Think about your most recent work environment, picture yourself there in the middle of it, at your cubicle, boardroom table, break room. In order for you to do your work you need many things such as proper rest, nutrition etc. But that is not what I want to talk about today, instead let’s have a conversation about things that kill energy and creativity.
No longer are jobs just about being “worker bees” carrying out tasks 1,2,3. For many, you know that the job that you do has to mean more than that. For the past 5 years at least I have read many an article about “how to retain millennials”. Then I have conversations with the 45 year old married mother of three and I can’t help but feel “what about us!?”.
In an ever changing world it has become more and more important to create work “environments” or work “cultures”, language not used more than 10 years ago. Studies published have summarised that if the company someone works for creates a work environment focused on the people, on more than just “getting the task done” tend to retain employers for longer periods of time with higher productivity. Countries have done the same, France has a 35 hour work week, Denmark 33 hours and minimum of 5 weeks vacation per year to start.
“But Jeffrey, what can I do about this? I don’t run the company I work for”
It starts with you. If you are a supervisor or manager at any level of the organisation you can effect change. How do you treat your employees? more importantly, how do you TALK to them. I don’t just mean the words that you use, I also refer to the energy that you bring into the room when you show up (ever walked into a meeting and thought “whoah… whats going on in here?”).
Communication simply accounts for the following;
7% Words
38% Tone
55% Body Language (energy)
Curious that the words we use actually mean very little, it is the tone and the energy we give off that “send the message”.
Have you ever worked at a company where one department was very happy and engaged, whereas other departments were fraught with high turnover, un-satisfaction, departments where “people don't want to be on THAT team”. This happens because very different leaders are setting very different tones within their teams.
Yes, YOU can do this. You can create teams or environments that actually enjoy coming to work. They will be happy, collaborative and loyal, to you, their team and the organisation. The cool part of you creating even a small environment of happiness is that energy is contagious and even if your are not “at the top” you can spread that throughout the organisation.
In part II of this post we will explore actual tips, tricks, Do’s and Dont’s of how you can start doing this today.
“I want to turn the Welcome Mat into wall to wall carpeting”
Shondee Nye
Chat soon,
Jeff
No longer are jobs just about being “worker bees” carrying out tasks 1,2,3. For many, you know that the job that you do has to mean more than that. For the past 5 years at least I have read many an article about “how to retain millennials”. Then I have conversations with the 45 year old married mother of three and I can’t help but feel “what about us!?”.
In an ever changing world it has become more and more important to create work “environments” or work “cultures”, language not used more than 10 years ago. Studies published have summarised that if the company someone works for creates a work environment focused on the people, on more than just “getting the task done” tend to retain employers for longer periods of time with higher productivity. Countries have done the same, France has a 35 hour work week, Denmark 33 hours and minimum of 5 weeks vacation per year to start.
“But Jeffrey, what can I do about this? I don’t run the company I work for”
It starts with you. If you are a supervisor or manager at any level of the organisation you can effect change. How do you treat your employees? more importantly, how do you TALK to them. I don’t just mean the words that you use, I also refer to the energy that you bring into the room when you show up (ever walked into a meeting and thought “whoah… whats going on in here?”).
Communication simply accounts for the following;
7% Words
38% Tone
55% Body Language (energy)
Curious that the words we use actually mean very little, it is the tone and the energy we give off that “send the message”.
Have you ever worked at a company where one department was very happy and engaged, whereas other departments were fraught with high turnover, un-satisfaction, departments where “people don't want to be on THAT team”. This happens because very different leaders are setting very different tones within their teams.
Yes, YOU can do this. You can create teams or environments that actually enjoy coming to work. They will be happy, collaborative and loyal, to you, their team and the organisation. The cool part of you creating even a small environment of happiness is that energy is contagious and even if your are not “at the top” you can spread that throughout the organisation.
In part II of this post we will explore actual tips, tricks, Do’s and Dont’s of how you can start doing this today.
“I want to turn the Welcome Mat into wall to wall carpeting”
Shondee Nye
Chat soon,
Jeff
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