Good for Business: The Benefits of Rituals, Part 1.

• Author: Andrews, Angela

How do you design a better workplace?

Author and consultant Erica Keswin suggests starting with successful rituals--group meals, a common-area message board, a newsletter. These can create feelings of belonging and purpose, which result in a sense of psychological safety: the ability to show one's self without fear of negative consequences for self-image, status or career. And feeling safe can yield high performance, she says.

There is a physiological response when someone feels more connected, "when you can be you," Keswin explains on NCSL's "Our American States" podcast. When this happens at work, both collaboration and productivity increase by around 50%.

A ritual is more than mere habit: It has meaning and intention along with some type of regular cadence, and it goes beyond its practical purpose. Rituals don't require a large budget or even a lot of time. And they definitely exist in a legislative environment.

Providing Purpose

"In our office, the idea that we are on a mission... brings us all together and drives us to perform at optimum levels," says Martha Wigton, director of the Georgia House Budget and Research Office. "We capitalize on the inherent tension between chambers and our counterpart offices to heighten this sense of belonging and perfection."

Wigton says psychological safety is more than belonging: "It is also the ability to accept occasional mistakes and allow someone else to support and balance you professionally without feeling incapable or minimized." A firm believer in rituals, she has instituted several "designed to establish cohesiveness, foster gentle competitiveness to keep raising the bar, and recognize exceptional performance."

In our office, the idea that we are on a mission... brings us all together and drives us to perform at optimum levels.--Martha Wigton, director of the Georgia House Budget and Research Office Othni Lathram, director of Alabama's Legislative Services Agency, and Natalie Mullis, who leads the Colorado Legislative Council, both acknowledge the difficulty of maintaining rituals during the legislative session, even as they emphasize the importance of purpose and cohesion.

"There is no doubt that we do our best work as a team and that purpose and belonging foster that," Lathram says. For most state legislative staffers "a strong sense of purpose comes easily; it's too hard a path if you don't have that. The sense of belonging is harder," as the work "can be isolating." He plans regular...