My favorite value we design our work around at Ei is care. It was the first pillar of culture I was introduced to while working here, and it seemed to come so easily to the team.

We define it on our website as, “Taking time for one another even when work is pressing.” For example, I can’t count how many times I’ve come into a Zoom call harried and stressed over a project. I’ll show up, engines already firing, feeling like it’s the end of the world if I don’t meet my self-imposed deadline. But without fail, that’s when the act of care shows up, and I’m reassured and calmed. “Take a deep breath, Phoebe. You’re doing an amazing job.”

But care isn’t always about putting out fires. In the reality of our work, it shows up in both big and little ways:

• A quick energy check-in before jumping into a meeting
• Care packages sent during tough personal times
• Celebrations of each other’s full selves, like with Pride month or AAPI heritage month
• Reminders to take a break or eat lunch

And sometimes, it’s just about sharing joy with each other.

When Care Gets Lost

But joy can feel out of place at work, especially when there’s some metric to hit or deadline to meet. It feels like work really is pressing, and taking time for one another ends up falling to the wayside. I’ve been guilty of it too, as evidenced by the tornado of stress I become when I’m overwhelmed. When things get challenging, why is care often the first thing to go? For the majority of us – people like me, for instance – care isn’t the first thing we reach for in times of stress or confusion.

It’s because it’s a skill. And like any skill, you can get rusty at it if you don’t practice.

While it may not seem immediately connected to a business strategy, showing up for one another has major effects on your work. Your people, and the skills, knowledge, and experience they bring, are your business. They’re the make it or break it point. How you care for them matters. So how will you show you care?

Calling Back to the Stage…Joy!

One simple way: reintroduce joy to your work. You can plan it out, like having a celebration after a team win. Or, it can be as spontaneous and simple as encouraging a teammate to talk more about something they seem excited about.

Sometimes, you should just ask. What’s been bringing you joy lately?

For this 29th Gift, we’re practicing what we preach by giving you a little bit of our own joy – 29 pieces of it, to be exact. Some of them are silly, some sweet, some personal, but all of them are infused with care from our team.

Here are 29 things that have been bringing the folks at Ei joy lately.

1. Very specific, personalized mood mixes curated by Spotify, like this Happy Pool Party Mix | Amelia Rosenman

2. “Walk n’ talks” instead of Zoom meetings | Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom

3. Balancing out the doom-and-gloom with the What Could Go Right? podcast, which focuses on the positive progress humans are making in the world | Josh Nadzam

4. Cloudless summer evenings by the shore getting to look at a sky full of stars and “a moon that shines like a flashlight on the ocean.” | Bill Pacheco

5. Getting a great book recommendation, like Get the Picture by Bianca Bosker | Theodore Sutherland

6. The Wilton Heavy-Duty Ice Cream Scoop to make enjoying ice cream easier! | Victor Saad

7. Keeping organized with a Saint Belford Curation Planner | Sara Loncka

8. Penzy's spices. “Where else can you buy gift boxes of spices?” | Bill Fetter

9. The incredible innovation that is Souper Cubes. Never use a ziplock bag to store leftover soup again! | Erin Murphy

10. Beach time with family, soaking up the sun. | Stephanie Merello

11. The novel Day by Michael Cunningham: “It’s a fascinating portrait of a nontraditional family before, during, and after the pandemic.” | Amelia Rosenman

12. Celebrating and honoring your good health | Josh Nadzam

13. Prentis Hemphill's podcasts Finding Our Way, and Becoming the People | Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom

14. Buying an annual admissions membership for an art museum and getting to look at the art without rushing (because you can always come back) | Phoebe Sajor

15. Adventure Challenge books, especially the Family version. “Who would have ever thought to make dinner an adventure?” | Katie Crain

16. Bananas on pizzas, in the style of South Africa. “Don’t knock it til you try it!” | Erin Murphy

17. The School of Life YouTube channel that helps you learn how to live a better life | Mike Schnall

18. Nike Run Club! “Coach Bennett is the most motivating!” | Sara Loncka

19. The book Tiny Beautiful Things from author Cheryl Strayed. “I almost never read books more than once but this one hits different each time.” | Erin Murphy

20. Notion’s new chart feature that makes data beautiful directly in the platform. | Katie Crain

21. A well-made aćai bowl, because it’s so yummy it feels like cheating and having dessert | Bill Pacheco

22. A Tern Cargo E-Bike | Victor Saad

23. Magdalena Bay’s newest album Imaginal Disk | Phoebe Sajor

24. Poetry from Poetry Unbound, in podcast and book form | Sara Loncka

25. A brisk 20-minute walk before work, especially using one of Fitbit’s walking meditations | Katie Crain

26. Starting the day with the Fix The News newsletter, which is packed full of data-driven good news. “It’s more energizing than any cup of coffee around!” | Josh Nadzam

27. Miss Katie Sings’ new children’s album, Just the Way You Are. Go listen to it now! | Phoebe Sajor

28. “Being asked to reflect on things that I'm loving right now!” | Mike Schnall

29. And I’m probably a little biased, but Wednesday Words really brings me joy. So here’s one of my favorite pieces, written in 2019: What Do You Care About? It’s part one of a four part mini-course on navigating life’s most challenging decisions.

I hope this little list sparks some joy in you. And if you have anything that’s bringing a little bit of light to your world lately, we'd love to hear about it. Let’s spread the joy.