Get your team a box of donuts tomorrow - It's worth it.
The ripple effect - you could say it's similar to when you throw a stone in a lake, and waves follow. One tiny action from you is causing an effect that led the first wave to move, then the second one, then the third, etc.
In a workplace, everyone lives in their own bubble.
You're reading this Medium article. The person next to you is thinking about lunch. The other is thinking about a problem at home. Someone is having a great day, the other, not so much. You can never know which bubble you'll be in tomorrow. However, I would play the odds. I would rather be surrounded by positive bubbles rather than dark ones.
While you can't control how others will feel tomorrow, you can improve the situation, as well as your odds. It's selfish, but it's a win-win.
I've been freelancing for more than eight years now. My life is what happened in the pandemic the most. When all the people were surprised by the whole "work-from-home" invasion that occurred, that was another normal day for me. Yes, I wake up alone, do my thing, and never have to physically meet my colleagues or clients.
From that metaverse of the working world, I would like to communicate a vision with you. I've been having this vision for almost 5 years now. I would love to wake up in the morning 30 minutes earlier, pass by the best donuts place in town, and walk into the office spreading them amongst the team. This gesture that I've been daydreaming about, gives one a selfish feeling of joy. You'd be a spark of the reason why, even it's for a few minutes, someone is happier in the office.
Again, everyone lives in their own bubble. You can never know what their bubble will include. So I'd think about the worst bubble there could be. This gesture, the donuts, could be the push a team member needs to get out of the bubble.

It's a ripple effect.
You'd do this in the office, you're not only affecting the 15 people you're feeding. You'll be affecting everyone they'll work with the moments after. Whether you like it or not, people work with people. There will be a client call. There will be a family call. The direction of how this goal is going to go, whether in a positive or neutral way, could be your effect. You won't be driving the car per se. You'd be just fixing the degree of the stirring wheel, and that's more than enough in some cases.
Obviously, the more you do this the less it's meaningful. If you constantly get donuts, not only will you probably affect the body mass index of the team, but also it wouldn't mean the same or have the same effect. Hence, timing is key. You are the most qualified person to understand your work colleagues and how they operate.
While it's true that you don't control the bubbles, you can try to control yours as much as possible. But, you most certainly won't be able to control the people around you. However, do your part, do what you can, it might mean the world to someone else. You see, the moment you enter the workplace, you're not only in your own bubble, but you're also in the work bubble, the big work bubble that includes all the bubbles in a single huge one. It takes a team to put out a fire or to grow a farm, but it starts with an initiative.
You're hearing this as a recommendation from a freelance business consultant who's been working from home for the past 8 years. Make it count.
I’m Al, a business consultant in Zurich, Switzerland. I believe in the power of delivering value to you, the reader. I’m focusing my content to be more and more on Medium, and Linkedin. Hence, follow me on both channels to keep in touch and connect.