How rituals boost productivity and engagement – even for a company of one.
When I opened my first business, I rented a small office space above a store on Lakeshore Rd. My dog would come to work with me, and we’d often go for midday walks to the park by the lake to eat lunch outside.
In the summer, the large picnic sites were claimed by company picnics almost every day. They’d put up banners and balloons, fire up the grill, and take time to relax together.
In my tiny little company of one person (and one dog), our daily walk turned into a running joke. I used to tell everyone that my workplace was so awesome, we had company picnics every single day, all summer long!
Looking back, the real punchline is that my little lunchtime ritual had hidden power. My “picnics” not only made the workday more enjoyable, they helped me reset and come back sharper.
Why Rituals Matter at Work
“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” – John Dryden
Simple daily rituals (like a lunchtime walk, a morning tea break, or tidying up at the end of the day) help keep us calm and grounded. They give us familiar patterns to follow – some structure in a small business environment that can otherwise feel loose and unstructured.
If habits are what we do on autopilot, with no conscious thought, our daily rituals have intention behind them. They serve a purpose. Habits are unconscious; rituals are done on purpose, either alone or as a team. And because our daily or weekly rituals are intentional, they can be the best place to start to create real, sustainable behaviour change.
How Rituals Build Culture
As a leader of a company, you might have team rituals you lead or nurture as well. These are the things that give your company its unique personality. Maybe it’s the way you run your daily huddle, the way you start or close a meeting, a fun weekly treat in the break room… They’re the little things that signal to everyone that they’re on the same team.
Leaning into team rituals can inspire behaviour change. A company that gives a silly prize for the best mistake every week will learn and grow more quickly than one that won’t talk about anything that went wrong. A team that closes each meeting with a personal shout-out to an individual who went above and beyond will see more consistent effort.
Implementing team rituals may feel awkward, but research shows that teams with shared rituals (even simple ones) report finding more meaning in their work.
It’s worth pushing through the awkward phase of performing something new until it becomes part of the culture, a company-wide fixture that helps keep everyone calm, focused, and aligned.
And as the ritual becomes routine, you’ll notice better habits emerge as well.
This Week’s Takeaway
It’s hard to change a habit. Instead, start with an intentional ritual – even one that feels silly.
Daily, weekly, or seasonal rituals can unite a team and inspire different behaviours and actions.
Whether you’re a large company taking over the local park, or a team of one (plus a very good dog), building team rituals leads naturally to better habits and better days.
What’s one ritual you can introduce this week to help your team feel more connected over the summer?
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