How rituals energise and motivate us

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Hello and welcome to Working It. 

I’m Emma Jacobs, standing in for Isabel Berwick.

How do you feel if I wish you a Happy New Year? Too late. I’ve done it. 

I am still clinging on to it because it sidesteps my preferred greeting: I hope this email finds you well. I know it’s impersonal and meaningless. The proliferation of memes poking fun at the preamble has only served to underline it. 

Here’s an SFW example from @TonyHoWasHere on X. His use of Edouard John Menta’s 1908 painting Pierrot’s Dream is the perfect riposte, illustrating how your email finds me.

But the alternatives leave me cold. Personalisation can feel a bit intrusive if you don’t actually know the sender. And launching straight into the meat of the message seems a bit brutal.

At work, rituals add structure to the week

I’ve been reflecting on rituals. Partly because I’m emerging from the cocoon of Christmas, a time stuffed full of them 🎄. This year, Covid prevented me from participating in a newish tradition: decorating festive biscuits with kids and friends while drinking alcohol. In my imagination the result is beautiful iced creations that any relative would be impressed to receive. In reality, they are a bonkers mess. Laid up in bed, I felt disproportionately sad to be missing out — not because I lost out on two dozen biscuits but the connection with family and community, and the way it usually augurs holiday.

But also I’ve recently read a new book on the topic, The Ritual Effect: The Transformative Power of our Everyday Actions by Michael Norton, professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School. Norton found in a survey that 96 per cent of people whose family had a “Christmas ritual spent that holiday with family” compared to about two-thirds without rituals.

The author describes rituals as “emotional catalysts” that energise and motivate us. Unlike habits, they have “emotion and meaning”. “Good habits automate us, helping us to get things done . . . Rituals animate us, enhancing and enchanting our lives.”

In work, they are important: a walk before a presentation may be a chance to rehearse and also to signify the start of something new, a shower is not just to wash away the sweat after a commute but to mark the end of the day.

During the pandemic when white-collar workers were forced home, many craved some kind of ritual. Morning meetings became a way not just to share information and curb isolation but to start the working day. Some recreated the commute by walking around the block.

In a hybrid world, rituals provide an opportunity to add structure to the working week. It’s something I’m experimenting with this new year — resolutions being another form of ritual. My evenings have a tendency to blur work and home life, leaving me feeling that I am doing neither well, but also that I never end my working day. I find long, hot baths a bit boring 🛁, and I am too knackered to exercise late at night 🏃🏻‍♀️. I’m keen to read about your non-alcoholic tips to mark the end of working day. Email your suggestions to me at [email protected]

This week on the Working It podcast

There is so much material out there about productivity, and a lot of it retreads the same ground. That’s why it’s such a joy to hear from a productivity expert with something new to say — and this week, we have two.

Ali Abdaal is a former doctor whose productivity philosophy is all about putting joy at the centre of working life. It’s rigorously researched, practical, and, light — a lovely antidote to hustle culture. Ali is joined on the podcast by Marc Zao-Sanders, who explains how “timeboxing” — dividing your day into discrete blocks and nailing down tasks in each one — can help you do more of the stuff that matters, both in work and outside it. Listen to their timely advice here.

Five top stories from the world of work

1. Can schedule send save us from out-of-hours emails?: As the boundaries between work and leisure time become more porous many workers are turning to hacks to allow them to work more flexibly. The schedule-send function to time the arrival of emails is one such workaround. But even its biggest fans acknowledge it is an imperfect fix, writes Bethan Staton.

2. When CEOs should ditch the ‘PR polish’: At a time when business communications are carefully managed, chief executives recognise there can be much to gain from a straight-talking approach. But Oliver Balch reports on the pitfalls of this and finds that transparency is not always straightforward.

3. Are you paying attention? Try these hacks to stop distraction: Grace Lordan is an associate professor at the London School of Economics. She is also an economist and a labour market expert, specialising in leadership, the future of work and productivity through diversity. In this article, she shares her tips on how to be more focused.

4. Workplace friendships should be encouraged not policed: Catching up with colleagues can come as a relief after festive holidays with relatives. Friendships improve workplace communication, productivity and staff retention, research suggests, and bonds between colleagues have risen with the onset of hybrid working. Lex has found research to support this view.

5. ‘All parties had a role to play’: Britain’s MPs admit failure over Post Office scandal: The Post Office was a workplace where trust was clearly absent. The Horizon scandal has ruined hundreds of lives and this article documents the mis-steps over two decades and from 17 ministers from all political parties responsible for the post office over that period.

A word from readers

My column this week on the challenge of Gen Z slang for bosses, elicited some interesting comments from readers — I’ll sidestep the one who wrote “This whole article is CRINGE”. I’m interested in whether generations misunderstand each other in the workplace. One reader wrote, “Isn’t it funny how age is the one diversity factor that Gen Z thinks it is OK to laugh at. WTAF”. While Princess HonHon says: “The workplace doesn’t have to really adapt to their language change. It may seem unfair extra burden, but it should be the young person learning how to communicate effectively across people and situations that is the key.” Manila Yankee puts it more forcefully: “The problem with youth today is self-absorption, lack of empathy, fragile egos and default mode of putting themselves first.”

A Terron suggests older workers should brush up on changing language, just like that denizen of hipsters, the United Nations because “every language on earth changes”.

Intergenerational (mis) understanding is a theme I’d love to explore more this year. Please email your thoughts at [email protected]

Thanks for reading and have an excellent week, Emma.