Like so many across the country, we’re enchanted with the Scandinavian concept of hygge — delighting in simple pleasures and curating “cozy.” It might be the Minnesotan in us, but we’re inspired to share our little bits of office hygge with you in a short blog series. Enjoy our latest installment!
As virtual work teams and environments are gaining in popularity, at Lilja we find peace and inspiration in a shared and comfortable workspace with mostly private offices. I like to say that we are the perfect office for introverts — which many of us are.
Though we work collaboratively on client projects, we book long stretches of time alone at our desks, editing or writing copy and social media posts, developing communications plans and strategy, and designing client materials and books. The quiet environment at Lilja helps us do good work — work that comes from the depth of our experiences and stretches us to refine our skills and expand our expertise.
In the midst of even the busiest workdays, though, we surface in short bursts. Someone will post a cartoon or a provocative news story to Slack, our interoffice communications platform. You will hear a roar of laughter from across the office or a groan, depending on the subject matter.
If something’s really funny, more bursts of laughter erupt from several offices. So you surface to see what provoked it.
On the spot, we leave our offices to gather and share laughter or reflect on the story that’s been shared — what it means for us, for our country, for our work together. We help ourselves to a cup of tea or a glass of water and return to our desks, refreshed and recharged.
And then we’re back to it, heads down, focused on the work matter at hand — but enlivened by the interaction.
It reminds us we are a team, we don’t work alone, and each shared moment matters.
These are hygge moments in our workdays.