Poetry in the workplace: a guide

7 April 2025 Reading Time: 4 minutes

by Aine O’Neill: 

In every business we want to make sure that our team members feel valued. Good salaries and benefits play their part, yet we all know they don’t provide the full answer.  At a deeper level what is needed is genuine, heartfelt communication.  And one way to achieve this is by engaging the creativity of your team, for example by using poetry.  It is playful and fun and allows communications to be creative rather than simply providing instructions or information. 

For example, if your office has a work newsletter staff may like to contribute something about their workplace, colleagues, their day or what they love most about their job. This is a poem I wrote for my work newsletter called “Moments Like These”. It aims to show how our capacity and vulnerability as human beings can be tapped into using gestures taken from everyday life.

A heartfelt hello, a bright-eyed smile,

A clap on the back as you go the extra mile.

A ring on the phone from a childhood friend,

A listening ear for a heart on the mend.

A tip on the arm as you near the finish line,

A kind, gentle word at just the right time.

Although moments in passing can melt like snow,

To some they’ll matter more than you’ll know.

Often cherished more than is thought,

Gifts so precious they can’t be bought.

Special Occasions 

Poetry can also be used to show your colleagues how much they mean to the whole team, especially on important occasions such as weddings, important birthdays or leaving dos. When two of my colleagues were retiring a few years ago, I jotted down some of their strengths, the good times we had enjoyed together and rounded it off with a note of appreciation.

It was a pleasure to know you, to be part of your team,

We wish you both a life fit for a Queen.

Since then, I have written and recited many personalised poems for my colleagues. As time went on the whole team got involved, providing words and sometimes an entire verse so that everyone had a chance to contribute, thereby making the poems a bespoke gift from us all. 

Gifts

Because of our poetic endeavours we had more than just a card to present to our co-workers on special occasions. One team member suggested that the poems be presented in a scroll, tied with red ribbon. This added a nice touch so now not only does the receiving party have a poem written and recited for them, but they also get to take it home. Several people have even framed their poem demonstrating how much it means to them as a treasured memento from the office.

Inspiration 

Having some poetic lines painted in calligraphy on the office walls might add a pep to your colleague’s step during their busy day. This could be made even more special if they were self-penned lines. Poetry competitions can also help with providing inspiration. If your team is a little nervous of putting pen to paper starting with a Limerick competition may help. It’s a bit of fun while helping the team bond in a unique way.

Team building

Creating a team poem is another great opportunity for employees to collaborate and highlight their skills and strengths in a personal way. The team could be divided into small groups. Each group could then come up with a verse using simple rhyme as shown in the examples given. Of course, rhyme isn’t always necessary, but it may be easier to use when starting out and it does add a catchy vibe when the poem is being recited. 

Decide on an overall tone before you start, tidy up any sharp edges afterwards and collate the order of the verses when the team gets together at the end. If anyone is worried about being derided for writing a poem know that it is that very vulnerability that will give others courage to find their words too.

Pick Me Up

Poems are made of agile material as different words can be placed together with varying tones to suit any given topic, including mental health. This is an extract from a poem I wrote called The Glimmer which was written for World Mental Health Day. Everyone needs a pick-me-up at times and these lines did just that for those reading the work newsletter.

It’s the first light that flickers on a sunrise afar.

The twinkling on a black sky of the faintest of stars.

The reflection of the water in a puddle on muddy ground.

The slant of the rain as each drop pelts with sound.

When the dog pricks his ears and senses you are home.

When a room weighed with silence is lifted by the phone.

The thud of the post on a mat in the hall.

When you thought all was lost but, in the end, got the call.

When the battery in the torch is about to give out,

When the wick of the candle spills wax from its spout.

There’s always a spark when the fire goes tame

Just whisper to it gently to fan its tiny flame.

Creatively human

Creativity is an essential element of human activity and that include the world of work. Of course, we need to use technology, including AI but we can’t let this dehumanise the workplace. We need to balance technology with heartfelt human communication. This requires the kind of workplace communication that provides inspiration and motivation.  The kind of workplace communication that creative activities such as writing and sharing a poem can bring. 

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Aine O’Neill is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management. To find your nearest club, visit www.toastmasters.org

Written by: Editor