The Collective Well-Being guidelines encourage individuals to autonomously reconsider their own optimal work style from the perspectives of Team, Time, and Place. At the same time, they also encourage individuals to share their thoughts with their team members toward the creation of an environment in which the team can work in a more sustainable manner.
In this column we introduce My Instruction Manual, an activity that one team at Rakuten conducted in which members shared their personal “instruction manuals” with each other.
The me my team members can’t see that I’d like them to know
“Once in a while I’d like to receive praise from everyone.” (Team)
“I get irritable when I’m hungry, so I’d like to have at least 30 minutes for lunch before 1:00 p.m.” (Time)
“I don’t like working in the same place every day. So, depending on the day, I’ll work in a different location, like at home or the office.” (Place)
In an environment in which each person works in different surroundings, like their home or the office, it may be difficult to perceive what team members are thinking about as they work. In Rakuten’s My Instruction Manual activity, members look at the tendencies and values that they have not told the others in their team about, and share ways in which they can better do their jobs.
Spreading the me that I and everyone else knows
The Johari Window is a psychological framework used for self-analysis. It is a self-awareness tool that combines one’s own perspective and that of others. By sharing within your team aspects about yourself that you are aware of but others are not (your “hidden area”), you can expand the area of yourself that both you and the other members of your team know (your “open area”). By doing so, this activity aims to raise the level of well-being of everyone in the team. Why don’t you give it a try and see what happens?
How to conduct the My Instruction Manual activity
When your team meets, decide who will be the moderator and have each member carry out the following tasks individually.
- Select one category from among Team, Time, and Place.
- Write down a hidden or unknown aspect about yourself to disclose to the other members of your team that you’ve never shared with them before.
- Include a request that will contribute to raising the well-being level.
Once everyone has completed their individual tasks, they will share with everyone the content they prepared through the online meeting system chat function. Here is one example of what such content might look like.
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Time
My motivation drops in the afternoon, so it’s easier for me to concentrate in the morning.
→ If possible, I would like for meetings to be held in the afternoon.
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Additionally, each person should be asked to verbally explain his or her comment. Sharing and discussing each other’s tendencies and requests in this way may provide teams with ways in which to create a more comfortable working environment. Why not give it a try?