is your Human, which makes you their Secret Angel.

• Your duty as a Secret Angel is to show love and appreciation for your Human throughout Love Week in creative, mysterious and secretive ways (check out our tips below). You do this anonymously!

• Follow Mindvalley’s updates on our Facebook page and Instagram or Twitter feed at @mindvalley!

• Show the world how much love you are spreading. Share photos of your Love Week experience on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #SpreadLoveWeek.

• Remember that while you are a Secret Angel, someone else is also being a Secret Angel to you. So you too will be receiving love and appreciation from him or her all week long :-)

• Your identity as a Secret Angel should only be revealed to your Human after Love Week ends.

Suggestions And Tips For Your Love Week

• You don’t have to spend lavish amounts to show your Human love and appreciation! It’s always the thought and effort that count. Surprise them with their favourite coffee, decorate their desk,

• While you can be generous and spend on gifts, Love Week doesn’t require cash! Create a Spotify playlist, send them empowering quotes, set up a temporary Tumblr account dedicated to them or create a customised Pinterest board of their goals and interests.

• Collaborate with other Secret Angels! Send another person to serenade, give a quick massage, deliver a gift, or recite an embarrassing poem or on your behalf.

• Can’t get your entire company to participate in Love Week? Do it just within your department or with your team.

• Bring Love Week to your community, family or a society/club that you’re part of. Love Week isn’t just for companies and even be done virtually! Just get creative and innovate ;-)

• Turn Love Week into your own personal campaign! Perform random acts of kindness to a stranger, volunteer at a local community or even show the environment some love and plant a tree a day.

• Be your own Secret Angel and make Love Week a week of self-love and appreciation for yourself – head to the spa, take an hour off to golf or treat yourself to that must-have that you’ve been eyeing for a while now.

• Remember to share photos of your Love Week experience on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all week long using the hashtag #SpreadLoveWeek.

• Check out Mindvalley’s Love Week album to see examples of what our Secret Angels were up to!