GIFs In The Workplace: Can They Reduce Stress? (2024)

As the seconds, minutes and hours tick by slowly each day at work, it could get rather boring and perhaps stressful. Say you sit at a window, and glance outside to see a handful of people playing with adorable golden retriever puppies. It only adds to the stress and starvation for freedom. Say your coworkers are working on a team to develop something cool and you’re stuck making copies or filing data reports, you might just want to stand up and leave like Peter Gibbons from Office Space. Yes, we all understand a day at the office can be empty, boring and stressful, especially if you have a “corporate cubicle” job. There just happens to be a cure for this epidemic to lighten up your day, GIFs.

If you haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon using the trendy GIF, then you might want to start. Check out GIPHY, where you can search for any GIF using keywords, or create your own here. They can be funny, cool, random, etc. Once you get the hang of them, that’ll be one thing, but what about communicating GIFs internally in the workplace? Is it conventional? How can you do it? Why should you do it? And how can you organically incorporate GIFs in the workplace? So seriously, come out to play…

Communicating GIFs:

I work at a creative agency, and if I don’t see at least one GIF a day it would be very unusual. There is always an occasion for using a GIF at work, whether it is reacting to something in an email, greeting someone, portraying your message, or merely just for fun. There are a variety of ways to communicate through GIFs, as there are millions on the web. It is beginning to deeply integrate into work culture, and should be an office standard, if it isn’t already. I would never suggest communicating GIFs externally with a client, unless they send a GIF first. If you have established that sort of relationship with a client, then use as many as necessary, but remain professional. GIFs are very informal, even though they can send almost any message you want. Just be cautious to whom you are sending them. Also, another aspect to be cautious about is how many GIFs you are sending in an email thread. GIFs can be fun, while you have an endless amount of them at your disposal. Just be aware that your coworkers are busy, and it can overload their inbox to bump important emails to the bottom.

How to Use GIFs:

To actually implement the GIFs you find is a fairly simple process. While writing an email you can easily drag the GIF from its location to your draft. A tip, make sure the GIF is fully loaded before you begin dragging it. I have made the mistake by dragging the GIF before it loads, and it just ends up as a still frame. Once the GIF is in the email, you will have the option to adjust the image to its appropriate size. Another option is to save the GIF on your computer, and simply insert it into the email. If you happen to use Gmail, here is an easy way to access and use GIFs on the fly.

GIFs Reducing Stress and Building Relationships:

Thus far, you have probably taken the time to explore some GIFs. You may have had a couple chuckles, and are thinking this would be hilarious in the office. Can they really reduce stress though? Technically speaking, yes. If you have a sense of humor, then you are probably laughing and smiling at a majority of the GIFs you see. Which in fact is an indicator to physically reducing stress, while providing some nifty short- and long-term effects. If you want the elongated answer to laughter reducing stress, you can click here. Now, not only do these graphics reduce stress, they also build character. Depending on the GIFs you select, it can really define you as a person. If you continue to communicate with your coworkers with a robotic tone, that’ll correlate to how they envision you outside the virtual world. If you communicate through GIFs, it will at least give some indication of what type of person you are. Also, using GIFs can potentially create better relationships and cohesiveness with coworkers. Finding GIFs that relate to your coworkers interests can be a huge indicator on building cohesiveness. Say you send out a Spongebob GIF, and the person you send it to loves Spongebob, you instantly have a best friend.

Organically integrating GIFs in the Workplace:

How can you integrate GIFs into the workplace organically? Simple, slowly start sending people GIFs. If you get reciprocation then you’ve done your job right. If the GIF sender is someone of influence, it can only make the process more organic, as others will follow. I can see smaller to mid-sized companies buying into this idea, rather then in a corporate setting. As more companies start shifting towards a more casual and open style, they will be more inclined to use GIFs. It is easy, free and motivates people. It gives employee’s more incentive to communicate, as a substitute to a traditional email. Also, you can throw in the supporting evidence on how it can reduce stress and builds relationships and cohesiveness with coworkers. Overall, this tool is awesome, and it will be exciting to explore how it will develop over time.