Dance Parties and Peer Support
I once had a co-worker who would host dance parties in her office in the middle of the day. She’d declare it was dance party time, and anyone who was interested would head to her office for some music and laughs. Honestly, I loved these moments. There was something about the quick dose of joy that made me feel like I worked with the best people at the best office. And, there was something about my co-worker who would invite us in; she seemed to understand that the dose of joy was necessary and a bit of dancing would deliver it.
It’s widely known that your experience at work improves when you have co-workers you connect with on a personal level, and I think these dance parties created that for many of us. Having a moment that wasn’t about work created a sense of ease, even if for just a few minutes. At the time, I worked at an organization that provided crisis line services and medical advocacy for survivors of sexual violence, which meant that 24/7, multiple people were available to drop whatever they were doing and respond to a crisis. Dropping what I was doing to dance and laugh with my co-workers was always a nice alternative.
One of the six principles of the trauma informed approach is Peer Support, which is all about finding opportunities to connect co-workers to each other so they can rely on and learn from each other.
Peer Support can happen both informally and formally, and building it into your team takes intention. When we experience Peer Support, we know we’re not alone in our struggles, and we also gain a sense of ownership that our contributions are connected to our co-workers’ success. One of the things that happens when Peer Support is built into a team is that we also begin to learn the strengths and skills of those we work with. This can motivate us to ask for help because we understand that getting support moves the work along and leads to our own development.
Of course, it’s a beautiful thing when Peer Support occurs organically at work, which often has to do with the individuals in the group and a bit of luck. We can’t rely on these unique moments to happen on their own, and supervisors have a unique role to play in creating opportunities to connect with co-workers. First and foremost, building authentic relationships with everyone you work with helps you know individuals’ strengths and what they may want to share with others. Taking the time to learn about those you supervise and sharing a bit of yourself can go along way. When you model asking for help and elevating others’ strengths, your co-workers may begin to do the same thing (or at least know they work somewhere where this is okay). Supervisors and leaders often set the tone.
Here are a few other suggestions to demonstrate and build Peer Support in your team:
Create a buddy system for new employees so they’re assigned to a co-worker who isn’t their supervisor. At one of my interim jobs, the team did this for all new employees, and it was the buddy’s job to make sure the new employee met every person on the team; buddies would answer their questions after a staff meeting; and train the new person about any work and culture dynamics that they observed. It did take plenty of work from the buddy, but everyone took a turn and understood its value.
As part of on-boarding, ask new employees to share a bit about themselves on a shared document. At one job, we called this the Appreciation List, and we asked about favorite things like snacks and colors, music preferences, and hobbies. Because we could all see the Appreciation List, we could learn about each other and make connections about interests we shared. It also allowed me as a supervisor to pick up a co-worker’s favorite treat when I wanted to appreciate them for their good work or when I noticed they were having a hard time. If you create this tool, remember that not everyone wants to share personal things at work and leave room to make choices about what’s shared.
Create projects that can be done in small groups so that folks work together as they develop new skills. Examples are projects like asking two people to present a new training at a staff meeting or soliciting co-workers to partner with the board on the annual event. Not only does this advance your work, but it also increases relationships and allows people to step out of their comfort zone with the help of a peer.
When it makes sense, form ad hoc committees to evaluate, research, and/or draft recommendations for the bigger team. This could be something like asking a small group of case managers to update your program’s intake paperwork. Make sure they know what decisions are theirs to make and let them truly lead the process.
Developing a sense of Peer Support makes a big difference in our experiences at work. When we’re lucky, it happens organically and leads to trust and collaboration across the team. All supervisors have a role to play in increasing connections between co-workers and helping everyone feel able to ask for help, rely on each other, and hopefully have a bit of fun along the way.
