The Art of Positivity

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

Let’s face it, things feel sort of rough at the moment. Politically the world is more unstable than ever it feels like (in my lifetime at least). There is a huge amount of illness happening at the moment, literally everyone seems to be coming down with something. It's getting dark and cold. There are still major layoffs happening, most recent of which saw 23&Me laying off 40% of their staff.

Mastering the art of positivity feels an important tactic to use right now. So in this weeks article I thought I’d try to lighten things up with some happier news of recent weeks. If we can take anything away from this edition - thinking about how you can put a smile on someones face is sometimes all that needs to be done.

Let’s go…

Starbucks bringing back the sharpie

• Whilst a smart marketing ploy in and of itself, it’s also brilliant for employer branding. Moving from printed out name tickets to hand written notes brings back a heavy sense of nostalgia and leaves room for employees to make someones day through the small detail of a smiley face next to their name, or an encouraging message to start their day.
• It also brings the company back to it’s true roots. With their company mission being “to inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time”. The act of a personal note brings back this feeling of nurturing the human spirit through intimate human touches.
• A really nice one to think about when trying to inspire your team internally - what’s the root of your mission that could add an extra touch? For Passionfruit internally, watching videos from our customers and specialists talking about their experience with us centres us in what is truly important, and motivates us each month. What would your sharpie moment be?

Check out the article here

Amount of women entering STEM fields is increasing faster than the number of men

A gorgeous one to read as despite STEM still being more male dominated, we are at least seeing an upward trend in women stepping into STEM roles. There has been a huge drive in schools and businesses to ensure that women have a clear route into STEM fields which act as a great reminder to businesses to invest in DE&I. Whilst diversity policies are often de-prioritised, it’s great to see efforts still being made to drive positive change around the world.

Article on Harman's progress here , and US stats on women in STEM

Festive spirit is upon us with Christmas lights going on

What a year it has been - but with Christmas lights on, the end of the year is in sight. I for one can’t wait to start cranking the Christmas tunes in the office. Businesses everywhere are looking to their teams for one big final push before we close out at the end of the year. At Passionfruit we are rewarding the team with an additional 2 weeks off over December to rest and recuperate ahead of a big 2025.

Now that the lights are up it’s maybe a good time to get planning a company social to go ice-skating, visit one of the local Christmas markets, or just get outside for some fresh air to see the lights!

Article of when and where to see the London lights here

Black cabs line up to drive veterans to the cenotaph for free

To celebrate the 106th anniversary of the end of WW1 (and to be fair, they do it every year), London black cabs lined up to ferry veterans back and forth from the cenotaph, for free, on remembrance Sunday.

A sweet human gesture from the London cabbies here. Celebrating a momentous day in such a beautiful way really reinstates your faith in human kind. To me this just shows that a small gesture can go a long way. Is there something you could do at work to brighten someones day, especially during tougher times?

Full article here

Haggis the Hippo of Edinburgh Zoo is lighting up TikTok and peoples hearts

This one is too cute not too include, and as an Edinburgh Uni alum who went on several trips to visit the baby pandas, this one feels close to home.

With the species being endangered it’s such an exciting moment to see a new bubba come into the world. Whilst I don’t always agree with the use of zoo’s personally, I think it’s incredible to see a species be kept alive no matter the means.

Read all about the new pygmy hippo here

Whilst mental wellbeing has been a really hot topic recently due to the world events happening, sometimes the simplest way to tackle it is by finding the beauty in the small things around the world.

My controversial opinion? Not everything needs a software, system or process in place to deal with very human matters. Sometimes just a little bit of humanity goes a long way at work to change the office mood, or impact someones day.

What can you bring into your day to day at work to bring a smile to peoples faces?