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Happy people work harder!

Compassion, Engagement, Wellbeing / My Holland

Happier People Work Harder, Better Most of us, working adults spend a large part of our waking hours at work than any other place. Ideally therefore, business companies should make it a point to ennoble the human spirit and not degrade it and even in some extreme cases, kill it. For these businesses, it should not only be a moral obligation to foster and promote the well-being of its workers. Doing so also makes a lot of economic sense. A Previous Study Over the past decade close to twelve thousand (12,000) electronic diary entries from nearly three hundred (300) professionals in seen (7) different corporations were gathered to study a person’s state of mind everyday at the workplace. They were asked to describe one event that dominated their average working day. These responses then provided a basis for analyzing the latent perceptions, emotions, feelings and motivations that they experienced in response to what went on during their everyday work routine. These also gave an indication of what made sense to them. What The Study Says Two of the vital findings were: In thirty three percent (33%) of the twelve thousand entries, the respondents were unhappy and unmotivated, or both. Some had even claimed they were disgusted and frustrated. Their inner work life had a great impact on workers’ creativity, productivity, commitment and a general predisposition to work with the rest of the company’s employees. When they feel happy, theses guys are more likely to have new ideas and tend to be more engaged in their work. The finding was clear enough to show that workers perform a lot better when they are happily engaged in what they do everyday. What Can Managers Do? It makes practical sense for managers to help ensure that their people are happy and engaged in their jobs. It’s not expensive, since employees’ well-being depends largely on how they are able, and how willing they are to facilitate the accomplishments of their workers. This is generally done by providing his people with help, removing hindrances that tend to obstruct the smooth flow of work and by acknowledging specially strong efforts of his people. In the end, going by all the assessments and evaluation from the recent study, the one clear pattern that emerged was: of all events that engage people in their workplace, the most vital was simply making progress in meaningful work. In other words, as long as workers continue to experience their jobs as meaningful, there is progress, and this is usually followed by joy and excitement about the work. You as a responsible manager should recognize this to be the prime mover in building and establishing employee engagement in their jobs. What will make this happen are workers’ autonomy, ample resources and learning from problems. These are the essentials to a happier working group and a better business potential. The sooner you believe and accept this as part of your mission, the sooner you’ll build a happier employee base leading to higher productivity.

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Is It Really The Money That Everybody Works Hard For?

Compassion, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership / My Holland

If the very popular late 1970’s Donna Sommer’s monster hit “She Works Hard for The Money” is to be believed, you’d say it was money and pay raises that make office workers go the extra mile. But that’s a song, and you know what they say about song writers being allowed their creative license to say practically anything. In truth, here’s what a recent survey of more than two hundred thousand (200,000) workers around the globe have to say about being happy in the workplace: The seven most important factors these people value for on-the-job satisfaction and happiness are: That They Get To Be Appreciated For Their Work – That proverbial pat on the back, that “Hey, that was a great job you did on the project!” that “the team couldn’t have done it without you!” is the number one motivator that gets people working in support of the company’s goals and values. That There Is Good Relationship Among Colleagues And Peers – Don’t take this to mean that this is about those bold and adult, man-woman romantic dalliances that you get to hear about in the office every now and then. Sure, these would probably be good storylines for those late-night TV series as “Sex and The city”. But it’s not about that. This is about real, genuine teamwork that goes hand in hand with mutual respect on a personal and professional level, with fun-at-work thrown in for good measure. That They’re Able To Have A Good Work–Life Balance – Happy at work and happy with their personal lives. The ample, adequate time they spend on both sides of the fence are of top quality leaving them neither frustrations or disappointments. That There Is Good, Professional Relationship With The Head Honchos – The guys in dark grey suits from the top floor have nothing but respect and appreciation for the work that they do. That they’re sometimes called by their first name by the chairman of the board, is something that can really get them going more than 100%! That The Company They’re Working For Is Financially Stable. It doesn’t make them happy to be working for some fly-by-night organization. It’s got to be a company that’s standing on solid ground, an organization that fights back when bullied by a competitor. a reputable, respected company that’s got the muscles it needs to win its matches. They’d be proud and happy to be working for a group like that. That There Are Opportunities For The Employees To Learn, Develop And Further Their Careers – Anybody worth his salt would surely want to be able to go up higher on the corporate ladder. They’d be happy in a company that gives them the chance to learn and take a crack at whatever opportunities there might be to prop them up closer to the top. That The Company They’re Connected With Offers Attractive Fixed Salaries. And why not? We’d be hypocrites if we said thick wads of US dollars or Euros didn’t create some adrenaline rush on paydays. But hey! It’s not the be all and end all of being happy at work. In fact, if you take a closer look, among the 7 most important components that matter in relation to happiness on the job, it’s at the bottom! Keep these findings in mind as you manage your people. They’re rock solid. Adopt them and make your organization humming like happy bees at work. oozing with productivity.

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The New Way To Lead … With Compassion

Compassion, Leadership, Positive Psychology / My Holland

Leading with empathy, compassion: an authentic model where work and private life are in tune with real values! In business schools and corporate boardrooms, we were taught, or perhaps the better word is brainwashed, to lead with our heads not with our hearts. We’re expected to be tough as nails, like a first class marine sergeant completely focused on bringing-in results. We’re supposed to be these no-nonsense, don’t-mess-around-with-me- types of leaders obsessed almost with making our businesses a big success. But, following the September 11 tragedy that shattered the world, a new behavioral management pattern seems to have emerged on the business horizon. Leaders of big, prestigious companies and organizations in the US and in the western world are beginning to advocate and embrace a more humane, more compassionate kind of leadership… leading with the heart. The Change is Happening You see this change happening when leaders of giant firms devote precious press and radio/TV advertising budgets to either express their sorrow or empathy to families of victims of some tragic natural calamity or to express pride in the United States for some glorious, victorious event that made the country shine. You see this happening through corporate giving campaigns and fund-raising events for some lofty, noble cause rather than sell a product or a brand extolling their benefits. In a day-to-day office setting, you see this happening when the GM drops by a low rank employee’s work station to say thank you for a job well done. No doubt, we shall see these compassionate leaders multiplying in the months and years to come. The sensitivities that come to play in this compassionate leadership are inevitably transforming into favorable, positive results. Compassion Is In Everyone It is from some special spot, deep within us that compassion lives. It’s a gentle force that puts other people’s needs before our own, or a soft thrust to sympathise with their needs. Such sensitivity was evidenced in former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, when, during the September 11 tragic event, he took center stage to report and update the American people almost with every minute detail, news he was able to share, day after day. Governor George Pataki offered the support of New York State to help rebuild the city. Former president Bush shared hugs and handshakes with firemen and police officers with obvious empathy. Grown men wept openly on national TV. Who knows? Perhaps it’s what triggered this new wave of leadership with heart. Compassion is ever-present. Compassion is ever-natural. It’s not going to cost a penny to be a compassionate leader. It’s about being real and authentic with what matters to all of us. We can help in emotional intelligence assessments, where one of the elements we measure is empathy and self-awareness.

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Achieve Your Goals: Write Yourself A “Hope Letter”

Compassion, Positive Psychology / My Holland

We’re now in the month of February, 2016. By this time achieving any of those New Year’s resolutions we all fastidiously made at the end of 2015 may be slowly fading from our consciousness and starting to settle in the dust bin of “here today and gone tomorrow” goals. According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton’s 2014 Journal of Clinical Psychology, about forty five percent (45%) of residents in the United States typically make New Year’s resolutions. But among these Americans, there is only an eight percent (8%) chance of anyone realizing their goals. The main reason for this was never cited, although most experts contend it has to do with the degree or intensity of a person’s resoluteness and persistence to pursue whatever it is they set their minds to achieve for themselves and for their loved ones. Is There A Better Way To Improve This Situation? And so, you just might be telling yourself … “Heck! There’s got to be a better way to make good, significant changes in my live!” And there is. The “Hope Letter” The Hope Letter is a simple uncomplicated exercise. It is powerful though. This stems from what C.R. Snyder, Ph.D. professor of Psychology at the University of Kansas developed and called the Hope theory. This says that by concentrating on three important elements, the achievement of goals happens. He identified these factors to be: Having a clear goal Having ways and means of achieving this goal Believing in your ability to reach this goal. Researchers have further revealed that persons who have high hopes are more likely to cope better with physical pain or life’s many frustrations. They also tend to be happier and more satisfied. Building on the work of mental health professionals, who, from as early as the 1950’s begun realizing the key role hope played in the achievement of dreams, some creative, smart executive coaches developed the Hope Letter. When we write down our hopes and dreams…when we write down the ways and means we shall achieve them, we, in fact, become more successful in making them come true. This hope letter has been used among these executive coaches’ clients and have been known to work. Here then are the easy-to-follow, step by step guide on making one: Put it down on paper. Write a letter addressed to yourself. Date it precisely one year into the future. Don’t put a limit on yourself. Take the time to imagine what the scenario will be if you achieved or accomplished all your goals. Take into consideration your job and career, your health and finances, your love-life, family and friends, fun and personal growth. Prompt yourself with “What do I hope to have accomplished this time in 2017?” You’ll need to be accountable for this. When you’re done with the letter, give it to a close friend, your wife or special girl, your coach or colleague and ask him/her to mail it back to you, one year from the date you wrote it. You can also send a digital letter on www.futureme.org, program it so you will receive it in one year! Do this. When you get your letter back, you’ll be amazed at the number of things you shall have achieved, the reason being … when you set and write down your intentions, …your ways and methods of achieving them … your actions will naturally follow. Are all your goals … things you want to happen … do they happen, are they achieved? Not usually, but many do get realized. So, celebrate what you do achieve and learn from what you don’t and then write yourself another hope letter for the year ahead.

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