I am fortunate that when I am friendly, I seem to inspire others to be friendly.
For example, I used to go to a skincare place and the person working on me was nicer to me the more that she knew me. One time when I was coming in I felt like she wanted to hug me so I asked “Can I hug you?” and she jumped at the opportunity. She hugged me every time I had facials every week in the future when I went there.
At another place that I used to visit for skincare, the woman was similarly friendly. When you visit a place for a year or more the staff feels safe to open up and get to know you and so that usually happens in every business that I patronized for more than a year. I would often move for work so I didn’t always have the luxury of being in places for longer than that.
One of the most wonderful things in life is when you can see that your energy and attitude are reflected in others. At work, my coworkers would start using the same kind of words that I used. They would say things are “helpful” instead of good/bad. That always makes me smile when I hear that.
I have shared when coworkers were very friendly with me and crossed the line in what is professional. That is the danger of being friendly and kind. I just thanked them and redirected what they said/did so that we could continue to have a professional relationship.
It is amazing how much your attitude can change a workplace. Be aware of what emotions you bring to an office and you can see the workplace improve in front of you.